[NOVEL] The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

Sybil Delling has spent nine years dreaming of having no dreams at all. Like the other foundling girls who traded a decade of service for a home in the great cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner. In her dreams she receives visions from six unearthly figures known as Omens. From them, she can predict terrible things before they occur, and lords and common folk alike travel across the kingdom of Traum's windswept moors to learn their futures by her dreams.

Just as she and her sister Diviners near the end of their service, a mysterious knight arrives at the cathedral. Rude, heretical, and devilishly handsome, the knight Rodrick has no respect for Sybil's visions. But when Sybil's fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to seek his help in finding them. For the world outside the cathedral's cloister is wrought with peril. Only the gods have the answers she is seeking, and as much as she'd rather avoid Rodrick's dark eyes and sharp tongue, only a heretic can defeat a god.

The Stonewater Kingdom. Book 1

I got distracted while reading this, a first sign that not everything was good. I also think it's quite telling that second time in a row my best liked character is a side character - gargoyle. I heard everyone loved him, I'm with you on that.

I also haven't read the synopsis before reading, so at least the first part where things were unraveling it was more or less like a surprise to me. But certain things stuck to me.

I feel like I'm going on a rambling rampage with this one, like a lost lamb trying to find its' path, path of semblance of logic.

When I first started it was promising. The mysterious spring of water smelling of rot and flowers. The shrouded abbess that leads everyone to listen to brainwashing rhethoric. Some Omens. Some Dreams and Diviners. And a new boy-king who gets all bad portents (in retrospective, it's kind of ironic). Also don't forget one slouching knight who is so hot and blashemous. And gargoyle, the talking gargoyle was the best.

Honestly speaking I wasn't mad at the idea, the problem started with details. And they're mostly connected to world-building, which had potential to be good, but overall leaves the impression of being unfinished, not well-thought. And too serving the purpose of the "twist".

My second problem would be with relationships (like friendship and love). let's start with this one, since it's faster to explain.

Relationships don't have a decent build-up for me to believe them. We only hear about many things, but we don't see them.

For example, Six or Sybill wants to know the truth where the girls disappeared, the other diviners and it is portrayed as if they had such sisterly love for each other, which I couldn't care less, because you don't see it being shown, only told.

her relationship with gargoyle is more profound, since it has history and they travel together and go through adventures, so here you can see truth in her anguish.

As for the relationship between Sybill and Rory (heard the Germans were laughing at names, since Traum means Dream in German and.. it's honestly like naming the Kingdom, Kingdom) I couldn't believe in them too. At first I thought - wow, they have different beliefs, they might clash. And they do, until you realize it's like a banter between kids who tug at each other because they can't express their insta-something. Maude even said she knew he was done for even back at the very beginning, meaning all that banter was just empty talk. And also a missed opportunity to me, since they stood on opposite sides at first.

As for the world-building, here I have more questions than ever.

So let's admit that the Abbess managed to convince people through several centuries this place existed that Omens are real and she is the most powerful, because we need allegory on religion right. Which led me to the first important question our protagonists didn't really ask or consider when they went on a quest of killing Omens (mind you, two were killed off sceen, which usually considered not good, but whatever) - what would be after the Omens are killed? You have a flock of believers who are now without a shepherd and what do you do with them?

If you let yourself play with this notion a bit you will realize that our protags are not really that smart, considering that Maude should be the oldest one by age is surprising. So if you put two and two together you won't really be surprised by the "big twist" at the end. I was waiting for it for a long time, since author dropped thick hints here and there. So couldn't be more obvious that boy-king is an ambitious prick.

Second important question - have you ever wondered what will happen if you give one person five magical items? No? Pity. Of course you would get a backstabber and a power-hungry person. But unfortunately our protagonists weren't thinking of that at all.

I honestly at first thought, would be interesting to see what would they do against mobs of people who were robbed of their faith. But no, I won't see it, since one logical thing that can be done is redirecting it towards something new, which many would think of, not our protagonists.

Now practical things.

Kingdom itself. If you look at the map, the Kingdom is more like a small island. I say this because it is mentioned that from one hamlet to the tor they traveled for one day only, so the place is not as vast. But it means they don't have too much space for sustaining itself or have a big population. Even if when we read about Seacht it feels like the city of knowledge and stone is pretty big. But at the same time not.

This info on size is important for the economy. Because when you reach the mountains of gold that are hidden within coffers of every Omen you want to ask - how is that possible? Not the existence of it, but the sheer amount and what is described, that abbess receives payment for divination, then part of it returns into her supporting foundling houses, some for nobles, other part is spread towards Omens, but such drainage of money kinda doesn't look good. Let's not absolutely lose the logic of things, shall we?

After visiting several hamlets you start to think that two and two don't add together. And you also start to think about one interesting thing - you haven't seen enough. I honestly thought - there's not enough info for me here. I understand we meet these places in passing, but it feels too vague and shallow. Do these people live their lives only doing one thing only? Like one place is for knowledge, admirable. Other place is full of fishing folk. Okay. Other only knows how to grow trees for its' wood. Fine. Another only knows how to weave. Sure. Who grows crops then?

Btw I haven't seen them eat even once! Or shower, another aspect worth mentioning. Boy king is mentioned drinking ale or wine, but you have to have crops for that and a vineyard.

I think about stuff like that when I read.

Although it sounds like I'm a hater here, but I'm not, I liked some places separately. Especially gargoyle which made the journey all worth while. There were some points that were good as revelations (not the big twisty, but most I liked when we find out that abbess does not only create the lie, even those dreams are fake too, which makes you spiral into another dimention of questions, but let's not go there).

Oh it's not that important but the physical side of things also made me question reality. Especially when Maude was described to have several broken bones but she walks around and even fights, which is really such a pile of bs.

The way they destroyed the cathedral too. Which led me to another question connected to lore of this spring. What was said about gargoyles and the truth about them in connection with Sybil. Since when you connect one and one you know what I'm talking about if you read it.

As a result I can't give this more than 3,5, especially in comparison to previous duology. At the end of this book I got distracted by a Korean novel and I read it with such enthusiasm, it had a complicated relationship, so it made me think it over if I truly prefer slowburns actually. Only then I returned and finally finished. Not a good sign for me if such things happen. And I don't have a burning passionate desire to find out what happens in the second book. What a bummer.

RATE: 3,5/5.