“And his name Gera … huh, Medvid” – review of the book “Yellow Eyes”

Best time for Slavic fantasy? The times of the first Piasts!

 Yellow Eyesis a book that reproduces the patterns of fantasy set in historical times. Like Cherezińska or Dębski, Mortka decided to set the plot of his novel in times that for us are closer to legends than to real events. The lack of written sources from that period was conducive to the creative process, and the novel discussed in this way was set in the era of the first Piasts, in the years preceding the Gniezno Congress, during the reign of Bolesław the Brave. This procedure was really successful for this book. Well, we have a beginning state ruled by a young prince and plagued by many problems, such as violent neighbors or rebelling magnates. Only Prince Bolek’s iron hand keeps this plaything in relative order. Due to a twist of fate, the prince and the entire court suddenly disappear. His emergency advisor, Medvid, sets out to help the ruler. He knows the beasts, lions and demons that inhabit the vast forests of the land of the Polans, a remnant of an ancient faith that is still strong, after all, only thirty years have passed since baptism. Unfortunately, even he cannot do anything about such an unexpected event and does not know what could have happened to the ruler and his court. So he joins forces with the witch Gosława, the German knight Osmund and the screaming house elf. Each of them has their own motivations and their own reasons for action. Together they set off on a journey through the most extraordinary lands of the former Slavic region to find Bolek and his people. In the background, mighty forces clash, and the Old Gods raise their heads once more. the lame and demons inhabiting the deep forests of the land of Polans, and the remains of the old faith, which is still strong, after all, only thirty years have passed since baptism. Unfortunately, even he cannot do anything about such an unexpected event and does not know what could have happened to the ruler and his court. So he joins forces with the witch Gosława, the German knight Osmund and the screaming house elf. Each of them has their own motivations and their own reasons for action. Together they set off on a journey through the most extraordinary lands of the former Slavic region to find Bolek and his people. In the background, mighty forces clash, and the Old Gods raise their heads once more. the lame and demons inhabiting the deep forests of the land of Polans, and the remains of the old faith, which is still strong, after all, only thirty years have passed since baptism. Unfortunately, even he cannot do anything about such an unexpected event and does not know what could have happened to the ruler and his court. So he joins forces with the witch Gosława, the German knight Osmund and the screaming house elf. Each of them has their own motivations and their own reasons for action. Together they set off on a journey through the most extraordinary lands of the former Slavic region to find Bolek and his people. In the background, mighty forces clash, and the Old Gods raise their heads once more. even he cannot do anything about such an unexpected event and does not know what could have happened to the ruler and his court. So he joins forces with the witch Gosława, the German knight Osmund and the screaming house elf. Each of them has their own motivations and their own reasons for action. Together they set off on a journey through the most extraordinary lands of the former Slavic region to find Bolek and his people. Mighty forces clash in the background as the Old Gods raise their heads once more. even he cannot do anything about such an unexpected event and does not know what could have happened to the ruler and his court. So he joins forces with the witch Gosława, the German knight Osmund and the screaming house elf. Each of them has their own motivations and their own reasons for action. Together they set off on a journey through the most extraordinary lands of the former Slavic region to find Bolek and his people. In the background, mighty forces clash, and the Old Gods raise their heads once more. to find Bolek and his people. Mighty forces clash in the background as the Old Gods raise their heads once more. to find Bolek and his people. In the background, mighty forces clash, and the Old Gods raise their heads once more.

A pen that is light and pleasant? Yes, but it was not without glitches

 Mortka in a daring way conveyed the character of the former Slavic region. Reaching out to folk tales, legends and fragments of mythology, he created a rich and cavernous world, where it is easy to find a leszek, werewolf or meridian. However, this world is not bright and cheerful, it has dark places and dangerous backwoods. Some of them come from the mythology of the Slavs, but some … are unfortunately the fault of the author, who sometimes simply lacked a concept. One of such examples is the inability to hide the main character’s identity until the very end. During the course of the novel, we have many moments where the author got off his feet and gave us a broader picture of the protagonist himself, instead of surprising everyone at the end. Such plays spoiled me effectively waiting for the final, which unfortunately does not knock me down either. Despite the intrigue on a large scale, its solution is not a bomb but a little pop. The events ending the volume are simply shallow and predictable in the world. The bad guys die, the good guys survive, and the protagonist changes his view of reality. Classic. Despite these shortcomings, ubiquitous unpleasantness and predictability, readingYellow Blinds was a very satisfying experience, because what, what, but the author can create characters and describe fighting scenes. He needs to be honored for that, even if there were unnecessary or strangely written passages along the way. This approach allows you to effectively win over the readers.

All in all, Yellow Eyes is a nice, light book for an afternoon that isn’t too slow. It is not as good as Cherezińska’s Piast series, but certainly better than Dębski’s trilogy, in which the author’s form was constantly deteriorating. So is it worth buying? Yes, because it may turn out to be a fairly good start to the entire series. If so, I will definitely read the next volumes.