Read All About It: Woodwalker

This book was pretty cool! Woodwalker is a fantasy novel, with clear divides for several nations and their peoples, culture, and a creative mix of skill and duty. Emily B. Martin spins her tale of a fallen kingdoms and treacherous kings in exquisitely vivid imagery. Her characters are realistic, their motives complex, and her setting beautiful.

Martin explores her own fantasy through the eyes of outsiders in different countries, giving us interesting views of these kingdoms and their people. Introducing Mae, Mona, Colm, and Alren, along with a host of others, Martin has a solid foundation for her wonderful universe.

Mae has taken on a job guiding three lost royals of Lumen Lake through her former home, the Silverwood. Banished from her home five years ago, Mae is risking her life on the promise of coin, and faces more challenges than she expected while she leads these water folk through her beloved woods. An experienced Woodwalker, a high position in the Royal Guard of the Silverwood, Mae is forced to confront her exile, her people, and her fears as she leads these inexperienced nobles, trying to keep them alive and out of sit so they can reclaim their former kingdom from another kingdom's clutches.

Mae faces treachery on both sides, the loss of friends and loved ones, and deep waters as she forges a path for these royals, and even her unique position might not be enough to save her life in the end.

Martin leads us on a perilous journey with Mae, our unique and sharp-tongued protagonist. She is skilled in the ways of the wood, less so in the ways of water, and is often too sharp with others for her own good. I loved Mae, especially her wit and sass, because she isn't a typical protagonist. At first, she's really only in this for the money, and the chance to see her home again. However, her motives evolve as we move through, and Martin shows us her skill in building complex characters with even more complex motivations.

This novel was really fun to read, and I had trouble putting it down. I really enjoy books like this, where there's a group and a quest and some backstage trickery that only becomes evident if you're looking for it, and Woodwalker really delivers on its promises, putting up characters with flaws and hopes, a setting that is rich and vibrant, and a narrative that draws you in and keeps you hoping for another page.

I loved this narrative because I never felt like any page was just fluff. Everything contributed to Martin's story, even the smallest piece--a weapon, a compass, some boots. Everything is pulled together into a neat whole, but we still get the sense of more waiting for us in the next novel (which is on Amazon, by the way!). This story is unique and creative, vivid and bright, and endlessly entertaining.

Check out Martin's books! I love her style, and I can't wait to get my hands on a paperback copy of Woodwalker. Until that time, watch for scouts, pearls, and royals in disguise!