Nobody's Son

Nobody’s Son

Written by Sean Stewart

4/5 stars

Reviewer:  Will N.

Here is a story that begins where most fantasy stories end.  Shielder’s Mark has done the impossible, and lifted the curse of the Ghostwood.  He has survived the perils of the Red Keep, and emerged a legendary hero.  But as I said, this is only the beginning.  Instead of a comfortable fade into happily ever after, Nobody’s Son continues following our hero, where we see things after his quest are not everything he had hoped they would be.  He is ridiculed at court, his magic sword is claimed by the ancestor of the blade’s previous owner, and through ignorance of court politics he finds himself making powerful enemies with every step.

This book contains ghosts, magic blades, at least one witch, a handful of scheming nobles, and some inadvertent time travel, but at heart, Nobody’s Son is about coming to terms with yourself, and your past.  It explores the relationship between fathers and their sons, how it is essential, and how it can go astray.  There is a somewhat melancholic undertone present throughout the story, asking “Why am I unhappy?  Have I ever been happy?  Is it even a possibility?”  The hero is challenged, and perhaps the reader as well, to find equilibrium with the past, with death, and with growing up.  It is well worth a read.