Reviewed for the Alliterates: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood.

tw: religious human sacrifice, suicidal thoughts, blood, death, neglectful parental guardian.

The three of them sat and watched, astronomers waiting for the falling stars that would waste the world.


We're introduced to a world where a civilization of snake people and their god is something of the past, where gods slumber and ask brides to sacrifice themselves, worlds die in ice and ash, enemies vie for knowledge, gay prideful wizards hire henchmen to acquire knowledge, STEM girls are powerful wizards used as weapons, and ships travel through portals to other worlds.

The Unspoken Name follows a cast of characters. Larkwood uses third person omniscient to tell the story of the characters and the world in which they live. The world is diverse and not based on the racism of our own. There are people with brown skin, like Sethennai, Tal and Shuthmili. The time frame of the novel spans about 7 years, with a time jump of 5 years. The story is in told in four parts. It starts with Csorwe, at 14 years old she is an orc priestess and bride to the Unspoken god of the Oshaar. Csorwe's a fucking orc so she’s got grey skin and tusks. An asshole wizard convinces her to be his henchman, assassinating and collecting an important object and whatnot.

Csorwe is insecure from her service in the Oshaar church. She attains and learns she's got this thing called a personality, separate from her past. Hired by Sethennai, Csorwe collects what he wants; whatever shit he's into. The author does not do assassins as you may expect. Her assassin is more of what I would call subtle than explicit. Csorwe, the assassin, is more tactful and plotting, sneaking into people’s private circles, hopefully unrecognized. Don’t expect the traditional swords and daggers type of assassin because you won’t get it. She’s more of a dry humor gay girl who finds talking an annoying thing people do and focuses on plotting for Sethennai and obsessing over swords.

Sethennai takes on another henchman, Talasseres (Tal) Charossa. At their meeting, he’s an adult. His relationship with Sethennai is different than Csorswe's. Where her relationship is toxic daddy/daughter dynamic, his relationship is gay dude has a crush on older fancy gentle-wizard.

Tal is like her asshole brother/co-worker. Just a really fucked up dynamic all around.

“Oh, sure, I should’ve remembered you’re a fucking joke,” said Csorwe. “You’re a joke,” said Tal, for form’s sake.



They literally act like brother and sister. Reminds me of my own relationship to my brother, but with less anger and no murderous shenanigans.

Tal is one of the most interesting characters in the book. If you’re going to read this book for anyone, it should be him. If you like complex and unlikeable but fascinating characters he’s it.

Tal’s favourite thing to do was pick a noisy, pointless fight at the worst possible moment.


Tal is a loveable asshole, sprinkled with more asshole than loveable. He’s prideful, arrogant, thinks up a good one liner beforehand, and always expects to win the game. He’s got a corny sense of humor, deliberately written to sound like he tries way too hard to be funny. All of that has to do with his intense insecurities and fear of failure.

“Thank fuck,” said Tal. “Count yourself lucky you didn’t have to sit through any more of her. The way she stares. And Sethennai’s spent the whole time buttering her up. Oh, tell me about your vineyards, tell me about your summerhouse. Makes me sick.”


Sethennai is asshole daddy to Csorwe. Like most toxic daddies, they're cold and ask the world of their children. Larkwood doesn’t shy away from the fact that Sethennai is not a good dude. Just a giant arrogant dick wizard.

He never lost his temper, which made it so easy to believe that he was being reasonable and you were a petulant child.


He’s not some lovable but misunderstood daddy. He’s complex in the way you would find an asshole side character interesting: dynamic, strange, enthralling, and raw. The author's talent is in her characterization and dialogue. That's what makes this book good.

Mages, or wizards, are tied to the gods and therefore to religion. Power is through the living gods who use people's bodies as vessels. Magic is different and based on the god and knowledge. The author uses a naturalistic and realistic approach to how magic works:

“Do you have any idea how much study, how much negotiation, how much prayer and sacrifice . . . I have dominion over the hungering dead, over the whole kingdom of death. I am an extremely accomplished necromancer. I cannot make you invisible.”


Everything about magic is sacrifice. Nothing is given without a price.

On a mission, Tal and Csorwe travel to a world called Qarsazh. Csorwe first meets Shuthmili, a powerful wizard and adept in service to her people’s religion. The author suggests there's a difference between Sethennai’s magic and Shuthmili’s magic.

Tal was used to Tlaanthothei magic. Sethennai’s magic. Clean, economical, controlled. Whatever they had seen last night, it had been none of those things.


Authorities of the church and their teachings ask young girls to sacrifice themselves for their god. The price of power is girls sacrificing their lives, personality, for their god. The author fuses ancient aesthetics with the modern to show us the way modern day people and their religions are not so different. Violence, brutality, the every day run of the mill mayhem of the world is not just in the past but in the present. Are we not just as violent as those in the past?
The church teaches these girls to be silent to authority. Are modern day girls silenced more or less in our own world? Does the fact that we have all this technology mean we’re more advanced or does it mean we have more power to silence people? Csorwe and complex female characters are all fighting on behalf or against these large authoritative systems of power.

She thought of the girls who had come here before her, and brought with them the offering of blood for the Unspoken One. If they were so chosen, so perfectly selected for this honour, perhaps they had known the same uncertainty, here in the silence of the halls under the hill.


Is this possibly referencing the way girls often experience sexual violence in religious spaces in our own world? I also suspect the author is saying something about f/f relationships and the history of churches suppressing gay relationships within nun convents. By the way, historians know nuns would write love letters to other nuns. Given Christian history's suppression and influence of gay people's relationships as sinful, I wonder if the author is doing something with how Csorwe is seen to be a corruption to Shuthmili.

There are a few things I’m concerned about. It mostly sums up to the Qarsazhi, the culture Shuthmili is from. Described as having brown skin tones, they seem representative of a South Asian culture or possibly an African culture, particularly a Muslim dominant culture. Their names, even Qarsazh, sounds like a language similar to that of Arabic. Csorwe says she’s only known the Qarsazh to be described as a place of cruelty and corruption. There’s also a line about Qarsazhi castrating people for religious reasons. Then there’s this line:

“Kidnap yourself a whole harem of Qarsazhi babes.”


I like what Larkwood says about religion but she wrote a representation of a marginalized culture and turned them into a stereotype, where that culture is painted more negatively than with a balance of positives and negatives. There are also some characters thinking about death and whether life is even worth it. Suicidal people should be careful reading this. I'm unsure if it's represented well. I am not myself suicidal so I cannot speak for those people.

Lastly, the pacing in this novel is very slow. There are many boring parts that could have used a lot more work. I found myself putting the book down many times because there are parts that are honestly boring and dull.

If you like incredibly raw characters, a diverse cast of characters, likeable and unlikeable, dick wizards and loveable gays, this is full of all that. Criticisms need to be acknowledged about this book. I wish it had been better but it's still an interesting read.

Thank you to Tor for an advanced reader's copy in exhange for an honest review. All quotes were checked against a published copy.

I want to thank NetGalley & Tor Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I feel really surprised that this is a debut book and I feel very happy to have read it before its release date. This is a very ambitious but very well executed fantasy that I think takes the genre to a new place and gives it a lot of originality, especially due to its subtle mix with sci-fi. That’s why I highly recommend it if you’re like me, a fan of fantasy, and feel that you have already read everything because this surely will give you a new perspective and you’ll feel you’re reading something completely different and new.


The Unspoken Name is the first book of what will be a series called The Serpent Gates, and it’s about Csorwe, a girl who has been raised to be offered as a sacrifice to a god. But near his death day, a powerful mage offers her the possibility of a new destiny to become the wizard’s loyal sword and help him recover his place in power. But Csorwe will soon learn – gods remember, and if you live long enough, all debts come due.

I think that one of the strongest and most remarkable aspects of the book is the way in which it contains SO many magical and whimsical aspects in such a harmonious way. There are many sources of information, you’ll meet many magical beings, gods and many strange things during the book, which will surely catch you. On the other hand, I think it’s a book that although fascinating in content, can be a slow-paced read, I think this is due to the way in which the book is built, with quite long chapters and a rare transition between a chapter and another, also the beginning was something difficult to follow. Even so, this shouldn’t be a major impediment to enjoying the story itself.

The characters are quite solid, but I think they still need some work in their development. I enjoyed very much the way in which the author has decided to execute their search for desires because it has always been very clear from the moment one and it’s not necessary this being explained to us countless times, but that you simply know about her goals in a very organic way and I loved that. Surely you’ll understand more about this once you read it, but I want to say that everything flows very well in accordance with the plot and the author hasn’t taken much time with each character. Personally, I enjoyed it, even if I think that a little more work on each character (especially in some of their personalities) would have liked me more, it’s super personal, thought.

And although the characters individually are fine, the relationships between them were the most interesting to follow especially Csorwe and Shuthmili & Csorwe and Tal, I don’t want to deepen much about each relationship because I think the fun is to discover it and see the growth, both are super different but both have enchanted me in their entirety, they give me all the feelings and made me suffer at the same time. The romance is very well created and managed so that it’s a natural complement and not something invasive that takes the whole plot, you know? I loved the sapphic relationship and how it’s managed, I think it felt so right and adorable, I just wanted to mention it. In summary, I think the relationships between the characters and the romance between them was a strong point, I enjoyed every dynamic

The world-building is very complex and well thought out, and although I can see its originality, it can also be somewhat complicated to understand, so I’ll not try or begin to explain it myself here lol. It’s very good that’s for sure and you can see all the work that’s put into this aspect, I enjoyed it and I’m excited to explore this aspect a little more so that I can get acquainted in the following books.

This is a book that I think also stands out a lot for the author’s writing style because it’s really very unique and it shows that it has something special that probably feels very original for you as it felt for me. I admire very much the way in which the author has managed to handle the transitions of the action scenes to the dialogue scenes or the magic scenes to the gore scenes, you know?. It’s a book with a LOT of content, as I mentioned before, and although everything is very original and incredible to read, you have to keep in mind that it can be sensitive content since it has violence, animal & human sacrifices, drug use, self-mutilation, and a lot of blood for everywhere. So be cautious if you decide to read it.

To summarize, I think that to be a debut book… is incredible, it has a very unique writing style as well as a very original plot and construction of the world. I still wish to have a little more character development as individuals in the next books, but the relationships from romantic to friends and enemies, are very well thought out and executed, as well as the diversity of them. The paced can be a problem as well as the transitions from one chapter to another, but I strongly emphasize the handling of the sci-fi elements in a fantasy plot and the action scenes with very good ones. I highly recommend this book if you want to read something different, diverse and entertaining. Plus: the ending is super solid and leaves you very satisfied, so don’t be afraid to go for it!

The Unspoken Name is the first book in a debut series by A.K. Larkwood. Released 11th Feb 2020 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 464 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Occasionally (but distressingly rarely) a new (to me) author comes along in one of my favorite genres and really blows me away. This is one such happy occasion. This combines epic fantasy, incredibly detailed world building that feels real down to details of social convention and interaction, elements of the best SF, a female protagonist who isn't supergirl and too utterly perfect, overarching themes of honor, building a life which defies external expectations, and does so without feeling like a mash of a million unrelated threads trying to be everything to everyone. I also appreciate that this book didn't devolve into a romance, that Csorwe (the young female orc protagonist) was more realistically rendered (apart from being a badass assassin) than a lot of super-protagonists. Early on in the book, she's being taught languages by a succession of tutors and really does grumble like a kid being forced to do unwanted homework.

The plot is wonderfully rich and detailed, the narrative arc is beautifully engineered and for a book of nearly 500 pages, it moves along at a good clip. I never felt that the story dragged or lost my interest. In fact, I stayed up way too late on a couple occasions reading and almost missed my bus stop on my morning commute because I was so absorbed in the story.

I heartily recommend this author and this debut unreservedly. Five stars.

Arc received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

This book took everything I loved about fantasy novels and then added twists and turns that elevated the story to new heights. Csorwe was a heroine that I came to love as well as two other characters, Tal and Shuthmili. One thing I really came to enjoy was the romance between Shuthmili and Csorwe. It was a slow build up that felt natural. Especially, when we saw Shuthmili through Csorwe's eyes. Most the other narrators were rather dismissive of Shuthmili's appearance while Csorwe saw Shuthmili in a whole other light.

While I loved the world and the characters there were a few spots here and there that left me disappointed. The main one being that for such a long book there were so many things cut out of the story. I wanted to see more of Csorwe growing up with mercenaries instead of just hearing about it after the fact. Csorwe and Tal had this wonderful relationship full of childish one up man ship that I wanted to see more of. We go from them being complete enemies to being frenemies and I wanted to see that journey. Tal himself was a narrator I wanted to hear more from because his voice was downright hilarious while also being quite heartbreaking.

Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of this book and can't wait to see more of Csorwe's story in the next book.

Firstly, thank you Tor, for the e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood is an action-packed, high fantasy, coming-of-age story (orcs, necromancers, mages, giant snakes, and countless fantasy races!). Csorwe lives in the House of Silence as the Unspoken One’s chosen bride. On her 14th birthday she is to walk into the shrine, never to be seen again. But a mage, on a quest for a lost relic, persuades her to turn away from her god and join him. She leaves the shrine, alive, by his side and sets out on adventure. With training and endless tutors, she becomes his sword hand and together they will reclaim his seat of power. Of course, it doesn’t end there, and Csorwe’s story of adventure continues. At its core, The Unspoken Name is a book about choices and their importance.

You really get three stories for the price of one with The Unspoken Name. Other authors may have drawn out each of Csorwe’s main adventures into its own book, but A. K. Larkwood utilizes every single one of those 464 pages to the max. A lot happens, enough that I questioned how so much happened, but it never felt like too much and it never felt rushed. Her prose is (forgive the genre-related pun) fantastic, and it really drew me into the story. The writing is descriptive and clever. The small pieces of comedy, amid what is often chaos and destruction, were a relief and were really well done.

I really loved that we followed the story of a young female orc. I think it was a refreshing change. Typically, these coming-of-age stories, especially those sold as fantasy, follow men – rogues, mages, swordsmen, but almost always mostly human. It was fun to follow a different type of character through a familiar genre.

Csorwe’s character development is realistic, as are her relationships with the main cast of the book. And I would be remiss not to include the gradual relationship progression between Csorwe and Shuthmili. It was sweet to watch their relationship progress, and to see how these two young women changed for it, developed around it. Like most of what I read, Csorwe’s sexuality wasn’t at the forefront of the book, it was just a part of her character. Because of this, the relationship between the two women isn’t necessarily at the forefront of the story, but it becomes a driving motivation and the story would have been entirely different, with different emotional stakes, without it.

From one SFF lover to another, you should read The Unspoken One. It is a wonderfully well written story, and if you are disappointed you can come fight me about it online (but I’m almost sure that you won’t).

Firstly, I want to thank Tor Books for sending me a finished copy of The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood. I am forever grateful for the opportunities that you give to me.

The Unspoken Name was one of my most anticipated reads of this year so you can imagine my excitement going into this. The synopsis intrigued me so much and the cover is just absolutely beautiful. I had really high hopes for this one .. which I think might have been my problem. This is one of those books that I didn’t love but I definitely didn’t hate. It was okay. Maybe I put too much hope into this one considering it appears to be the first in a series?

The concept of The Unspoken Name I find was very unique. The adult fantasy market is very difficult nowadays with so many new authors and new releases frequently cropping up. A lot of them are almost always the same or very similar and this is something that gets a bit tedious after a while. The Unspoken Name is something that I don’t think you will see in its full form in another book, yes I think little snippets will be similar but on the whole I feel that this is a unique concept that worked very well. The world-building definitely helps the reader become hooked and in a world where anything seems to be able to happen you never know what you are going to encounter next. This concept is something that I really enjoyed about this book.

I think where it fell a bit short for me was the characterisation, I feel that the emotional attachment I like to get with characters just didn’t happen in this book. By no means am I saying that the characters are rubbish, I didn’t dislike them in that way I just did not feel like I was connected to any of them in a way that I really cared what was going to happen to them. This meant that I felt attached from the story and many plot twist, action scene didn’t really have too much of an effect on me. I also feel like whilst it is nice to see an LGBT representation in adult fantasy, this was very underrepresented. It was touched upon a few times but could have easily been missed. I almost felt like it was there for the sake of diversity. I would have loved to have seen this drawn upon a little bit more.

The Unspoken Name was a good book. I enjoyed my time reading it and it is a book that I would recommend. I will be picking up the sequel as I am intrigued to see where A.K. Larkwood goes with it.

3.5/4 stars.

Dark, mysterious and action packed.

If I had anything negative to say about this story, it's that you don't really get a feel for the characters. I didn't end up feeling anything for them, and there are some moments where the reader really should be feeling something for the character, however emotion wasn't conveyed well through the writing. The beginning held so much promise, but it sort of petered out as the story went on, and I really didn't get to latch on to any one character and really root for them.

I did really enjoy the concept of the story, and how in depth the different cultures and belief in their respective deities was. I appreciated that there was such a variety of races and how the worlds were connected.I also enjoyed that there was a LGBTQ aspect to the story as well.

I am torn about how to feel about this book. The plot was intriguing, the world building extensive, and how magic was woven into different religions and gods was fascinating. But there were some things that just didn't click with me.

The world and magic system are so extensive that it almost seemed overwhelming at times. It made the book feel longer than it was because there was so much going on all of the time. I also found I had a hard time caring about the characters. This did not help with the vastness of the world and the variety of characters we meet.

The world was a fascinating one though. The mix of technology and magic made it feel like an urban, high fantasy. I have not read any other books that attempt to blend the two genres and I thought it worked quite well for the story.
Overall I would recommend to anyone who likes high fantasy and lots of world building.

4 of 5 Stars

An Orc maiden, the gods and magic!

Firstly let me say what a fascinating cover! It quite drew me in to this story with Orcs, magicians, portals and strange lands. And let's not forget those gods who always have other plans! A new fantasy saga. What more could I want?
Csorwe is our Orc maiden who knows her future. She is to be the Sacrifice to the Unspoken God. (Ok folks! I had a lot of trouble speaking Csorwe's name. The first part 'Cs', pronounced like the 'ks' in books had me stumped. I never did get the hang of it!)
That aside, when Csorwe choose the path to Life presented to her by the mage Belthandros Sethennai, her world opens up in unexpected ways. I was struck by Sethennai's comment to Csorwe as they left the Unspoken One's Shrine. "The secret of greatness is to know when you should risk the wrath of god.”
It seems this is a path that Sethennai has oft contemplated. Mind you I wouldn't trust Sethennai but then Csorwe has little choice.
Csorwe will train to be Sethennai's sword arm, his right hand Orc person. She has his back. I must admit that Csorwe's unquestioning gratefulness to Sethennai palls a tad. But then what else does she know given her upbringing, her path as the Chosen Bride sacrifice, in the House of Silence priory? She always followed the proscribed path--until now!
Sethennai is determined to return to the city of Tlaanthothe and the powers of his patron, to defeat his enemy Olthaaros. To assist him he seeks a lost reliquary. One with drawback so we are told, “The Reliquary of Pentravesse is said to mark its passage through the world, in the sense that a scythe marks its passage through the grass.” A most uncomforting description!
The beginning chapters had Csorwe finding her feet, as was I, a follower of her journey. I found I wasn't as engaged as I'd hoped. I'd wander off to do something else, like eat whilst muttering 'that name'! It wasn't until later in the book that I found the more compelling elements developing. That's when I became fully engaged. Oh, and I'm still having problems with pronouncing Csorwe's name! It's just not happening!

A Macmillan-Tor/Forge ARC via NetGalley

The Unspoken Name is an outstanding debut fantasy novel with strong world-building, well-developed characters, and a sweet, slow-burn romance. If you're looking for something fresh in fantasy, be sure to check out The Unspoken Name today!

This book was a great, gripping read and I devoured it despite not usually reading much fantasy. The character felt fresh, the worlds interesting, the romance was a sweet, slow burn. I would have loved a map or some sort of idea of how the worlds fit together (and how they could travel between places so quickly).

The pronounciation guide at the beginning nearly put me off, but I'm so glad I read on.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an ARC copy.

The best fantasy book I have read in a long time. I was immediately sucked into the complex world and always left guessing what would happen next.

Larkwood somehow mixed fantasy and sci-fi with just enough humor and romance to make one incredible story. This book felt way longer that it is really is and I mean that in a good way, I cannot wait to see what the characters get into next in the book!

The Unspoken Name is the first novel in a new epic fantasy series by A.K. Larkwood. It’s also a novel that I’ve been hearing nonstop chatter about – all gushing reviews and commentary. So naturally, I knew that this was going to be a piece worth checking out.

Csorwe has lived her entire life knowing when and where she would die. She grew up knowing that she was the Chosen Bride of the Unspoken One. And that meant that on the day of her fourteenth birthday, she would become a sacrifice to him.

Her birthday came, but the sacrifice did not. For one wonderful wizard walked into her life and offered her a choice. It was the first real choice ever offered to her, and it changed her life forever. Literally.

“The Chosen Bride of the Unspoken One was set apart by protocol, but also by pragmatism. There was no point cultivating the friendship of a Chosen Bride.”

Oh my goodness. I officially understand why everyone was gushing so much about The Unspoken Name. This novel has a lot to offer, not least of which being how unique and thrilling it is! This is a novel unlike any other fantasy series out there, at least not that I’ve seen.

The Serpent’s Gates is the name of the series, and I can already tell that this is going to be an epic fantasy series worth keeping an eye on. If The Unspoken Name is anything to go by (which it is), Larkwood is going to have many more surprises up her sleeves.

The entire premise of this novel is choice. Csorwe had that taken away from her as a child. Only to be handed it back by the hands of a stranger. From that moment onward, her tale was a series of choices. She chose to be free. She chose to follow the wizard who saved her life. She chose to fight.

There’s a powerful message to be found there. And it’s not the only message Larkwood wove into her tale. I think that is why this is such a powerful tale, and why it is speaking to so many readers. This novel (and series) cover a lot of intensely human elements.

The worldbuilding showcased in this novel is extremely impressive. I know that this is A.K. Larkwood’s debut novel – but seriously, keep an eye on her. Her worlds are outstanding, so lush and full of detail. There’s plenty of religions, politics, alliances, lore, and plotting to be found in her works.

Another noteworthy part of this book? It really reads as more of two books blended together. The first half of the book are the scenes I’ve described above; the life Csorwe lived when she intended to be a sacrifice, and then her choice to flee with the wizard and everything that entailed. The second half of the novel jumps forward five years after Csorwe has trained and learned confidence in herself. She is still very much keep on making her own choices, and that leads her to the fray – and to choose her own destiny in regards to love as well.

I’m honestly blown away from The Unspoken One and am already finding myself anxiously looking forward to the sequel in this series because it’s clearly going to be a good one. At least I know I’m waiting in good company.

This book was provided free for an honest review by Netgalley

2.5/5
The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood started out incredibly strong. With named chapters, a pronunciation guide and a real old fantasy feel, I was sure I would enjoy this death cult princess turned assassin and mage's assistant. Compared rightfully to Tombs of Atuan I adored the beginning and was sure I would give it five stars, especially when the main character herself is an Orc (I would be an Orc if we ever meet in a fantastical setting, just so we're clear).

While we start strong, the story began to fall apart at about the 20% mark. I found myself bored by the plot and not caring about even Csorwe, our lovely Orcish heroine. I was having difficulty following the story for a few reasons. I felt as though the writing was nothing remarkable. While not bad at any points I didn't feel myself attached or willing to go on just for the writing, as I am with some books. There are a few characters that become important later on that I felt I wasn't able to connect to due in part to the distance the writing pulls you from the characters. I'm someone who at least wants to understand character motivations and thinking characters are good people aren't requirements for me. However, I was unable to even understand some characters because I felt so far removed from them as people. I think removed writing works in some stories, and is in some ways in some of my favorite books; it didn't work for me here. Additionally, the language did pull me out at times for how modern it felt, but I'm not counting this against the book as we don't know a true time and I can be much too picky in that regard.

In general I will say this book suffered from being just boring. I hyped myself up- a lot- especially after the first few chapters. I ultimately feel let down.

I would overall recommend this book to fans of general, sword and sorcery fantasy with a bit of a DnD feel.

The description drew me in immediately - fantasy based around the life of an Orc? Mysterious mage? Girl with swords? I'm in. While various descriptions have called Csorwe and her people orc's I appreciate that Larkwood doesn't use the term. Yes, they have various physical similarities to what many people think of as orc's but giving them their own name allows Larkwood to create their world more fully, and Larkwood does just that wonderfully. The world (or worlds) are intriguing, and while we do not know exactly how this multi-world system works, we don't have to. We know, as our protagonists do, how to traverse those worlds, the different threats faced in each one, the various mysteries waiting to be uncovered on another.

A fast-paced adventure that kept me rooting for Csorwe even as I questioned some of her loyalties and choices. There are elements that seem a little flat, or plot points that move too fast to truly feel the characters grew into those choices or romances, but these can be forgiven because the writing and plotting still kept me needing to know what happened next and why. I very much look forward to the next installment in this series.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan, and Tor/Forge for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced eGalley of this book.

What a wonderful surprise of a novel - and a debut one, at that. The story was complex, filled to the brim with action, and very satisfying. From the first page, I knew this was going to be something special. I thought the plot was incredibly unique. I was instantly invested in Csorwe and her journey, and it was a pure delight to watch her learn and grow over the years. Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that I massively enjoyed the arcs of many of the multi-faceted and well-rounded characters. They changed and grew in response to their life experiences, and their motivations were complex. A.K. Larkwood never seemed to take the easy way when it came to her character development. However, I was not as taken with the romance aspect, although it did pick up the plot during the second half of the book. I may be the type of reader that doesn’t appreciate romance in fantasy novels – which I know may be silly and is definitely a subjective opinion. I did like the slow burn and I can appreciate how this romance reflected the independence and self-realization of Csorwe, but I almost wanted to see who she would be without the romantic plotline.

I was at initially put off by what I perceived as a lack of description; for example, I wanted every aspect of the Echo Maze outlined for me – how it looked, how it worked, etc. I even wanted Csorwe’s physical appearance to be thoroughly described beyond what was given. This is likely due to my recent experience with description-heavy high fantasy novels. It’s easy to build a world in my mind when all the pieces are painstakingly laid out for me. However, I quickly realized how my own imagination and creativity filled in the holes I thought I needed filled for me. It gave me the freedom to realize the story in a natural and personalized way. That being said, I do still prefer being shown rather than being told. I feel I would’ve felt more connected to the world and the characters if I had been given more. I did appreciate the frequent use of analogy, which helped strengthen my understanding of this fantasy world by using imagery I could instantly recognize. Truly, it was a fun read and I look forward eagerly to the next installment.

The Unspoken Name was a fascinating premise with some great characters, but despite a plethora of glowing reviews from the rest of the world, the plot just didn’t come through for me.

The premise is a young girl, chosen to be ritual sacrifice, given a chance at the last minute to escape death and become something far greater. A life spent helping, and learning from, a great and powerful wizard. (No. Not the wizard of Oz.) Under his training, she’ll become a warrior, spy, and assassin, though the degree she does any of those things is up for debate.

I was in love with this premise. It showed so much process, but I found it to be full of half-truths. And very quickly, the book becomes about something else completely. But more on that later.

The characters were fantastic. I enjoyed them all. Deep, developed, and all with their own lives and backstories. These weren’t just people waiting in the wings until the novel needed them. However, after getting to know them, they started to do things that completely went against their nature, at least as far as I understood it. Gave me the impression that many of their decisions were based purely on plot development, which made everything feel just a little cardboard.

I usually enjoy when a book can surprise me. This book did that a lot, but not in a good way. Most of twists and turns didn't make sense to me, which as I said above, the characters had something to do with. But also, you're told this book is one thing, and it ends up being another all-together.

With the amount of love this book is getting, I feel like I've missed something. I would suggest you take my review as a grain of salt (or less) and try it out yourself.

First, thank you so much NetGalley, Tor/Forge and Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

The Unspoken Name was a wonderful and unique debut! A good epic fantasy is hard to come by but this novel is giving my some serious Sanderson vibe and I LOVED that. It didn't take long for me to get hooked into this story and I felt as if it never slowed down. There are several fantasy novels that get so sucked into world building and small details, so it was refreshing to have a novel that was a little more on the fast paced side.

The characters within this book are where I get really attached. Each person felt like they had their own distinct voice and I was quickly swept away with all the character relationships. I became emotionally invested in these relationships and felt what these characters were feeling. It was also refreshing to see some representation for the LGBT+ community. We need MORE representation in all books but especially epic fantasy/sci-fi novels.

Speaking of Fantasy and Sci-Fi, this book gave us a unique blend of both which was so fun to experience. That aspect was unlike anything that I have read before and I am HERE FOR IT! All in all, I would definitely recommend this to a friend who was a fan of Sanderson, Martin, or Herbert.

Well, I DNF'd this one about 61%.
The story only slightly alluded to the sexual orientation of main characters up until now and I was hoping it wouldn't become part of the main storyline. Unfortunately, it did.
I personally don't enjoy reading queer romance stories and I wish the synopsis would have let me know before I requested this story through NetGalley that it was indeed part of the book. I don't care if a character is gay or straight and I really don't care for these authors getting on the bandwagon with this.
Since it wasn't part of the synopsis on Amazon, NetGalley, or Goodreads, I requested it and was granted a copy of this book. I think it's part of my duty as a reader to be honest and say why I didn't finish this book.
The story was amazing! The plot was intriguing and the characters and world building were on point - until...

The first time I saw this book, the cover immediately caught my eye! So I researched about it more and decided quickly that it’s the Adult SFF book I’ve been craving for! I mean, come on, a girl runs away from her destiny and becomes an assassin?! It sounds like a high fantasy book that will amaze me.

And oh, boy. I wasn’t wrong.

The Unspoken Name is a glorious story and an epic journey about a girl who learns how to defy her fate, to make her own choices, and to pursue freedom.

My thoughts on The Unspoken Name

It’s hard to discuss The Unspoken Name as if it’s only one book because it doesn’t seem like only one book. The story starts with Csorwe (pronounced as ksor-way) as a 14-year-old girl, ready to sacrifice herself, ready to accept her destiny, because she doesn’t know anything else. She doesn’t think she has any other choice. But lo and behold, she meets Sethennai, a powerful wizard, who tells her she can escape and have a chance at a different life. From there, Csorwe’s long and epic journey starts.

The world-building in this book is vast, expansive. There are many cities, kingdoms, different tribes/races, with different religions and gods. It’s all so unique, and mysterious, and exciting. The pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book also adds more allure to the world, because it’s not just a simple guide on how to pronounce the names of the characters or places. It also gives a glimpse into the various languages they use—how certain letters are pronounced, how certain parts sound. Also, the imagery in this book is just amazing. The author took the readers to various places—from shrines, to mountains, to palaces, to caves, and tombs.

The plot is intricate, the story spans 8 years after all. Since Csorwe’s initial escape, to her training as an assassin and the mage’s shadow, to going on an assignment and meeting someone who made her want to pursue what she wanted (and not what she was told), a lot has happened. And although the various events seem like they’re not related at first, they all interconnect at one point and they all make sense at the end. I loved the plot twists in this book. They’re the kind of plot twists that I should have seen coming, but I didn’t, and they’re just so shockingly good.

The character arcs are just wonderful to witness. Take Csorwe for example. She starts as this quiet, feeble girl and grows into a dangerous assassin and learns to really be herself and do what she wants (especially at the end of the book). Another character arc I came to love so much is Tal Charossa. I’m going to be honest and say that I hated his guts for most part of the book. He was annoying, kept butting heads with Csorwe, and was just blinded by his emotions. However, he unlocked some character development by the end of the book, and I really liked that.

Of course, I loved the addition of the romance, too. It’s slow burn, the kind that made me want to jump when they finally got together! It’s not the main aspect of the story, but it definitely changed Csorwe for the better. [kind of a spoiler, but I just want to say that they’re pretty much soft yet badass girlfriends and I love them]

Last but not the least, the writing style and the overall tone of the book is also commendable. It’s mysterious, but also quite humorous in several parts. It’s hard for me to look away from the pages because it’s just so intriguing, and I love how the author inserted humor, whether it be in the characters’ inner thoughts or the current situation.

Overall, The Unspoken Name is such a great read for me! I’m excited to see this book in the wild!