The Scarlet Odyssey by CT Rwizi

While poking through Netgalley one day, I noticed this book. It was published by 47 North, which is Amazon’s spec-fiction publishing arm, and I’ve had good experiences with their publications in the past (Jeff Wheeler, Craig Schaefer, Mitchell Hogan and so forth), so I thought I’d give it a blast. There was one caveat – while I had heard plenty about the other authors, I knew nothing of CT Rwizi, usually a red flag for me as I don’t really have the time to read bad books. Guess what? It wasn’t bad. Not only was it not bad, it was amazing and I hereby declare it as my favourite book of 2020 (that’s out of 110 books, people). Here’s the boring stuff:

Format: Mobi

Obtained from: Netgalley

Print length: 534 pages

Publisher: 47 North

ASIN: B07XRJTN8V

Disclaimer – I read this in July, so forgive me if I’m a little hazy on some of the details.

So, what’s it all about?

Salo, son of the tribal chief, is expected to become a warrior on his 18th birthday. Salo, though has no interest in being a warrior. Instead, he studies magic. But men in his village do not study magic, that is the profession of women. Salo cannot help who he is, and he fails his testing, becoming an outcast in his tribe with few friends. When the village is attacked and Salo’s best friend is killed, he announces to his tribe that he wishes to be a mystic, considered to be sacrilege. He proves himself, but gets sent on a quest far away to seek help against the invading armies. Along the way he picks up some entertaining comrades – Ilapara, a female warrior forced to be a mercenary by the same prejudice that saw Salo booted from his tribe; and Tuk, a strange nomad who turns out to be even more mysterious than he first seems. We also meet The Maidservant, who hunts Salo on his journey and Isa, a young princess forced to be a queen before her time when her family are killed.

Is it any good?

I think I covered this already. One can easily tell that this was a labour of love for the author. At times, this is a lot of fun, but at others it is pitch dark, and themes such as discrimination and slavery are rife throughout. The world, an alternate Africa, is beautifully drawn, as Rwizi shows both the wonders and the dangers with equal gusto. The characters are rich and deep, not what one would expect from a debut author (I’m assuming he’s a debut author, so don’t hold me to it), and we root for each of them. We even feel sympathy for the antagonists as we learn their stories or fates. The magic system is interesting, and I like that it’s not “sorcery on demand,” adding some tension to combat scenes where Salo’s need to break a stalemate, but needs to rest, for example. There is a sense of overall levity to the book, making it easy to power through, but when things get dark, the author really puts his characters through the ringer, a reflection of the harsh land they live in. What I also liked is the contrast between science and fantasy (did I mention it was science fantasy? Ooops!), how the old school needs the new school to thrive, and vice versa. To put it simply, this is a blast, accessible to both the Young Adult crowd as well as grumpy old farts like myself. A must-read for those who desire something different.

Verdict

A humdinger of a science fantasy, and my favourite book of 2020.

Sidenote: While reading this review, I realised there are a lot of similarities between The Scarlet Odyssey and the How to Train Your Dragon movies. I have too much time on my hands.