Seeker by Samuel Griffin
I would like to thank Panthe Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Panthe Press
Published – Out Now
Price – £15.85 hardback £2.99 kindle ebook
Today I am equipped with the knowledge that my future was to be far greater, more exciting, and more disturbing than anything so simple as my young imagination could then conjure. Indeed, looking back, my forecast was positively quaint. I ask myself a question often, and it is this: if I had understood all that was to befall me, would I have run, that day, or exulted? I find I do not know.'
Ancient leviathans have stirred from their long slumber. Their scent song marks where they might be found, but only to those with the means to somewhat hear it: Sentinel Archivists.
Shay Bluefaltlow finds herself training to become such a specialist when she is bought into indentured servitude. Her new home, the city of Fivedock, is strange and bewildering, as are her new companions: a belligerent surgeon, a remarkable little boy, and a formidable Sentinel Archivist tasked with teaching Shay the terrifying ways of the trade.
Her unanticipated position requires forbidden knowledge, a terrible bargain and the strongest constitution. Shay is certain she is unequal to the prodigious task, but desperate to impress her superiors.
When war subsumes the Concord, the office of the Sentinel Archivist is dismantled by a terrible betrayal. And Shay has secrets of her own...
There are many ways to tell a story. Present tense, third person, second and first person all are choices. The interesting question is why is this the right mechanism for that particular story? In Samuel Griffin’s regency style fantasy Seeker the start to anew series we have a character telling us their life story but ultimately I felt here the choices of storytelling perhaps did more harm than good.
The orphan Shay Bluefaitlow is plucked from obscurity to be taken to stay with a mysterious Doctor and his young ward. Just when she tris to escape and find her own life she finds she has been chosen to work for the mysterious Sentinel Archivists who work for the admiralty and noble houses on missions of state in relation to the mysterious and powerful Sentinels. Shay has to study the Sentinels but also learns elements of spycraft and even fighting. Change is coming to the world and ambitious nobles want power for themselves and Shay finds herself in the middle of the conflict.
I’m a bit torn on Seeker perhaps I think its biggest feature has also perhaps been its biggest issue for me in enjoying this book. Griffin has chosen a regency style memoir approach almost as if Shay is relating her earlier career (sometimes very much taking us in the moment rather than purely looking back). As such every page uses very stylised genteel language. The word crafting is very skilled – it captures the tone of an older novel but here Griffin is inserting a secondary fantasy world and fitting for a Regency stye tale we have regency balls, carriages, clandestine meetings and later on move to sea and air. That’s not easy to do and you can see this was worked on a lot.
But the problem I had with the book was I found myself very much feeling while lots of things happen it all feels both disconnected and shallow. I never found that I got to know Shay, she is someone who is more a person things happen to and that she then does something. Very early on she tries for freedom and is told no she cannot – that ends the matter once and for all. The dissonance between young and naïve Shay and a very erudite and skilled narrator isn’t for me being explained very well. Shay feels the same in either period and I can’t feel much of an arc in her character despite the adventure she goes on. The pace of the story is very leisurely perhaps fitting a Regency tale but its lacking real flow and most of the real set pieces are in the second half. By which time I must admit I didn’t really feel invested.
When I think of these kinds of period novels there are usually two key things to make the story work even when a hero or heroine is a little too generic. There should be a rich cast of characters, with unique backstories and a really big feel of the world they inhabit be it city or village. Here Seeker for me felt very disappointing none of the main characters really jump out even though Griffin has a diverse cast, and the world feels more set piece focused than actually created a place that we feel we can live and breathe. The focus on getting the language and tone of a period novel I feel has got in the way of making a story work for a 21st century audience. I wonder if fans of more period pieces may find more into this but for me Seeker is not really standing out in a crowded field of similar stories. Seasoned fantasy fans will find many plot points rather predictable.
Ultimately this was a disappointing read. It has a unique hook but the impact of those choices I think has weakened the rest of the story and while I think Griffin shows promise as a writer this feels a little undercooked and means that it is not a book I can recommend.
