THE CONJURER'S CURSE

In this YA fantasy, a 17-year-old outcast seeks a new life in his native land.

Rowan’s alabaster complexion and red eyes always marked him as different from everyone around him in the isolated village of Karahvel. But it’s the curse running through his veins that truly sets him apart, a curse that makes anyone who spends time with him have a shorter life span. After his most recent guardian, his beloved Naja, becomes the latest person to die as a result of the curse, he is exiled from the village, sent away from everything he has ever known. Lost and grieving, Rowan embarks on an adventurous trail where he meets Tahira, a girl with a similar complexion. She becomes his companion on his journey to Shandria, the land he is originally from. Once there, he is excited to be home (“Rowan never imagined a land existed where people sharing his physical characteristics lived and thrived….he knew without a doubt he belonged here”). He learns of his tragic family history and the curse placed on his mother and on him when he was still in the womb. As Rowan attempts to carve out a place for himself and break his curse—if he has any hopes of living a normal life alongside Tahira, the girl he loves—his conniving, murderous half brother, Akaran Keliss, must contend with this newcomer. Akaran believes that Rowan has come to Shandria to upend his life—and everything he believes in about his family. Cotta’s character-driven, slow-paced fantasy features two main characters on opposite sides of the spectrum. Rowan prefers to solve conflicts through words rather than use his spear while Akaran often punches first and asks questions later. The story’s first half concentrates primarily on Rowan and his yearning to belong somewhere (or to someone). But then the tale shifts most of its focus to Akaran, who evolves as a character in the work’s final part. This results in some uneven storytelling, but it reinforces the tale’s ultimately thoughtful take on how the curse placed on the siblings’ mother has affected their lives in different ways. Each chapter of this engaging novel starts with a beautiful black-and-white illustration by Cotta.

A rewarding fantasy about a family’s curse with strong characters.