The Forgetting Moon: Volume 1 (Five Warrior Angels)

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Meanwhile, a young common boy named Nail, doomed to be seen as an outsider by those he lives among, resides in an isolated little fishing village in Gul Kana, raised by a dour and mysterious mentor, performing menial work, but dreaming of a bigger and better life, one of adventure and glory. Nail has no idea just how adventurous, or how dangerous, his life is about to become. All I am saying is our armor is naught but rusty relics dug out of that old keep. We can’t stand against Sør Sevier with but forty of us village conscripts and a few codgy sailors and farmers with rakes. Jubal Bruk. I know he’s the baron of our lands, the owner of the grayken-hunting ship upon which I work, but sometimes I think the man’s brain has been addled.” I see Ava still sets her charms about you,” Stefan said, pulling Nail’s drawing across the table. “Calls you m’dear whenever you’re in the Grayken Spear.” Gault is one of Aeros’ personal bodyguard, a member of the celebrated Knights Archaic, one of Sør Sevier’s most seasoned and deadliest fighters, and a world and war-weary man deemed imminently dutiful to his prince, and the holy war which has brought blood, steel, and fire to the Five Isles. But Gault tires of all the bloodshed and barbarism, and his devotion to Aeros begins to crumble, and a man as important as Gault could help sway the tide of battle against Aeros.

The world-building is excellent, a helpful map at the start helps you understand where the action is taking place, and while there are dwarves and elves (valle) and orcs (orghuls), there are other interesting creatures as well, from crazy battle horses to mer-folk, and dragons. Perhaps.Soon the small company of trainees broke through a stand of evergreens and Gallows Haven was a sprinkling of lights before them. To the right of their path, on a low, sloping hill overlooking Gallows Bay, was the empty husk of Gallows Keep. It had not seen use in centuries. Now its leaning crenellated battlements rose over the village, nothing more than the ancient, broken-down remnants of a castle that was once whole. Dokie is burnt, but not bad.” The baron motioned for Stefan and Nail to sit. “Bishop Tolbret watches over him. With the blessings of the priesthood, Dokie’ll recover.” In “The Forgetting Moon”, the world of the Five Isles erupts into a conflict for the ages: a holy war. The numerous contradictory prophecies surrounding the faiths that centre their worship on the mythical Christ-like figure of deceased Raijael, seem poised to either come to fruition or be exposed as fraud. The ominous, brutal, powerful warlord Aeros Raijael, dubbed the “Angel Prince”, Prince of Sør Sevier, descended of Raijael, believes his bloodline, and prophecy, makes him the heir to Raiijel’s legacy, and bound to rule the world.

When a young boy, Nail, is orphaned and taken in by a gruff and mostly silent warrior named Shawcroft, you might have an idea that Brian Lee Durfee’s The Forgetting Moon is going to tread into the waters of Epic Fantasy. You’d be mostly correct, but the routes he takes are down some of the more shadowy, grim, and darkest roads traveled in this popular sub-genre of Fantasy. To say that The Forgetting Moon leans on the shady grimdark side of fantasy would be an understatement, but nothing else about Durfee’s epic novel (and saga) is understated. Cover Art by Richard Anderson One feature that I really enjoyed were the epigraphs that started each chapter, providing samples of the religious teachings from the texts upon which the faiths are based, and from whence the prophecies sprung. Don’t anger her so.” Zane watched his sister waddle off. “I swear she’ll take it out on me later. As Laijon is my witness, she thinks she’s the most important person in the whole Five Isles. You’re so damned dour tonight, Stefan. Dokie’ll be fine.” The reprehensible practice of using particular prophecies as the focal point of one’s religion and justification for bigotry and hatred against other versions of those prophecies and the religions that spring from those other prophecies, engendering persecution, slaughter, torture, subjugation, genocide, plays huge here. There are going to be some players you’re going to love to hate, who you’ll laugh at or squirm at their gaffes, mourn over their misfortune that is not of their own making. Sometimes the characters will outright befuddle you with their actions, and keep you guessing as to which side they are truly on.The conflicted, Gault was my favourite POV, and I am fascinated to see what turn his character arc will take in this series. The crowd parted. Jenko waited in the middle of the circle, cinching his armor. His sword, already wrapped in strips of cloth, was near his shield at his feet. He donned his helm, snatched up his shield and sword, and stepped forward. Nail looked toward the Grayken Spear. Several of the tavern girls were on the porch among the onlookers—Tylda Egbert, Polly Mott, Gisela Barnwell, Liz Hen Neville, even Ava Shay. I’ll have that beer if you’re goin’ to do naught but stare at it.” Zane plunked himself down on the seat beside Stefan, a heaping plate of food in hand. He snatched Stefan’s beer as promised, and in two gulps, it was gone. Zane’s shepherd dog, Beer Mug, sat next to him, long snout resting on the table. Zane slid a piece of smoked salmon the dog’s way. Beer Mug gulped it down, tail thumping the floor. Zane’s large dog reminded Nail of the stealthy silver-wolves that roamed the mountains near the gold mines above town. But unlike those wild wolves, Beer Mug was a good-natured fellow.

Tolbret’s priesthood robes are woven of silk, not iron, and certainly not magic. Tales of their holy properties are only fables meant to impress the children.” If we flee to Bainbridge, Baron Bruk will hunt us down,” Zane said. “Bishop Tolbret would see to it. Your uncle would be hard-pressed not to turn us in himself. Why must you always see things so contrary to The Way and Truth of Laijon?” Zane snatched Nail’s beer away this time and stole a long drink. “Stefan the Skeptic, I name you. Always thinking too much. To question the laws of Laijon is to show a weak mind.” In this embattled world, man held faith in invisible forces and hostile spirits, oftimes doing the bidding of the wraiths that fed in his soul. To appease the winged demons who ruled with fiery death, man erected altars of sacrifice. It was a time of selective loyalties, a time of great betrayal. A time of celestial divinations that one holy and pure and strong of mind would be born by the sea, blessed with the Mark of the Cross.”—The Moon Scrolls of Mia.’”The YA angle - I don't think I read YA literature in the last 20 years and honestly I wouldn't know how to label one as such as most can't even agree on its definition. But there were a few themes in this book that were very present and quite new to me as a reader. The first was the sheer amount of love triangles, I literally stopped counting after six of those. Secondly, it's the aforementioned fixation on young adults as characters. It seems that 50% of the book's characters are either 17 or 28. Literally. These two issues lead to many plot threads being driven by immature romantic advances that feel very cringy most of the time (there's literally a 'kissing quest' at some point in the book). There's literally zero couples I'm rooting for other than Liz Hen and Dokie, which is the only romance in the book depicted realistically. Another interesting bit is the fact that while the book is extremely gory (and I don't say it lightly), its handling of sex and mainly sexual assault is very PG-13 and off screen. I wouldn't have an issue with it whatsoever, and actually these bits are the more subtle ones in the book and so make me appreciate Durfee's choice here. But combining this with the choice to fully visualize battle and torture scenes in the most horrific ways is definitely an interesting choice. In general, there are quite a few scenes where the 'rule of cool' seem to have won over a more realistic story-telling. At the same time, there seem to be a lot of common tropes in there. The Bastard who doesn't know his true heritage who is destined for greatness, chosen by a secret society. The Princess conspiring with the same secret society against her brother, the King. The King, who is possibly mentally deranged, and torments his younger sister, just because he can. The Assassin, who instead of killing his target, falls in love with her. The younger Princess, running amok through secret passages in the castle that seemingly lead everywhere, who gets forced by an enemy Assassin to complete tasks that will bring down the Kingdom. The gruff old man, who is looking after the Bastard and turns out to be an excellent fighter, but dies before he tells the Bastard the truth of his heritage. The villain, who wants it all for himself, surrounded by unique and interesting warriors, who is creepy, and knows more than he tells. The mysterious "elven/not elven" manipulators behind the throne. The Church, manipulators behind the throne. I could go on for days.. The war that reigns on the five islands is a war of faith, but also a war for power, revenge and fanaticism. Finally, in a fantasy book, which I find exceedingly appropriate in a medieval setting, I get different religions. Thereby the question of faith, which is like a kind of prophecy, is the main theme. Because just like in our world, there are different religions that all say the same thing, but are not entirely the same or interpreted differently. Thus intrigues arise against the other faiths to fulfill the prophecy. The characters rely so much on their faith that they can be influenced by it and partly do not make independent considerations, because the prophecy has predicted it so. In addition, that makes this prophecy more than exciting, because there are so many moments when you no longer know whether the prophecy will come true or not.