March Book Reviews: Idolfire by Grace Curtis
One of my anticipated new releases for this year. In Idolfire, two women are drawn together in a quest to seek a locked magical city in an epic journey across the continent. Kirby is looking for her village's lost goddess to uncurse her people, and Alaya must find an object in the city in order to take the throne of her powerful city-state.
I had previously read Curtis' Floating Hotel, which was engaging but didn't have much in the way of plot, and I was interested to see what she'd do with a book with more narrative heft. And the answer seems to be: write wonderfully vivid characters. Both Kirby and Alaya are described as very specific people, enough so that I could easily pick them out in a crowd. Kirby is awkward and earnest, with knobbly ears and a gaudy splash of freckles, and comes from a tiny, isolated, fading village. Alaya grew up as the disaffected scion of an ancient, powerful city-state, convinced her cousin is going to take the throne instead of her, and you can totally see why her last girlfriend broke up with her. (And yes, Idolfire is a sapphic romance, if a quiet and understated one.)
The plot, as the book's editor apparently said, is mostly camping, traveling rough across the continent. But I'm not the biggest fan of hiking wilderness survival based plots, and I found it engaging enough. It's not just walking--there's pirates, a mad boar, an ancient underwater tunnel, a child seer. Any number of cities and towns of varying characters. A brainwashed young soldier who keeps following them around, trying to get revenge. And not to spoil the ending, but it's a lovely, bittersweet touch.
Recommended particularly for classic fantasy fans, especially those who'd enjoy a subtle sapphic romance. Read this book if you liked Godkiller or Hall of Smoke by HM Long.
