Publication Date: December 27, 2014
In The Lament of Sky by B.B. Wynter, Lilyth can’t remember much of the past. She lives in an alternate world ruled with an iron fist controlled by adherence to gods and fear. As Lilyth’s memory returns she finds herself embroiled in an epic struggle.
The author, BB Wynter, gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.
I spent a lot of time before writing this review struggling with the above description. Wynter has written a novel with gods and history and human’s walking among the immortal. The story is one of epic struggle and tyranny. The story has many lines that are confusing and impossible to describe while when all boiled down it’s very easy — one woman struggles against a great evil for the good of humanity.
The Lament of Sky starts well. Lilyth can’t remember her past. She has general impressions but no clear memories when something truly terrible happens and she’s rescued from death thus starting her journey. What follows is a lot of information framed in purple prose making it all just really hard to follow. Though difficult to decipher, the flowery style of writing is not uncommon in the fantasy genre. While a work for which I need a score sheet, experienced fantasy epic fans may have a different understanding of The Lament of Sky.
As with any great fantasy epic, there must be a great evil and the Vildarii fit that evil perfectly. They are brutal, vile vicious and without compromise. Underneath there’s a sense of a leadership knowledgeable that fear and crushing any opposition is the only way to maintain a hold on society. While there’s not anything really unique in Wynter’s presentation of the Vildarii, they are well presented.
Lilyth is a bit of a Penelope Pitstop in the story. She’s rescued from this terrible fate and thrust into a role she doesn’t quite accept and she simply will not shut up about it. She is silly, petty, vain, cries a lot but is willing to try to do what she must while never letting the reader forget how hard it all is for her and that she is the woman that the reader is supposed to believe, has the heart of a hero. Readers will start to wonder if they’re supposed to be rooting against Lilyth and the best part of that is literally everyone in the story seems to be against her. There were moments when this reader wondered if Wynter would break fantasy tradition and give us a hero that doesn’t win. Whether she does or not is for the reader to discover.
The author has Asperger’s Syndrome and a great interest in the genre. I’m not sure how this attributed to her writing style, which is much in the vein of other epic fantasy novels. The information stream is constant and somewhat overwhelming and may weigh the reader down at the moment while not pausing the story flow. Despite a hefty 368 pages and the elaborate prose, the story is always riveted on the next moment…the next bit of action. While reading, I frequently wondered about the intent of the social commentary that I saw so clearly.
So did Tammy like the book? It is not a series that I would continue. I despised Lilyth. I wanted her to suffer a horrible fate. That the author inspired emotion for or against her character can be a mark in favor of the talent behind the work. Though I hated Lilyth, other readers might love her … or find the fact she’s constantly in peril a twisted delight.
If you are a fan of epic fantasy, pick The Lament of Sky up today.
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