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The Waters of Lethe #1
The Nightward
Win a free print copy of this book!
7 days and 10:59:31
100 copies available
U.S. only
Nebula and MIFRE award-winning author R.S.A. Garcia’s scifantasy debut novel—the first in a duology—in which Caribbean mythology meets The Witcher, introduces a world where women warrior-magicians rule, and a child princess and her bodyguard must flee an attempted coup and evade the wave of darkness sent to kill her.
For 500 years Gaiea’s Hand has stood as a ward against the Dark. The Age of Chaos is a faded memory. The Goddess has left Gailand and given her Blessing to the Queens to rule in her stead.
Princess Viella of the court of Hamber is the Spirit of Gaiea, presumptive heir to the throne and budding wielder of magic. And yet she’s still a child—not yet ten years old—and a day spent evading her teachers and her dutiful bodyguard, Luka, is much more satisfying than learning about telepathy, illusions, and other spells, or obeying even her mother, the Queen.
There is time enough…until there isn’t.
For the night the Queen hosts the Ceremony to confirm Viella as the next Hand of Gaiea, everything changes for her—in the most horrific way the assassination of Viella’s mother.
Now Viella is Queen.
Luka, despite resenting his position as royal babysitter, does not hesitate. He rushes his charge from the Court and vows to keep her safe. Yet he is unsure how to help a burgeoning Hand of Gaiea, let alone contend with his place as a man in a matriarchal world and the secret that is burning inside him.
Together, they are on the run from darkness in a world where the lines between magic and technology are blurring and it’s up to a child and her protector to bring clarity and light back to the Queendom.
For 500 years Gaiea’s Hand has stood as a ward against the Dark. The Age of Chaos is a faded memory. The Goddess has left Gailand and given her Blessing to the Queens to rule in her stead.
Princess Viella of the court of Hamber is the Spirit of Gaiea, presumptive heir to the throne and budding wielder of magic. And yet she’s still a child—not yet ten years old—and a day spent evading her teachers and her dutiful bodyguard, Luka, is much more satisfying than learning about telepathy, illusions, and other spells, or obeying even her mother, the Queen.
There is time enough…until there isn’t.
For the night the Queen hosts the Ceremony to confirm Viella as the next Hand of Gaiea, everything changes for her—in the most horrific way the assassination of Viella’s mother.
Now Viella is Queen.
Luka, despite resenting his position as royal babysitter, does not hesitate. He rushes his charge from the Court and vows to keep her safe. Yet he is unsure how to help a burgeoning Hand of Gaiea, let alone contend with his place as a man in a matriarchal world and the secret that is burning inside him.
Together, they are on the run from darkness in a world where the lines between magic and technology are blurring and it’s up to a child and her protector to bring clarity and light back to the Queendom.
432 pages, Paperback
Expected publication October 15, 2024
About the author
R.S.A. Garcia
22 books71 followersR.S.A. is a Nebula Award winning writer of speculative fiction. She is also the winner of the Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics' 2023 Media Award, and a Sturgeon, Locus, Ignyte and Eugie Foster Award finalist.
Her Amazon Bestselling science fiction mystery, Lex Talionis, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and the Silver Medal for Best Scifi/Fantasy/Horror Ebook from the Independent Publishers Awards (2015).
She has published short fiction in venues such as Clarkesworld Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Escape Pod, Strange Horizons and Internazionale Magazine. Her stories have been long-listed for the British Science Fiction Awards, translated into several languages, and included in a number of anthologies, including the critically acclaimed The Best of World SF, The Best Science Fiction of the Year, The Apex Book of World SF and The Year's Best Fantasy. Her scifantasy duology, beginning with The Nightward, is forthcoming from Harper Voyager in October, 2024.
She lives in Trinidad and Tobago with an extended family and too many cats. Learn more at rsagarcia.com.
Her Amazon Bestselling science fiction mystery, Lex Talionis, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and the Silver Medal for Best Scifi/Fantasy/Horror Ebook from the Independent Publishers Awards (2015).
She has published short fiction in venues such as Clarkesworld Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Escape Pod, Strange Horizons and Internazionale Magazine. Her stories have been long-listed for the British Science Fiction Awards, translated into several languages, and included in a number of anthologies, including the critically acclaimed The Best of World SF, The Best Science Fiction of the Year, The Apex Book of World SF and The Year's Best Fantasy. Her scifantasy duology, beginning with The Nightward, is forthcoming from Harper Voyager in October, 2024.
She lives in Trinidad and Tobago with an extended family and too many cats. Learn more at rsagarcia.com.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 10, 2024
If you've read Garcia's short fiction, then you know you're in for a richly imagined world and lots of chewy problems for the characters. People are going to be begging for her next book.
July 3, 2024
My official blurb:
No one builds worlds like R.S.A. Garcia—intricate, beautiful, and dangerous. A science fantasy epic with a rich foundation of Caribbean folklore, The Nightward expertly blends both genre and culture. Balancing grief and loss with her signature humor and heart, Garcia continues to prove that she is a master at her craft.
No one builds worlds like R.S.A. Garcia—intricate, beautiful, and dangerous. A science fantasy epic with a rich foundation of Caribbean folklore, The Nightward expertly blends both genre and culture. Balancing grief and loss with her signature humor and heart, Garcia continues to prove that she is a master at her craft.
July 22, 2024
"'How he loves you, and yet hurts you, all the same? That's what people can do, if you give them your trust. This lesson I teach you freely. Never give people your trust. They will only betray you.'"
The Nightward is the first book in a new sci-fi/fantasy series that follows the story of a princess and her bodyguard. I've seen some reviews calling this novel "too ambitious" and confusing, and while the worldbuilding and characters take a few chapters to get used to, I didn't think the scope was too large. In fact, I'm excited to see where the next book goes in terms of worldbuilding.
The story begins with the assassination of a queen. Princess Viella is escorted to safety by her bodyguard, Luka, sparking a game of cat-and-mouse with the mysterious dark magic plaguing the land. There are multiple POVs, which I found unexpected but welcome, as it allowed me to better understand what was going on in the court Viella left behind. The pacing was relatively fast, although I do think it slowed down at the end (when I was desperately seeking answers about a specific character's chance of surviving). That being said, there was enough action to keep me occupied throughout, and there were a few plot twists that I sort of predicted but still found amusing.
I actually found myself liking the majority of the characters. Mordach reminded me of the evil sorcerer from Elena of Avalor, and I will not elaborate. I also thought Sophia was incredibly cool, and I'm excited to see what she'll do in book 2. I really hope Valan and Enoch are okay and that they'll get their happy endings. Eleanor grew on me eventually, although I'm not sure how I felt about her relationship with Luka (because I pictured her as way older than him). Viella and Luka's dynamic gave me so much happiness with their unconditional trust, and I am extremely excited to see what happens to them in book 2.
The Nightward is the beginning of a new sci-fi/fantasy series that deals with trust, duty, and the consequences of oppression.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5
The Nightward is the first book in a new sci-fi/fantasy series that follows the story of a princess and her bodyguard. I've seen some reviews calling this novel "too ambitious" and confusing, and while the worldbuilding and characters take a few chapters to get used to, I didn't think the scope was too large. In fact, I'm excited to see where the next book goes in terms of worldbuilding.
The story begins with the assassination of a queen. Princess Viella is escorted to safety by her bodyguard, Luka, sparking a game of cat-and-mouse with the mysterious dark magic plaguing the land. There are multiple POVs, which I found unexpected but welcome, as it allowed me to better understand what was going on in the court Viella left behind. The pacing was relatively fast, although I do think it slowed down at the end (when I was desperately seeking answers about a specific character's chance of surviving). That being said, there was enough action to keep me occupied throughout, and there were a few plot twists that I sort of predicted but still found amusing.
I actually found myself liking the majority of the characters. Mordach reminded me of the evil sorcerer from Elena of Avalor, and I will not elaborate. I also thought Sophia was incredibly cool, and I'm excited to see what she'll do in book 2. I really hope Valan and Enoch are okay and that they'll get their happy endings. Eleanor grew on me eventually, although I'm not sure how I felt about her relationship with Luka (because I pictured her as way older than him). Viella and Luka's dynamic gave me so much happiness with their unconditional trust, and I am extremely excited to see what happens to them in book 2.
The Nightward is the beginning of a new sci-fi/fantasy series that deals with trust, duty, and the consequences of oppression.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5
July 11, 2024
Good world-building can breath life into a story, great world-building puts the readers into the story and The Nightward creates its world in technicolor. I was interested by this story's description of a Queendom because I like the idea of turning away from the convention of kingdoms to a matriarchal rule. And, the conflict of a coup in this magical queendom that leaves the scion and her guard on the run sounded like a juicy plot. The threads of mythology woven into the tale could make it even more enticing or just gild the lily. The execution of this description was a well thought out story with an interesting group of characters inhabiting a world where magic canvases a world and casts it in hues of myth and fantasy. The story moves at a fair pace and introduces a number of characters with different motivations but absorption of that didn't take too long for me and until then, the "Dramatis Personae" page was handy. The story hooked me and the ending pulled me in and now I can only await the continuation of this tale in the sequel. Readers who like a mix of folklore, old gods, and magic should consider this first book of The Waters of Lethe duology. (3.5/5)
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
July 15, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc! Ho boy, if I could sum up this book in one sentence, it would be the following: This is too much and yet not enough. Big ideas, huge ambition, but it does not stick the landing. I’m going to break this down into pros and cons since I’m not feeling eloquent rn
Pros:
-the author has potential
-intriguing world building at the beginning
-intriguing concepts
-war cats and big, bad dragons
-this book does not hold your hand
-definitely unpredictable!!!
Cons:
-this book got lost in the sauce of its ambition and concepts; it was very unwieldy and messy
-the scale of this book was too big for the author’s current talents
-so many things weren’t well explained or weren’t explained at all. This made for a confusing reading experience (I’m saying this as a seasoned epic fantasy reader)
-author should of focused more on certain pieces of lore as opposed to the book’s scale
-characters were unmemorable, and I felt disconnected to them all
-I felt zero emotion save frustration and annoyance
-some plot points made me roll my eyes excessively
-repetitive plot in general
So yeah, this was definitely a lot!!!! Unfortunately, I’m going to have to pass on the sequel. Anyways, -2.75 war cats
Pros:
-the author has potential
-intriguing world building at the beginning
-intriguing concepts
-war cats and big, bad dragons
-this book does not hold your hand
-definitely unpredictable!!!
Cons:
-this book got lost in the sauce of its ambition and concepts; it was very unwieldy and messy
-the scale of this book was too big for the author’s current talents
-so many things weren’t well explained or weren’t explained at all. This made for a confusing reading experience (I’m saying this as a seasoned epic fantasy reader)
-author should of focused more on certain pieces of lore as opposed to the book’s scale
-characters were unmemorable, and I felt disconnected to them all
-I felt zero emotion save frustration and annoyance
-some plot points made me roll my eyes excessively
-repetitive plot in general
So yeah, this was definitely a lot!!!! Unfortunately, I’m going to have to pass on the sequel. Anyways, -2.75 war cats
July 24, 2024
Review: This novel is a two-sided coin. Great movement vs. poorly built characters. Fantastic world building vs. wokey trash opinions. Believable magic vs. high technology. Independent and fierce characterization vs. YA blushing and crushing.
Where does this dichotomy leave the reader? Well this reader had fun up until the pronoun bullshjt was inserted with no cogent alignment to the story line. Good thing it was minor in approach and lasted but a few pages. Fug, when does the shjt end?
I am torn between loving the grande questing nature of the story line and not giving a fuk what happens to the characters. That is one of the toughest things to create in any great novel...loving the characters so much that you are constantly rooting for them. Characters that were born with silver spoons in their mouths lessens the ability for readers to form attachments. I will carry on with this series but the character development needs to see improvement.
Rating: 3.2/5
Where does this dichotomy leave the reader? Well this reader had fun up until the pronoun bullshjt was inserted with no cogent alignment to the story line. Good thing it was minor in approach and lasted but a few pages. Fug, when does the shjt end?
I am torn between loving the grande questing nature of the story line and not giving a fuk what happens to the characters. That is one of the toughest things to create in any great novel...loving the characters so much that you are constantly rooting for them. Characters that were born with silver spoons in their mouths lessens the ability for readers to form attachments. I will carry on with this series but the character development needs to see improvement.
Rating: 3.2/5
July 24, 2024
Yeah, The Nightward really does deserve all the awards it has been receiving. If anything I expect it to win even more in the future because I simply couldn’t find anything that didn’t fascinate me. R.S.A. Garcia’s world-building was the highlight for me. It was so unique, intricate, and imaginative that I was simply absorbed into the colorful world she had created. Quite honestly, I am simply obsessed with the mastery of craft behind Garcia’s writing. The world was so vast, its politics so fascinating, and its characters so complex, and yet Garcia was painting on her canvas with such ease that elevated my admiration of her work. I am very much looking forward to R.S.A. Garcia’s future novels but I was delighted to find out that I can read her short stories to bridge the gap.
July 20, 2024
Great adventure! I loved the fact that the author's Trinidadian background factored into this story, and gave the world-building a flavor not found in other fantasy titles.
The story itself feels like a blend of other YA fantasy titles, like Six of Crows and others of that ilk.
The writing is solid, and the character building proved to be a strong point of the novel. The magical system was creative, and I loved the matrilineal aspect of the queendom, which lends another dimension to the story I appreciated.
The story itself feels like a blend of other YA fantasy titles, like Six of Crows and others of that ilk.
The writing is solid, and the character building proved to be a strong point of the novel. The magical system was creative, and I loved the matrilineal aspect of the queendom, which lends another dimension to the story I appreciated.
July 23, 2024
I feel like the balance was off on the high fantasy vs. the background SFF, but I'm excited about the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews