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Vale of Semūin
Mountaineer and hunter, Wenton Sigh, stumbles upon a lost girl seeking her mother. But when he discovers her mother is the legendary water spirit Semūin, he becomes embroiled in the schemes of the gods. Fans of fantasy will devour this charming Starside Tale, full of Edstrom's vivid world-building, fascinating characters, and adventure.
40 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2017
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 1, 2021
(Novella-length. I read this as included in the Beneath the Waves anthology.)
Fascinating short tale in the Starside series starring Wenton Sigh, the father of Wen and Kila (the star of the Starside series). While ranging in the mountains, he encounters a young girl waiting by a lake who tells him the spirit of the lake Semuin, is her mother. According to legend, Semuin, the spirit of the lake, enchants men into her waters and kills them. The spirit of the lake does indeed appear and offers him a deal. Being entranced by the spirit’s beauty and charmed by the little girl, Wenton jumps on the offer to help the lake spirit.
The story doesn’t endear me to Wenton who seemed rather selfish, not interested in his own son (I feel sorry for the kid. His mother is dead, his father is out in the mountains, who’s raising him?), and superficially drawn to the spirit’s beauty. It did give me insight into who he was, since he’s gone in the main series and Kila and Wen refer to him all the time. There were moments where this felt a bit author indulgent and the story definitely doesn’t follow a straight path once rather convoluted time travel gets involved. It did introduce Cayne, the knife that Kila carries, and even adds to Kila’s background to make her more than just a basic girl and a suggestion for the origin of her power in the books (though it seems like all the girls in indie books these days have a hidden magical background. Same old, same old). Each time I pick up anything in this series, I keep wishing for more on Wen, Kila’s brother. He seems rather passed over each time with a rather rotten deal of being a damsel-in-distress with his rheumatic cough. I was bored with the politics among the many gods in this book and still rather confused with the detailed religious world in this and all the different practices which feel like it’s just there to add filler without the characters actually actively using it (like the Sensuals. Never really figured out what/who that is or what the purpose of it was).
Fascinating short tale in the Starside series starring Wenton Sigh, the father of Wen and Kila (the star of the Starside series). While ranging in the mountains, he encounters a young girl waiting by a lake who tells him the spirit of the lake Semuin, is her mother. According to legend, Semuin, the spirit of the lake, enchants men into her waters and kills them. The spirit of the lake does indeed appear and offers him a deal. Being entranced by the spirit’s beauty and charmed by the little girl, Wenton jumps on the offer to help the lake spirit.
The story doesn’t endear me to Wenton who seemed rather selfish, not interested in his own son (I feel sorry for the kid. His mother is dead, his father is out in the mountains, who’s raising him?), and superficially drawn to the spirit’s beauty. It did give me insight into who he was, since he’s gone in the main series and Kila and Wen refer to him all the time. There were moments where this felt a bit author indulgent and the story definitely doesn’t follow a straight path once rather convoluted time travel gets involved. It did introduce Cayne, the knife that Kila carries, and even adds to Kila’s background to make her more than just a basic girl and a suggestion for the origin of her power in the books (though it seems like all the girls in indie books these days have a hidden magical background. Same old, same old). Each time I pick up anything in this series, I keep wishing for more on Wen, Kila’s brother. He seems rather passed over each time with a rather rotten deal of being a damsel-in-distress with his rheumatic cough. I was bored with the politics among the many gods in this book and still rather confused with the detailed religious world in this and all the different practices which feel like it’s just there to add filler without the characters actually actively using it (like the Sensuals. Never really figured out what/who that is or what the purpose of it was).
Displaying 1 of 1 review