Is the story captivating?
The novel begins when the exhausted twelve-year-old Bertram Armin, banished from home by his father Frithus, is saved by Aine Wart, known as Wilga. They are both descendants of the Old Houses now exterminated and killed by the followers of the new Loriemisthus cult.
You might think this is a story for teenagers. However, the reader is quickly dismissed from the mistake and this is because of the extremely brutal descriptions of what a person can do to his neighbor.
Wolf seed and other creatures
The wolf theme runs through the entire book. Bertram comes from a lineage of so-called Killer Dogs, and Aine can still hear the (quite annoying, admittedly) voice of a huge shaggy animal she encountered in dramatic circumstances in the Lai Silnen forest. At the end of the story, another mysterious representative of the genre appears. One of the characters even claims that people are like dogs because they all have a bit of a coward. Hmm… interesting point.
Although the title of this volume is The Devil’s Laughter, it is unlikely to be heard in the pages of the novel of the prince of darkness with horns and a tail. On the other hand, the reader will meet a whole lot of other creatures, known from many cultural texts, such as vampires, ghosts, demons, werewolves, but also created by the author, such as sipras or merhaggames .
Can this debut positively surprise?
Agnieszka Miela is fluent in the language, the action is quite fast. The problem is that the story does not draw you from the first pages. Perhaps the descriptions are a bit too long. I started cheering for the main character only when they wanted to marry her at the age of fourteen.
In addition, the action “sits down” at certain moments, and its place is taken by less interesting considerations of the characters. Sometimes you don’t really know what they mean.
On the plus side, the author is inventive in inventing new characters that appear on the pages of this book. Importantly, however, the heroine with the most extensive biography is Aine. In turn, her stepbrother Bertram is a bit annoying. When he turns against Wilga, his motives are hard to understand.
The characters’ relationships are as complex as they are. Everyone is fighting for survival. Moreover, even an animal that eats children can be a friend of the heroine. Seriously! The book surprises in many places, tearing the reader away from loosely running his eyes over the letters. At times I stepped back to reread the sentences (in disbelief or admiration).
A dark and non-obvious world
Agnieszka Miela’s world, in which we are immersed, does not accept any otherness. And many heroes face their own natures that others would like to bend to what is generally accepted. It is a piece about the pursuit of goals, endless journey and revenge. The atmosphere in several places may be associated with The Witcher by some people , which does not mean that the author did not have fresh ideas.
