Cry, Voidbringer

I enjoy a dose of Low Fantasy; a bit of grimdark and violence feels like a good counterpart to High Fantasy with its heroism and magic. A fantasy tale that is told from the muck and the trenches just feels more real, even if it is fantastic, a fantasy for our modern troubled world. But there is Low Fantasy and there is Low Fantasy. Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho is wonderful fantasy tale, but also a harrowing one. 

Godchildren are rare, only a few exist, and those that do often have powers that are not particularly impressive. Viridian’s powers have yet to manifest themselves, but this does not stop kingdoms fighting to control her. Her latest captors are the Faceless, who work for the Queen of Ashvi. Viridian will be trained for war by the fearsome Faceless called Hammer. Hammer has no place for sentiment in her life anymore, but there is something about Viridian that makes her hope again, but when Viridian’s powers emerge, these hopes may just be crushed. 

I am used to the grim setting and bleak outcomes of Low Fantasy, but Voidbringer must be one of the darkest yet. This is because one of the major themes of the book is hope. A hope to survive, the hope of escape, the hope of a better life. Ho deftly plays with the reader’s emotion using the hope of the characters. However, this is a book that keeps hitting the characters hard. 

Unlike some epic fantasy, Voidbringer focuses on a few characters; mostly Viridian, Hammer, and Naias, a close consul of the Queen. Through these limited viewpoints we witness the world building of a small kingdom on the brink of extinction. The new Queen promised to reign with compassion, but it soon becomes clear that she has more in common with her tyrannical father than her advisors would have wished. 

The main fantasy element of this book is the ‘Gods’ and the power that they bestow on random children. These powers differ depending on which God is involved and they are rare. Indeed, for a fantasy book there are few characters that can do fantastical things; a healer, a weather mage, and Viridian. This is a great way of focusing the attention and pressure of nation states on a few people. 

It is the relationship between Hammer and Viridian that is the heart of the story. The tortured child and the stoic warrior. There mutual friend is another Faceless, an enigmatic man who promises them a better a life. This hope brings the three characters together but also crushes them. The relationship blows up and takes the final act of the story into a more High Fantasy setting. 

The final major player is Naias, a far less sympathetic figure who is given a decent portion of the book to tell her story. She is a born survivor and will do what is needed to succeed, even if that means forming new allegiances. Despite being unlikable at times, her tale is an interesting one as it feels so different to see the viewpoint of a reluctant traitor. 

Names are a powerful tool in Voidbringer so Ho uses them in the book as a way of showing the evolution of the characters, and how they interact with one another. I must admit at times that I was a little confused by who was talking, especially by act 3. The first two parts of the story are contained, but the final part opens up to be far more epic and loses some of the personal feel. 

The characters within Voidbringer really get a hammering, and not just Hammer. This is a story that will not leave the reader happy at the end, but you will feel a sense of warmth within the pages as the characters get to know one another. This is a fantasy novel for a reader of the genre who likes strong character development and a story that will take you through the emotional wringer.