Inna

by C.E. Cannery

Being average in the court of King Nessel was the peak of power that one such Inna Goedhoagdaug could expect. Being average and young, she could walk about the Women's Quarters unfettered, free to live in her sheltered confines, and that was enough. But even this small isle of peace could not last, for young Inna was not quite as young as her large eyes belied. Now two years past her "marriageable" age and unlawfully belonging to no one, she was a hidden criminal in the eyes of Osskripi court and anything other than average for her would spell the end of her freedom. Set about forty years before Maygest's Tale, Inna, Maygest's mother, must find her way to freedom through the brewing civil war in Goed-land.

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2020

About the author

C. E. CANNERY is an aspiring author, who has written a number of self-published books. Her love of story-telling began in the long car rides from her small town to the closest Wal-mart, where she and her siblings would read their stories to each other. From then her life took her on a different route, but she still loves writing and reading. She now has a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences from University College Dublin.

Reviews

[L. Zieanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been experimenting (now and again) with reading genres that I don’t typically seek out. Fantasy is one of them – (though I’ve seen Fantasy movies), I’ve not read it in print. I chose "Inna: A Maygest's Tale Story" to be my first foray into the genre. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Cannery is an excellent storyteller and has the skill to carry you off to a very different time and place with her powers of vivid description. I particularly liked the words she used to name her characters, locales, and gods … words I’d never heard before. I suppose they may have been commonplace back in the Middle Ages, but since that’s not a period in history that I gravitate towards, I was not familiar with them and so the language added to the ‘otherness’ of the tale and made it a delightful escape.

[Sabra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking and goosebump offering read

As a Prequel to Maygest's Tale, Inna takes Maygest's world and gives us a new take on it, while showcasing it's gritty history. Inna is a woman driven to survive, in a world that would have her do anything but. The characters are consistent, yet surprising, the plot is fantastic and had me both cheering and crying. The prose is, as it was in Maygest's Tale, just as gripping and beautifully offered. The tone of this story is much darker, but done in such a way that leaves you breathless at the end. Reading of Inna's struggle and perseverance was an adventure I'm glad I did not miss.
If you enjoy deeply thoughtful prose, wonderful yet heartbreaking tales of triumph and risk, then Inna is not a story you should pass by.

[Aino Lahteva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language. It's lush, heavy, and winding. Some will hate it, some will love it. There are things that could be streamlined. It's maybe a bit Dickensian to me, and suites the court setting of highborn nobles. Granted, sometimes there are sentences that repeat the same idea twice or as an echo a little later but I can forgive that as the plot moves along with a good pace and doesn't go stale because of the extra flourishes. The language is complex, sentences can go on long but to me, it fits the surroundings and the main character. The writing gets lighter in the second half as there is more dialogue. I appreciate how different the speech between the court and the Heights is.

This is a story that starts in a court in a society that is confined and oppressive. Dangerous for anyone who should step out of their place. The author drops names of other cities, countries, families, and expensive items which gives an air of a palace of true comfort and luxury but also one where status matters more than anything else.

The main character, Inna, is wonderfully morally gray. She does nice things and very questionable things. She is clever and can muster up confidence befitting any highborn lady but that doesn't always serve her well. She fights to keep herself free and to decide her destiny herself but it doesn't always go her way.

I enjoyed all of the story and the setting. I feel like the story could have benefitted from a little more length. That way the story would have had more time to breathe and the sorrows would have become really poignant. I would have liked to see a little bit of Inna's life and thoughts in the court before the rapid changes. Still, I read the story within a few days of starting as I found the main character and the world interesting. Considering that meant almost missing a work deadline, one would be fair to say I really liked it.

Word to the wise though, this isn't a book everyone is going to dig. If you like a light book with tons of magic and fantastical things and creatures that is written to give a few hours of distraction and evoke mostly positive feelings with no true threat to the characters, then turn away. This is definitely fantasy and full of court schemes, but it's low key (only the presence and influence of a few spirits), character-driven, and has many sorrowful, even tragic, elements. But I'd definitely recommend it and will go on to read other books by the author.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book