A story broken into three
At the very beginning of the novel, we get to know the three main characters. We will be led through history by: the old herbalist – Eustachy, the lame captain of the local garrison – Nightingale, and the impetuous son of the tribe chief – Ravi. Each of them is completely different, they come from different worlds, but their fates are inextricably intertwined. The story begins when Eustace arrives at a small fort managed by the Nightingale. The town is bordered by a huge forest, dominated by wild tribes. Suddenly, brutal murders begin in the area, and a beautiful dancer begins to sharpen her teeth on the young captain. However, will anyone believe that she is in fact a witch? Magic, wickedness, great mystery and tribal battles – in More Than Evil we find it all in abundance.
Demanding debut
It is worth mentioning right away that this book is the author’s debut. Some shortcomings can be forgiven for this. The plot of More Than Evil is so chaotic that in places we can really get headaches. Already the three main characters introduce many threads, which then further complicate. The whole story is incredibly confusing. The author wants to add depth to each of her characters, create their story. The efforts are as good as possible, but the problem is that it causes an incredible mess from the very first pages. You have to really flex your mind not to get lost in who is who. At the end of the novel, the whole thing clears up a bit, but the several hundred previous pages in many places are just wondering what it is all about.
Ravi, what’s the matter with you?
Heroes can also be a bit annoying. Of course, it may make them appear more human. The author has created a whole range of characters who are undeniably real, people of flesh and blood. The reader, however, wants to even shout at Ravi, who once again succumbs to his impetuous nature, which again destroys his plans and everyone around him. Or at Eustachy, who, despite his old age and years of experience, allows a witch to approach him like a fledgling youth. These types of scenes show the weaknesses of the characters, but at the same time irritate the reader, especially if they are repeated too often.
There is a lot of potential here
Overall, the book makes a pretty good impression, but to maintain it, you have to tire a lot. It is difficult to swallow a novel in one approach, because the constant changes of plots and a timeline that is difficult to define effectively inhibit us. The world created by the author has a really great potential. It may become a well-known universe in the Polish fandom, but it requires significant corrections from the plot side. The idea of combining a well-developed civilization with the use of magic and then pitting it against the wild tribes living in the forests is fresh and very interesting. Likewise, the realities governing the state presented in the novel turn out to be extremely intriguing. The author showed us only a little bit of the world of Kronik Trawand I look forward to the upcoming volumes. All it takes is a little more flair and this series has a chance to become a real hit on the Polish publishing market.
We are waiting for more
All in all, it is a beautifully published, but unfortunately fairly average, novel. Despite the enormous potential of the world depicted, it is harmed by an extremely intricate plot in which the reader simply gets lost. However, this was only the first volume of the series, and I look forward to more.
