Summary
Read as an ARC with thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot for providing a review copy. The Coward, book one in The Quest For Heroes, is out June 8th 2021, from Angry Robot.
Ten years have passed since Kell Kressia sent out on a legendary quest with a band of grizzled fighters to slay the Ice Lich and was the only one to return alive. Now a new terror has arisen in the north, and for a second time, Kell is called upon to battle the forces of darkness. But Kell has a secret. He's not a hero - he was just lucky, and he has no intention of risking his life for anyone.
Review
Through deconstructing the classic fantasy adventure narrative through the lens of PTSD, The Coward examines the genre in an in-depth, emotional, and character-driven way. By forcing our hero Kell Kressia to confront and re-examine his trauma, not only does the story reveal the dissonance between the sagas and reality, but also shows how Kell's public image has been warped and weaponised beyond his control.
Kell is a character who does not want to be on the quest. He intends to turn tail and run at the first opportunity. Returning to a peaceful life, he has only recently obtained after his traumatic experience at the Ice-Lich Castle, even if that means having to leave the country to do so. Having lived through the quest once, out of luck and not skill, he feels no obligation to resolve this new problem. He is also still afraid and traumatised by his first adventure and believes that the first quest has already fulfilled his duty to the kingdom.
However, he is forced to continue the journey by Gerran. Who young and naive wants to be the hero Kell is portrayed as in the sagas. After being confronted by Kell about the foolishness of this desire, how fabricated the saga is compared to the reality Kell lived through, and Kell's intention to turn tail and run, Gerran stubbornly refuses to believe Kell seeing him only as a coward. Setting it up that Kell must continue the quest by sending word ahead of Kell's quest and arrival. Gerran makes it impossible for Kell to slip by and go and live the peaceful life he desires, forcing Kell to relive the quest and the trauma he has been avoiding for ten years.
Aryan creates this wonderful parallel between Gerran and Kell through this. Gerran representing Kell's young self, hot-headed, arrogant, and ill-prepared for the reality of the journey ahead. And Kell, who must now take on the position of the former heroes as leader and mentor — making them truly the heart of the story. Gerran slowly realises that though Kell intended to be a coward, he was never a liar about the realities he faced on the first quest.
However, because so much of the story is focused on the parallels between Kell and Gerran the other characters feel shallower in comparison. Malomir, Bronwyn, Vahli, and Willow don't get much character development till the second half of the story. And their motivations and character development fall within a small set of well-worn tropes — the himbo conflicted about his future; the character that hides all their feelings behind shows of strength; the mysterious bard; and the strange and mostly silent outsider. They have enough depth that you genuinely feel for them as the story begins to break our band of heroes one-by-one. But compared to Kell and Gerran, their character arcs feel shallower. While writing this review, I'd even forgotten about Willow, even though she plays a pivotal role in the climax, and had to add her back in as I proofread.
The two characters who I feel most cheated by them having shallower character development is Reverand Mother Britak and Princess Sigrid. Despite their small screen time, these two orchestrate all conflict outside the main Ice-Lich subplot. But, most of the action happens off-screen. When you finally finish the book, you realise that their POV's were only included to set up the next book. I love how this is executed, especially the last scene with Sigrid and her father's steward Lukas because all the pieces of their plot only come together in their final scenes. However, executing their stories in this manner also makes them feel underrepresented compared to our heroes despite their importance.
Reverend Mother Britak gets enough screen time that you grow to hate her and her vile, vicious, and hypocritical attitude. She and her push to hegemonise the world through the use of her faith deliver this poignant allegory between the real world corruption and abuse of the Christian Church and the fantasy world of The Coward and faith of The Sheppard. But, much of her action happens off-screen through mercenaries and agents of hers.
While she orchestrates a lot of the plot and the wider conflict outside the Ice-Lich's threat because we only hear updates on how her plans are going, it makes the reader feel removed from the conflict she is creating. There is a whole kidnapping a prince subplot that happens primarily off the screen. Because of how much of her plot happens off-screen, her effect as an antagonist is lessened by how Aryan utilises her as a setup for the sequel.
Sigrid too is used mainly as set up for the sequel. This feels incredibly frustrating as you come to realise that she is an essential character in the wider plot but gets very little screen time even compared to Britak her main antagonist. Sigrid, her father, King Bledsoe, and his steward Lukas are instrumental in the public perception of Kell Kressia and serve as the main oppositions to Britak's ambition.
King Bledsoe and Lukas are instrumental in creating the Medina Saga, shaping Kell's image as a hero. And Sigrid is instrumental in orchestrating Kell's involvement in the current quest as well as ensuring Britak's plans are interrupted and thwarted where she can. To them, it does not matter whether Kell succeeds or not because they have already planned for both outcomes. And how they will shape the optics around each result for the benefit of their kingdom. Therefore it's such a shame that Sigrid gets very little attention compared to Kell.
Despite having a sequel set up as part of its plot The Coward is still one complete story that can be read on its own because much of it focuses Kell Kressia's POV and his introspections of the trauma he has lived. And while Britak and Sigrid's feel incomplete without the sequel. Kell's story stands on its own and The Cowards examination of trauma through Kell's and his companion defiantly makes this story worth a read.
Conclusion
If you're looking for a character-driven deconstruction of the classic western fantasy narrative, I implore you to check out The Coward. With a strong parallel between Kell and Gerran to lead the story, a heartfelt look at the realities of the quest narrative, and an intriguing sequel set up, Stephen Aryan's The Coward is a must-read.