The World Maker Parable

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: The World Maker Parable

Locked away for the good of Jermoon, the chaotic Vulture has been freed. Rhona has no choice but to lead her lover Djen to the Hang-Dead forest and put her to death for aiding the Vulture. But along the way she questions her decision, surely there must be another way? Similarly, Varesh has walked the same path as Rhona. Each carries the burden of guilt. Stories of the Vulture speak of the chaos wrought, but what is truth, and what is a lie?

The World Maker Parable is a complex story, wrought with raw emotion. Readers will follow multiple characters through stories of overwhelming guilt and their ambitions to make a better world. Each is so focused on their ideas, but ultimately the decisions they make plague them as they see the results of their actions. The writing style is crafted in such a way that it draws the reader into each story, even though the barest of details are given to the characters. And the internal battle of the mind is brought to life in startling clarity.

Luke Tarzian personified trauma, making it a shadow person to live within and at times stand by the characters. As they struggled to redefine their truths and bury the memories of wrongdoing, the shadow would pull memories forward. Characters were forced to relive their dark paths to confront the atrocities they committed. Telling the story in such a way allowed readers to journey through different times and view the making or at times unmaking, of the world.

This is one of those books that lay out the pieces of a puzzle, stringing the reader along until the very end to snap them all in place. While I do wish there had been a bit more build-up to allow the reader some hint of the truth, the sudden realization is satisfying and will urge readers to jump back into the story from the beginning. With new eyes, the story carries an entirely different feeling.

The World Maker Parable will immerse readers in a darkly creative and challenging world. I recommend this to readers who enjoy thought provoking dark fantasy books. I am intrigued to see where how future novels evolve this world.

I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team.

Take this with a grain of salt/sand/ashes/world making crystals (if you will)…as this story unfortunately did not connect for me. I found it to read as disjointed, often jumping between times while also switching characters in a way that did nothing but confuse me. The scenes are often very short, perhaps a couple hundred words each, and it felt like I couldn’t sink my teeth into anything. Like I was constantly trying to connect or understand but then it changed again. Even after finishing, I’m not quite sure what the plot is.

Perhaps just not my style, writing taste, or the wrong story for me, as I actually highlighted quite a bit that I thought was fantastic. Quotes and odds and ends that hit me as profound. As I received this to review, it wasn’t an actual kindle version, so I couldn’t upload them to goodreads sadly.

Personally a 3/5* for me. Just not to my taste.