Wyrmeweald: Returners Wealth
by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
Micah is a poor farmhand born in a world where only wealth is respected. He’s in love with the flirtatious Seraphita, the daughter of a rich landowner, who has been leading him on for her own enjoyment for quite a while. When a rich and handsome husband is found for her however she quickly drops the young man and in a rage of bitterness and anger he leaves the plains where he grew up and heads for the fabled Wyrmeweald. For years men and women have journeyed to this harsh and distant land, populated by the dragonlike Wyrmes, in search of wealth and fortune. Only a few have ever returned.
There are two kinds of people in Wyrmeweald; the Kith who endure the dangerous terrain and weather in order to plunder the land for anything they can get and the Kin who have bonded with the great whitewyrmes and protect the creatures from the rapacious desires of mankind. It isn’t long before Micah finds himself having to chose between sides when he finds himself in the middle of a struggle for Wyrme eggs protected by the beautiful but deadly Thrace who once nearly killed him and a pack of greedy Kith. Any money you make in Wyrmeweald is blood money and that is a lesson Micah is about to learn.
This is the first book of a new trilogy by the creators of the popular Edge Chronicles and it’s likely to be popular among fans of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. The high levels of violence, quite often horrible and gory, means that this is aimed at older readers than the previous series of theirs as some of the imaginative side to the story is sacrificed in order to deal with more adult themes.
The interesting thing about Wyremeweald is the Good versus Evil aspect that runs throughout the book. What the reader begins to notice as the story progresses is that it is difficult to make out who is who as both sides are capable of incredible violence and sometimes even enjoy it. Life is cheap in this world and a high body count attests to that fact. Only Micah and his new-found friend, Eli seem to believe in peace and want to struggle for it, a fight they seem destined to lose.
The author seems to have taken inspiration from the colonial aspect of the Wild West as he portrays the looting and destruction of a way of life in the name of the "pioneering spirit”, making this book morally complex, posing many questions but few answers. There is no reason to concentrate on this alone however as Wyrmeweald is also an exciting, imaginative and absorbing book full of adventure and bloodthirsty characters. There are moments of joy and revulsion, anguish and despair before the end leaves you with the sense that this first book has only touched the surface of a sordid world with so much more to come.
On a personal level I am very much looking forward to book two of the series. Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart have always created fascinating and compelling stories but Wyrmeweald brings a little repulsion to the mix.
There are two kinds of people in Wyrmeweald; the Kith who endure the dangerous terrain and weather in order to plunder the land for anything they can get and the Kin who have bonded with the great whitewyrmes and protect the creatures from the rapacious desires of mankind. It isn’t long before Micah finds himself having to chose between sides when he finds himself in the middle of a struggle for Wyrme eggs protected by the beautiful but deadly Thrace who once nearly killed him and a pack of greedy Kith. Any money you make in Wyrmeweald is blood money and that is a lesson Micah is about to learn.
This is the first book of a new trilogy by the creators of the popular Edge Chronicles and it’s likely to be popular among fans of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. The high levels of violence, quite often horrible and gory, means that this is aimed at older readers than the previous series of theirs as some of the imaginative side to the story is sacrificed in order to deal with more adult themes.
The interesting thing about Wyremeweald is the Good versus Evil aspect that runs throughout the book. What the reader begins to notice as the story progresses is that it is difficult to make out who is who as both sides are capable of incredible violence and sometimes even enjoy it. Life is cheap in this world and a high body count attests to that fact. Only Micah and his new-found friend, Eli seem to believe in peace and want to struggle for it, a fight they seem destined to lose.
The author seems to have taken inspiration from the colonial aspect of the Wild West as he portrays the looting and destruction of a way of life in the name of the "pioneering spirit”, making this book morally complex, posing many questions but few answers. There is no reason to concentrate on this alone however as Wyrmeweald is also an exciting, imaginative and absorbing book full of adventure and bloodthirsty characters. There are moments of joy and revulsion, anguish and despair before the end leaves you with the sense that this first book has only touched the surface of a sordid world with so much more to come.
On a personal level I am very much looking forward to book two of the series. Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart have always created fascinating and compelling stories but Wyrmeweald brings a little repulsion to the mix.
