R.A. Denny. Captives. (Mud, Rocks, and Trees, Book 3). 2017. See here to buy the book.
Captives is the third volume of R.A. Denny’s fantasy series,
“Mud, Rocks, and Trees.” Emperor Zoltov is the despotic ruler of
Tzoladia. There is a prophecy that three characters believe is relevant
to them: that they will meet each other in Tzoladia, each with a
significant seal, and this will precipitate a revolution against Zoltov.
Let’s catch up with our characters, without giving away too many spoilers!
Amanki: Amanki is now in Tzoladia. Although Amanki was raised in
humble circumstances, he is actually of royal lineage. He has one of
the seals. He meets with the Society of the World, a group of elders
who are worshipers of the controversial high god, Adon, the god of
people who are monotheistic. Some of the elders deliberate about
whether they are interpreting the prophecy correctly, and Amanki
struggles with his role and destiny.
Brina: At the beginning of this book, Brina and her young friend,
Oaken, are about to be sold as slaves. A familiar face, Metlan,
persuades his uncle, the high-ranking Tzoladian general Zaheil, to
purchase them.
Metlan: Metlan was in the preceding book. He is a Samalitan, or a
cat-rider, a warrior who rides a lion in service to Zoltov. In the
previous book, he was a captive of Brina’s group, and he had a wry,
flirtatious personality. He helps Brina for a while only to abandon
Brina and Oaken at the last minute in a fit of self-preservation. We
learn more about Metlan in this third volume, as Metlan is reunited with
Brina and Oaken. Metlan is the son (or so he believes) of King Maltan
of the Samalitans. His mother was Tzoladian, and she married Maltan in
order to cement an alliance between Tzoladians and the Samalitans.
Metlan lost his mother when he was very young, but he remembers the
stories that she told him. Metlan looks somewhat like Amanki, so there
is a question of whether he, too, is of Tzoladian royal lineage.
Tuka: In the preceding book, Tuka gets into a conflict with
Telepinus, a drug-dealer. People who are supposed to guard hibernating
women and children are instead cutting off the hibernating people’s
hands, as part of Telepinus’ drug trade. At the beginning of this book,
Tuka’s brother Moshoi is missing and presumed to be dead, and Tuka is
healing in a sacred pool after a conflict. He is conscripted into the
army of the Tzoladians, where he is given a mission to find a mole who
seeks to undermine Zoltov. Tuka must unite with Amanki and Brina.
This book was helpful in that it concisely summarized events of the
previous books, in places. It was also intriguing in that it got into
politics and geo-politics. In terms of politics, there is intrigue
against Zoltov, as Zoltov is seen to be unstable and tries to hold on to
his legitimacy with anything he can. Zoltov has a dream and decides to
invade Karso, a land that has the ousted Tzoladian ruling class that
lost in the power-struggle with Zoltov. It refuses to pay tribute to
Tzoladia, but some question whether war is necessary, as Tzoladia and
Karso have a good trading relationship. Another interesting aspect of
the book was its description of the characters’ mythological-religious
beliefs that influenced and undergirded the constitutions of their
societies and cultures.
I read a few pages each day but did not entirely know how the book
fit together until I looked over it again just now. That was when the
book came alive to me. There is not much, at least in this book, in
terms of action, but there are competing political and geo-political
interests, a sense of mystery, and characters who wrestle with their own
complex feelings.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. My review is honest!