Publisher – Hodderscape

Published – Out Now

Price – £20 hardback £11.49 kindle ebook

Fleeing a troubled past, immigrant fortune teller Tao roams the dusty countryside with only her mule for company, telling small fortunes, for small prices. Big fortunes come with big consequences . . . which she knows from bitter experience.

It's a lonely life, until she encounters an ex-mercenary and a (semi) reformed thief, who recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they're joined by a baker with a kneadfor adventure, and - of course - a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as her friends break down her walls, the shadows of her past close in. Now, Tao must decide whether to risk everything to save the family she never thought she could have . . .

Trend versus sub-genre is something I tend to think of as marketing versus more the wider background of storytelling. There often feels a compulsion to label things as just the current in vogue term of the month. In the 2010s an awful lot of things got labelled Grimdark but where often neither that grim or dark but it helped raise profile than calling then just epic fantasy. Calling things cosy or dark for me isn’t that helpful a description as to whether I will read something. I can find ghost stories relaxing to curl up to after a hard day’s work or dark for me isn’t being in a university or school term (although non-magical ones have been a horror on more than one occasion). I think its sometimes helpful to take a step back and look at what the book is rather than how it makes you feel. I have on that basis thought Julie Leong’s The Teller of Small Fortunes was far more a fantasy novel in dialogue with episodic folk tales which meant  that I really got to enjoy and have a huge amount of fun with it!

In the kingdom of Eshtera that currently is trying not to get into war with the equally powerful Shinnara most people are trying to live normal lives. Travelling across villagers is a Shinn woman named Tao who with her travelling wagon offers her services as a Teller of Small Fortunes – she won’t try to tell you your life goals but perhaps a little news about a job, a relative or health you can work with. But Tao knows she should never stay too long or share too much about herself. However, a chance encounter with two mercenaries – the not quite a thief Silt and warrior and not quite a poet Mash means Tao accidentally offers mash hope he can find his long-lost daughter and the three start working together. A further meeting with Kina a baker of tasty but not exactly eye-catching goods means the quartet are now a unit exploring the land and getting into mischief. But all have their own challenges to face and in particular Tao’s own past is swiftly catching up with her.

We often think of fantasy as these big arc plots but another tradition is the idea of a core group of characters who regularly had tales about them. In the UK Robin Hood and King Arthur may have the big epics but you can find a whole host of tales giving knights and merry men stories of more everyday adventures. Leong mentions in her description of the thief Salt how he reminds her of the Monkey King in his rebellious and kind sides and again there is that tradition of someone lots of stories get created about. For me Teller of Small fortunes is a intricate set of tales based around a central quarter of characters I really got to enjoy meeting and also watching change with bar a few structural issues I really enjoyed savouring.

What Leong does really well is delicate character work. We have four unusual characters all not quite in the roles they say they are. Tao is as we find capable of a lot more magic around fortunes but refuses to even try using that kind of power. Silt loves to steal but we find has the kindness not usually associated with a villain while big burly mash is a warm hearted and kind family man…and tries to be a poet. The later introduced character of Kina is stuck she likes baking but she wants to be more than her uncle’s apprentice. We very quickly get to know them, like them and want them all to be happy. The dynamics between all four all alter as they learn to trust and share their lives with one another so what we have is an unusual found family of people not actively trying to have adventures but getting caught up in them.

We are used to the idea of major arcs, supervillains and epic battles that it is a reminder in this novel you can have adventures in a few chapters or even a few pages. There are beautiful scenes where the quartet must find legendary treasures and meet fantastical creatures, or running from or outwitting those very interested in Tao. However, I was also pleased to see slightly lower stakes but actually just as important personal challenges for characters be key parts of the story. Learning about how your friends are prejudiced against because of their skin colour, learning to politely tell someone you’re not interested in hem and their respecting of that boundary. We even have hijinks with a loveable cat named. Leong delivers these in a few pages but captures the emotional beats and the subtle character development well so by the end of the book everyone is in a different position to where we met the but the growth for me feels organic.

Where things get a bit stickier is the two core arc plots that feel a little getting in the way of one another. Silt and Mash are supposed to be looking for Mash’s daughter kidnapped by barbarians but while this gives all the characters a reason to join forces there is never any sense of urgency. All the other adventures get in the way, and no one seems to question that too much. A child in danger plot feels slightly against the tone of the book and perhaps a better choice of plot would have worked here. I much preferred the wider tale of Tao’s past and the growing issues between the two countries she is part of. That was a much stronger arc and the mixing of Tao’s backstory with the reason she is being sought really worked to cement the ending, but I’d had liked a few more scenes with her family as the resolution felt a little too quick in the final pay-off.

Despite that the novel’s focus on kindness, empathy and learning to understand your family and friends I thought worked well with the gentle mix of magic and adventure. It moves swiftly, never repeating itself and they’re four characters you start to pull for. There are nods to elements of folklore and yet feels very much its own creation and I found myself really delighting in the storytelling. Highly recommended for some light in dark times.