Review of The Warder by Susie Williamson Written by Dan Stubbings

Book Blurb

The King has been defeated and the spirit of the Mantra has been restored, Suni has been reunited with her father and all is – not quite right. 

Wanda and his cousin Luna are living in the valley beyond the mountains: Luna is possessed and dreams of dragons while Wanda, gifted with an affinity for animals, blamed by Luna’s mother Ntombi for her condition, struggles with the curse of Orag.

Meanwhile, in the town by the sea, Suni fears for Wanda, and watches over him using her gift for dreamwalking. Many, including Suni’s father, suffer from a strange affliction and the townspeople are blaming the Mantra.

Then the strangers arrive from the sea bringing hope for the town: but in this land of gifts and curses, nothing is as it seems.

Review

This book was worth the wait and more. The Warder is the sequel to one of my favourite books of 2018. Return of the Mantra when it fell through my letterbox I turn the first cover with a glee. I wasn’t sure Susie would be able to increase the enthusiasm I had for her characters, and her world. However she left me reeling after a couple of pages as I was drawn back into this African inspired fantasy.

The story takes place ten years after the events of Return of The Mantra. This decision totally through me as I wasn’t excepting it at all. The reason it worked so well is because Susie didn’t fall into the usual trap I have seen many times in previous fantasies with large time jumps, where you can virtually see no change to the world, or the characters after they have witnessed chaotic events. In The Warder Susie made sure to show political change, rising of different and difficult viewpoints, changes in nature and the wider communities. She also made sure that her main characters underwent life changing experiences. Some of these events included: Them been shunned by their people, to others finally understanding that not everyone can be changed. In the Warder as a reader you are given the building bricks to a wider world that will make you see worldbuilding and character development in a whole new light.

The way Susie was able to expand her world without slowing down the narrative was a masterclass in worldbuilding. I adored how she was able to add lore, and take you to places that would develop unexpected importance during her story. She was able to add this texture and immersion without the usual countless pages of mindless travelling, within a few paragraphs you had everything you needed to know without having to have endless pages of notes just to remember character names. This included adding to the magic system that answered a range of questions I had from the first book, as well as adding more background to new dangers, and why certain characters struggled with one another.

This was particularly done well when it came to my favourite character from book one Wanda. Wanda becomes one of the main points of view in The Warder. He has just turned eighteen, and is struggling with his gift that developed in book one. A gift that was nurtured through his adopted brother-sister relationship with Suni. In this book however his relationship with Suni has become fractured as he struggles to come to terms with his gift. Throughout the narrative Wanda was a vehicle used to show how someone who is different can be shunned by a community. This is displayed the most in the opening chapter when he is living in a cave high above the valley completely excluded by everyone around him. The only connection he feels is with his cousin Luna. However a darkness is growing inside both of them that could change their lives forever. Luna has begun to have nightmares about dragons which Wanda’s aunt Ntombi blames on his gift, and the darkness that surrounds him. As the story progresses we see the consequences this anger from his aunt has upon both Wanda and Luna, as they fight to keep an unseen, and unknown danger at bay. The way this relationship was developed throughout was heartwarming. You truly felt Wanda’s struggles as he tries to protect himself as well as begin to discover what is truly effecting Luna. The growth and love displayed within this relationship between the cousins as everybody around them wanted to push them apart is remarkable. It helped to soften the torture Susie puts you through with Wanda as he goes in search of love and acceptance.

Another viewpoint we get to experience is Luna as she wrestles with the nightmares, and her anxieties as a power she can’t escape begins to take hold of her young mind and body. This was done superbly. As a reader Susie’s puts you at the heart of this young girl’s fears as she is pushed aside by her community, and is described as an evil upon the land. The development of her powers during the narrative is handled with a sensitivity I haven’t read in fantasy before. You can’t help but love Luna.

The other main point of view is Suni. She went through a lot of tragedies in book one including the death of her mother, being rape violently in a brothel, and reconnecting with her damaged father. As well as developing one of the best adopted sister and brother relationship in fantasy with Wanda. In The Warder we witness the recovery of Suni from these hardships.

She has found love, reconnected with the old ways that her mother taught her, and is trying to repair her distant relationship with her father. Unfortunately the demise of the king has brought unseen consequences to her homeland. A plague has infected most of the men making the unable to find happiness. Her father is one of the effected making their complex relationship become more damaged as the story develops. Aswell even though the Mantra has helped nature return to the valley most of the inhabitants don’t regard it with the respect it deserves forcing Suni into difficult scenarios. To make matters worst she can feel her relationship with Wanda declining, and she knows he is withdrawing into a place she cannot go.

The development of Suni is bittersweet at times because you are pleased she has finally found her identity, but at the same time you feel her pain for the bonds she believes she is neglecting. At times I just wanted to give her a hug, and make everything well again. That’s what I adore about Suni as a character she takes you through every emotion and Susie’s truly did amp it up to eleven in some passages as both happy and sad tears rolled down my cheeks.

This book is a charming story of lost, love, and finding yourself in the most unexpected places. It is epic fantasy with a heart that will leave you scarred, but begging for more. Plus it has dragons and who doesn’t love dragons. I can’t wait to return to this world. A highly accomplished sequel. It receives five stars. Read it you won’t be disappointed.