Drith

by Donna Thorland

A sword and sorcery tale in the tradition of Jirel of Joiry and Black Agnes.

From Tangent:

Drith and Shard are on the run, heading to the ancient city of Seleucia. Set in an alternate history Earth, the story contains many fantasy elements, including magic and archetypes: Drith is a skilled thief, Shard a swordsman. Upon their arrival, they are taken to Prince Nikoleides who tasks Drith with finding a particular book in possession of his rival Ambrose. Shard is to remain as human collateral. Truths unfold as Drith’s mission progresses, unravelling a far more intricate situation than it once seemed.

Donna Thorland mixes real world settings with fantasy elements perfectly. Settings are described in great detail, while maintaining concision and flow. The plot is never what it seems, and is always believable. There is also a good amount of backstory to develop the characters, and their relationships and motives. “Drith” is a must read.

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2013

About the author

A native of Bergenfield, New Jersey, Donna graduated from Yale with a degree in Classics and Art History. For a number of years she managed architecture and interpretation at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, and wrote and directed the Witch City’s most popular Halloween theater festival, Eerie Events. She later earned an MFA in film production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

The director of several award-winning short films, including The Night Caller, which aired on PBS and was featured on Ain’t It Cool News, Donna has been a sorority house mother, a Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellow, and a WGA Writer’s Access Project Honoree. Her television credits include the Disney XD animated series, Tron: Uprising; WGN’s Salem; and Hallmark’s, The Good Witch. Currently she is a producer on Netflix’s popular ongoing series, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Donna is also the author of four highly acclaimed historical novels from Penguin New American Library (The Turncoat, The Rebel Pirate, Mistress Firebrand, and The Dutch Girl) and four bestselling urban fantasy novels from Pocket Star (Cold Iron, Silver Skin, Stone Song, and Blade Dance), writing as DL McDermott. Her short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Albedo One. Donna is married with two cats and divides her time between Salem— where she remains active in historic preservation and serves on the board of Hamilton Hall — and Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the Middle East I loved the images the author drew of desert caravans and gated, walled cities. But the places in this story lay outside of time and what awaits inside the city for Drith is not at all expected. She had me at the first few lines. I blew through the book in a morning and wanted to follow the daggerslinger out into the desert where she left me. Drith!!!

[Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too abrupt

[Joanne Renaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this amazing little fantasy novelette could be best described as Jirel of Joiry meets Ira Levin. Reminiscent of Tanith Lee's Jaisel stories, Thorland's "Drith" is a feminist, action-packed must-read, set the murky, chilling fantastical medieval Middle East, complete with necromancy, cyclopean architecture and strong overlays of Babylonian religion. But, as the plot barrels along, you'll find there's more to it than atmosphere as the story asks: what is love? What is possession? Can a true, honest relationship be possible between men and women? This story manages to be dark, thrilling fantasy pulp that makes you think. Highly recommended!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cool little sword-and-sorcery action novella, well told and enjoyable, with not a single wasted word or moment. I quite liked it, and would happily read more stories in this setting by this author.