The Coward

"The Coward" by Stephen Aryan is the first book in the "Quest for Heroes" series, where we meet Kell Kressia, celebrated former hero and present-day farmer. When after ten years of peace, his king calls upon him to defeat a new threat, Kell decides that he has done enough and it's time to disappear.

General Impressions

Other than the beautiful cover, what initially drew me into this story was the subversion of the hero quest trope: ten years after Kell accomplished the heroic feat he is still crushed under the weight of PTSD and the knowledge of the things he saw and lived through: the death of his companions, the hardships of the journey and after returning the complete detachment he feels from everyone around him.

Although I was very much excited by the synopsis, I started this book prepared to DNF it at the first sign of sexism or racism white men like to cover their fictional universes, particularly fantasy with. Well, I'm happy I picked it up because I ended up reading one of the most diverse and gender-balanced adult fantasies in a while. The political and religious arc were really well written but the cultural and architectural aspects were where Stephen truly shined. I was impressed enough with the magical aspect as well and fell in love with his original animals and other sentient species.

The characters themselves were also another of the high points in this story: there were all kinds of powerful and weak, heroes and villains that did not fell into the boring middle ages white-only worlds I tired of seeing presented as a novelty years ago. Stephen gave us feminine guys that were as good with a knife as with a musical instrument, women that loved their physical strength, men that were not lesser or resented needing or asking for help...There were characters from different places with different costumes and races and a believable reaction to those differences without endorsing discrimination.

Something else I really was a fan of was the way the author respected Kell by not forcing him to be something he was not and have a romantic interest he was not prepared for out of anywhere. These characters felt real: they were able to change but that change came from within not because he wanted them to fit in a certain mould.

Conclusions

"The Coward" gives us conflicted heroes and villains in a rich world I can't get enough of, after reading that first chapter of the sequel at the very end. This was absolutely lovely and a gift for any lover of fantasy.

Thank you to Angry Robots for sending me this book.

Rating: 4/5