FALCONBROW

Eliott’s latest follows a girl attempting to survive a dangerous urban hellscape.

Growing up in Sullward’s notorious Lower City—aka Hell’s Labyrinth—hasn’t been easy for 14-year-old Terza Jaidenson and her little brother Fedwin. The place is a hotbed of crime, and Terza’s life is irrevocably changed when two men abduct Fedwin and use him as bait to lead her to a dark back alley to rape her. But Terza, whose father, Jaiden, and his father’s tough-guy friend Odvin have been training her to fight for years, turns the tables on the two would-be rapists and kills them. That “crucible” moment sets her on a path to become Terza Falconbrow, one of “the most imposing figures to ever work the criminal byways” of the Lower City. Stopping the attack, however, is just the beginning of Terza’s transformation from aspiring artist and loyal friend to unstoppable Storm Maiden, the embodiment of Giradera of Azmoul, an ancient battle queen who ruled over a female-dominated empire eons earlier. Terza must confront her little brother’s vicious bully while trying to keep her family together; after all, her mother abandons them and returns to her northern tribal homeland, while her deadbeat father falls deeper into addiction.

One of the strongest initial hooks of the novel comes through the author’s courage to write such a disturbing story with no filter. The very first line is like a slap to the face, letting readers know exactly what they’re in for: “Terza Jaidenson bled between her legs for the first time at the age of fourteen, and several weeks later, she killed her first man.” That bold focus on graphic description, however, may repulse sensitive readers—but it should delight those who seek out and enjoy gritty dark fantasy: “A perfect little stripe ran across the side of Rodris’s neck…It darkened, then spluttered, gurgling out a hard-boiling stew of crimson liquid.” The worldbuilding, like the other novels in Eliott’s Shadow Bidder universe, is exceptional, as is the story engine, which consistently moves at full throttle throughout. But it’s the underlying theme that fuels this story like gasoline poured on a fire. Terza’s quest for vengeance—not only for herself, but also for a friend who’s suffered abuse at the hands of a man—is intensely intimate. Systematic sexism, misogyny, the dehumanization of women in a patriarchal society: All of these ideas are subtly but intelligently explored, especially in the references to the ancient world and the empire ruled by women. In one scene, Terza is painting the image of a Storm Maiden while looking at her own features in a mirror: “She copied what she saw: her intense gaze, emanating from beneath the dip of scowling brows, projecting bloody murder at the patriarchy of the old world.” In the end, Terza must survive multiple soul-crushing traumas—sexual assault, her mother’s abandonment of her and Fedwin, and a hopelessly drug-addicted and abusive father—to become the legendary woman she’s destined to be.

A dark journey of self-discovery that’s equal parts coming-of-age tale, unlikely love story, and karmic cautionary tale.