Csorwe is an orc. You can tell that because it is occasionally mentioned she has tusks. There are also elves in this book. You can tell that because it is occasionally mentioned that they have pointy ears. Further differences between elves, orcs and humans? Ehem.

I wasn’t hoping for Tolkien-esque magical races (I honestly had enough of that), but giving us a non-human race and then basically turning them into humans who look a bit funny always feels like wasted potential to me.

Another thing that threw me off was…how quickly things happened. Look at the blurb: “a powerful mage offers her a new fate. Leave with him, and live. Turn away from her destiny and her god to become a thief, a spy, an assassin—the wizard’s loyal sword. Topple an empire, and help him reclaim his seat of power.” I had expected this to be the book but it isn’t. Most of her training is skipped over (thankfully), she then infiltrates the enemy camp but gets caught and tortured. But because teenagers who had only a crash course military training can withstand everything she doesn’t give anything away, manages to free herself and go back to the wizard who uses the information she collected to take back his seat of power. And that’s the end of part one.

What then follows is quest after quest but with very little time spent on the way to the conclusion of each quest, on the planning, on the finding the way to the place they need to go, on the travelling, on the despair about having no idea what to do…on all the things that lets you see the heroes in different situations. They don’t have to really search for anything. Time is skipped till a point where they already know where to find what they want. The characters are barely ever uncertain about things. Once they made a decision – to obey or disobey an order, to go somewhere, they just do it and then usually quickly land in a situation where they have to fight and almost get killed.

Just like I’m not saying that it should have been Tolkien elves and orcs, I’m not saying that book should have been 95% road travel and then one epic battle but by only seeing them in these high-strung situations made me feel as if I missed important parts of their characters. And as a result of that…I simply didn’t care much for them.

Well this is a very strong beginning to this fantasy series that doesn't shy away from diversity. Our protagonist is Csorwe, a fourteen year old orphan raised by the church that reveres the Unspoken One to be what I can only describe as a sacrificial virgin . This isn't something she's questioned previously but Csorwe knows her death won't really change things or indeed help anyone so when a powerful Mage offers to take her away and train her she's definitely tempted. Csorwe could be so much more than a temporary mouth piece for a God that brings death and the plucky Csorwe takes her courage in her hands and walks away to a life of adventure, servitude and danger !
We follow Csorwe as she learns to protect herself and become so much more than she ever dreamed. With frenemies, great world building and definitely nasty enemies along the way this was a very entertaining read. I did struggle somewhat with the pacing but it definitely improved towards the halfway point. I loved the characters although I had guessed the big reveal. Still I applaud the author for giving us such a strong, well balanced protagonist because reading about her personal growth was a wonderful experience. Plus Csorwe isn't some pretty blue eyed, blonde heroine but she's grey with tusks and I almost had an Ork type in my minds eye which was very refreshing.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

So, this is an awesome foray into a new and complicated world of gods and magic. The world-building with this book was fantastic—complicated and layered. And even better, I enjoyed how the author didn’t shy away from names that are hard to pronounce (though I did thoroughly appreciate the pronunciation guide at the beginning!).

Where the story didn’t work as well for me was in the main character, there was just something about her that didn’t quite click with me. It often felt like she was just going along with the flow. And that’s really too bad. She just doesn’t stand out as a memorable character for me, which was so disappointing because so many of the other characters really did work for me and I found the worldbuilding to be so interesting.

What I did enjoy were the moments where there wasn’t a clear right or wrong answer and thus when Csorwe had to make her decisions, it made that much more interesting. And I really enjoyed the ending, and am thoroughly looking forward to the next one.

Overall, a great choice for anyone who loves epic fantasy, and particularly epic fantasy with complex and deep worldbuilding.

If you knew when and how you were going to die would you trade it for another fate? Csorwe has been groomed since childhood to obtain the high honor of sacrifice to The Unspoken. Offered the chance to turn away from death, The Unspoken, and the destiny she was chosen for a chance to live by becoming a powerful mage’s right hand woman- assassin, spy, thief, and chosen sword. The mage offers these things in return for restoring him to his rightful empire and power. Will Csorwe become all of these things, be able to outrun The Unspoken and her fated path as a sacrifice?

“But the Unspoken One will know,” said Csorwe. She could feel the beginnings of its outrage already, building and crackling under the earth. “Yes,” said Sethennai. “It will. The secret of greatness is to know when you should risk the wrath of god.”

It has been a long time since I’ve read a good beginning to a fantasy series. It’s also been quite a while since I read a book that included a form of pronunciation guides and character list. It would be a nice touch to include a map for reference; that kind of thing has always been interesting to me, I love illustrations and maps. This book reminds me of certain portions of a few things that I have interests in but mainly: The Wheel of Time – because of the Ways, the Halo universe – because of the Forerunners, a little bit of World of Warcraft – because of the characters races and last but not least The Elder Scrolls – the draugr, a little bit of the world aspect and the divines. The descriptions of the worlds remind me of a mashup between science fiction and fantasy – makes me think of a little Elder Scrolls and Halo.

The Unspoken Name is a very well done first novel for A.K. Larkwood’s new series and she describes the people, experiences and places in a way that leaves you with few questions. One thing I found that I didn’t like were the jumps in time – I understand why but it broke up the story and it took me a minute to really get back into what was going on. The LGBT aspect of this novel was surprising but it is pretty vanilla – the author doesn’t really go into any kind of detail, it’s just… a fact of her novel. Overall I felt that the story did a really good job as an introductory novel to her new series and I am excited to read what comes next. This is a series that I will more than likely be revisiting once the new books are here. A huge thank you to Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this exciting new fantasy novel, I really did enjoy reading this novel.

What a strong debut. I absolutely adored this book. I felt like we were immediately thrown into the story, yet the author also did such a great job of developing the world at the same time. I was definitely confused at first, but I didn’t feel that way for very long. If you don’t mind just pushing through a story until you “get it”, I’d highly recommend picking this one up. There’s also a glossary of names in the front that I did reference right when I started reading which helped me figure out who was who a lot faster than I would have otherwise.

Csorwe, our main character, was so much fun to follow. She’s definitely not perfect and I questioned her decision-making process more than once, but I honestly didn’t mind as the ride she took us on was a whole lot of fun. There were so many different cultures and worlds to explore within this novel and I feel like A.K. Larkwood is only scratching the surface on what we have yet to explore. That’s one of my biggest compliments to this book is the world the author developed. It didn’t feel underdeveloped at all. There are so many different gods who are at the forefront and development of these worlds, some of which are even dying out, which the author took the time to explain as well. I also enjoyed Csorwe’s counterpart Shuthmili. The growth we see from her throughout the novel was admirable and it made me want to root for her the entirety of the story once she was introduced. I’d have to say she was my favorite character and my heart was constantly breaking for her due to the trials and tribulations she had to go through.

I initially requested this on NetGalley because I’d heard there would be a sapphic relationship at the forefront of the novel, which there was. There were also a few side characters who were queer. We love to see it! Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the chemistry between Csorwe and Shuthmili. All of a sudden it seems like Csorwe starts to see Shuthmili in a different light, and to me, it sort of came out of nowhere. Because I didn’t feel the chemistry, it was hard to understand the motivations behind Csorwe doing what she did throughout the story to help Shuthmili. Fortunately, I could look past that as I was completely entranced by the world but it was why I knocked this down a star.

This looks to be a series from the way it’s set up on Goodreads and I’m excited to see what we’ll get from this author next! My biggest disappointment is that I can’t read more from her immediately. I’d definitely recommend picking this up if you’re a fan of fantasy novels. This hit the mark.

This debut novel creates the type of excitement a true fantasy should present to fans. A. K. Larkwood has written a woven tale of intrigue and adventure. This author is one to watch, the future looks bright for her.

The Unspoken Name was such a unique and refreshing YA Fantasy novel with such a detailed and intriguing world-building and pretty much all the queer characters and actions scenes one could ask for. The pace was so fast! The first chapter was so compelling and different from what I expected and it really captured my attention. So much happened in the first few chapters so as to establish what would be the main story arc of the novel and it was such a good read!

I was a tiny bit afraid this was going to be like every other ‘girl escapes her destiny and turns into an assassin’ YA novel out there, but it wasn’t! And what really made this such a unique and fun read was how the world-building was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Larkwood did an incredible job at creating a new universe and its rules and she did so in such an interesting way. The book was so rich in terms of that and it really made me wish I could get to know all of these places and people and religions.

The casual queerness of pretty much all the main players and the queer relationships were also such a good and lovely surprise. I was so happy with how organic all of that was and how it tied so well with the plot—it was never presented as a huge deal and it also wasn’t used to define the characters.

The one downside for me is that I didn’t think the characters were that well developed. I wish all of them had been more fleshed out. While they did have distinct voices and dialogue, I felt like I didn’t know much about them? And they didn’t change all that much throughout the novel aside from those scenes where they had to make big personal decisions that affected the course of the plot.

Even so, The Unspoken Name was a great and entertaining read that had phenomenal world-building and presented a pretty unique plot. It was fast paced and action packed and even had a bit of romance sprinkled through. I definitely recommend this to all YA Fantasy fans looking for something different and unique!

Plot: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing Style: 5 stars
Cover: 5 stars
Enjoyment: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars - I'd give it more if I could.

This book was amazing. AMAZING. I loved every minute of it and I predict that it will absolutely be one of my favorite books of 2020. Yes, it's only January but I seriously loved it that much. I can't tell you how excited I am to see that it's #1 in a planned series. I want MORE. Also, I have to say that that cover is gorgeous. (Also, that image is WAY more significant after reading the book lol)

In a lot of ways this book reminded me of my favorite from 2019: Gideon the Ninth. Not in any bad ways, or even in any of the details -- other than an inclusion of necromancy, queerness, and a sassy character, there's few details the same about them. I mean things like the richness and inventiveness of the worldbuilding, the constantly surprising compelling plot, and the depth of the characters. Most of all the way the stories sucked me in from the very first page and never once let me go.

From the very first I cared deeply for Csorwe and her journey. From 14-year-old sacrifice to a devouring god, to devoted blade of a powerful man, to falling in love and finally choosing her own destiny. None of the characters were 'good guys' or 'bad guys' -- there was a constantly shifting set of loyalties and alliances that helped spin the plot along. The writing was beautiful with just enough cursing and prickly antagonism (looking at you, Tal) to give it spice.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I can think of for the rest of the year and can't wait to read more about Csorwe's (and everyone else's) journey.

It’s a 3.5 star with the half star being exclusively for the last few amazing chapters. That really was a great ending.

As mostly a reader of YA fantasy, I don’t follow a lot of news about adult fantasy releases but I kept seeing this book everywhere, and ended up requesting the ARC because I found to be an interesting premise. And after having finished it, I’m still not sure how I feel about it, so I’ll probably be processing my feelings through this review. Be prepared for an incoherent mess below.

And this is where I don’t know what to say. As it’s a debut, I’m usually very generous and the writing style is not something that is very high up on my scale while rating a book for it’s enjoyment. But right from the beginning, the writing in this book kept me hooked enough that I wanted to know what was going to happen next; but, I also never felt emotionally invested in it. The plot just meanders from one point to another and I frankly wasn’t sure what the ultimate goal was. There are also many time jumps which I felt prevented me from getting to know the characters better, particularly because I thought the character growth happened during the time jumps which we never got to see. The pacing is also pretty slow throughout with only a couple of intense scenes in between, but I really loved the way it became action packed towards the end. The last few chapters really were what redeemed the book for me.

This book is essentially a portal fantasy where the characters can travel from one world to another using the Maze and mailships and I thought that was a cool idea. There are also multiple kingdoms with their own gods, cultures and beliefs and I think the author did a good job differentiating between them all. Even the landscape and climate of the different places visited are described very well so we are able to keep track of them. I won’t say I completely understood the method used by the mages to channel the power of the gods, but there was enough information to follow the story and not feel confused. And the best part was that characters here used no labels and it was a very queernormative world.

Csorwe is a very sympathetic character in the beginning when we realize what her destiny is, but all that quickly changes when time passes by. We never get to see her train and become the fearsome right hand of a powerful mage she is supposed to be and that was disappointing. There was this sense that she wanted more from her life but she was too passive to ask for it. She was also mostly impulsive in her actions, just making in the moment decisions and not thinking through long term consequences. I wanted her to feel better and be more confident about her desires, but I truly wasn’t so emotionally attached to her that it would have upset me if she didn’t get a good ending.

Sethennai is the very powerful mage/wizard who has an air of mystery about him and he seems very detached, so that’s exactly how we feel about him too. We never get to know him or feel connected to him, but I also couldn’t see why Csorwe and the others were just so drawn to him and wanted to please him all the time. Tal is the youngest son of a prominent family who hasn’t done much with his life and just wants to feel loved and does all kinds of impulsive for the attention. But he was definitely one character who brought some laughs to the proceedings with his caustic dialogue and rivalry with Csorwe.

Shuthmili is a young powerful mage who has been brought up in almost a cult like environment and her realizing that there’s a whole other world outside, that she can make her own choices and her budding relationship with Csorwe are some of the best parts of the book. Oranna and Zhiyouri are quite compelling in parts but I wasn’t always sure what they wanted.

To conclude, I think this debut has a lot of potential and I did go in with some expectations, so I was a bit disappointed because I couldn’t connect to it. There’s a very detached feeling to the whole story and characterization, so even when something bad happened, I didn’t feel much. I’m a bit unsure whom I would recommend this to but if you enjoy portal fantasies, maybe you can give it a try. If you enjoy very character focused stories, then this might not be the right choice. I also think the author did a good job tying up a lot of threads towards the end, so I am feeling pretty satisfied, and not very compelled about picking up the sequel but we shall see.

The Unspoken Name is the first installment of a high fantasy series with orcs, wizards, gods, assassins and spies. I absolutely loved Csorwe the main character and Orc raised to be the sacrificial bride of the Unspoken. The story follows her running away to be a mercenary for a wizard instead of wasting away in a tomb. I loved her changing loyalties and questioning authorities, coming into her own and making her own decisions. Her rivalry with Tal is hilarious. And the f/f romance with Shuthmili was cute and felt realistic and thankfully didn't overshadow the plot. Larkwood does a superb job with characters, although I found the world building a bit unclear it doesn't take away from the great story and characters. The plot took a while to really grip me, but once it did, it had me reading late into the night.
As the first in a series you definitely don't get all the answers you want, but there's enough closure for it to feel like a complete story, while leaving you with enough questions to look forward to the sequel. Which I'm looking forward to eagerly.

The Unspoken Name is a mix of high fantasy and science fiction that captivates its readers with creativity. I adored every minute of this refreshing read. Bravo A.K. Larkwood for an excellent debut.

Csowre is the Chosen Bride of the Unspoken, destined to die before reaching maturity. But what if there is more purpose to her life than simply being a wasteful sacrifice? When a powerful wizard offers her a chance at something more, she tentatively latches on to his offer. Belthandros Sethennai has spent a lifetime searching for a lost relic, and it seems he cares for nothing else. Eventually, Csowre must decide if she will continue living a meaningless life carrying out Sethennai’s orders, or fight for something more.

I devoured this book the way the “Mouth of Radiance” devours its rogue mages (you’ll understand my metaphor if you read the book). I was immediately hooked, invested in Cswore’s character. I loved her personality, her voice, the struggles she faced, obstacles she overcame. I enjoyed the other POVs too. Larkwood has an uncanny way of crafting her characters into real people.

Most impressive is the way the Larkwood juggles the immense amount of world building with different worlds and their various deities. The structure is laid out in a framework that is understandable through layers and layers of complexity. We are not buried in the beginning by information. Information about the world building is instead sprinkled from chapter to chapter as we embark on Cswore’s journey.

Beneath its many layers is a queer romance, a sweet tale of love and friendship. I found myself rooting for Cswore and Shuthmili from the first moments of their meeting. Their dynamic was written well and felt so realistic.

I haven’t enjoyed a fantasy this much in months. It felt so fresh and original, even though some of its underlying ideas were age-old. I have no idea if this book will have a sequel, but it so, I’m definitely reading it.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you @netgally and @tor

A fun read! I didn't know what to expect when I started this one, but I liked the cover, and the blurb sounded fun. I really enjoyed it, though, and am glad I got the chance to read it! I enjoyed the characters, and the story was well written!

(DNF 15%)
The Unspoken Name didn’t keep my attention as much as I hoped it would. To me, it felt like the plot kind of meandered in a way that just wasn’t what I expected the plot to be. Instead of an epic fantasy, I felt I was reading a light-hearted fantasy adventure.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the book, just that it isn’t the right fit for me, but may be for others.

What a fascinating premise to this new fantasy novel. How can anyone who's a fan of the genre resist? Unfortunately, the reality fell short of the premise, which is always a disappointment.

The first part of the book dragged more than it needed to, and then I noticed a pattern throughout the rest of it until I arrived at the fourth and final section of The Unspoken Name. Chapters in novels, usually, end at a specific moment in the storytelling process. There sixth sense in the reader that instinctively knows when a break will come and another chapter will start up because that hitch naturally comes to pass. But this novel lacked that, which resulted in chapters going on and on for such long periods of time that it felt as if it were taking me longer than usual to read. And this structural discrepancy distracted me so much from enjoying the whole piece that at times I thought of setting it aside.

The Traitor's Grave, the fourth part of the novel, was excellent. Whatever action lacked throughout the first part of The Unspoken Name was packed into this section. The last five chapters, especially, were delicious to read. There was murder, torture, a fast-paced and heroic liberation of a kidnapped character... It was fantastic, and exciting, and made me wonder why the first part of this story was not like that... Until I recalled the very special and important chapter structure's fissure.

I had a difficult time grasping the full personality of the lead, which was odd, because almost every other character made it really easy for me to see who they were—with the exception of Sethennai, and that's a valid point given who his character really is and what it hide. But Csorwe went through the novel almost listlessly. She would rise to the occasion whenever physical action called for it, but otherwise she seemed content to just go along with the flow. We're told again and again that she's the right hand of Sethennai, she's this tough and dangerous sword-woman, but I never saw that. The only time that I saw her lift her hand with a blade was either in self defense, or in an attempt to help others around her. Whatever reputation was attached to her never came to pass because by the time that she had gained it, the story had fast-forwarded and we never got to see it, which made it impossible to believe.

Others, like Shuthmili, herself, were thankfully a breath of fresh air. She came out of her cocoon little by little, and beautifully at that. She was enjoyable to see evolve, give in to her sense of humor, give into the madness and danger that lives inside of her. Her, Oranna and Tal—who is unapologetically himself, with every tarnish that his personality holds—were the trio that saved this story and made me want to continue reading.

The world is fantastic to see described, the magic system is very interesting—and I always enjoy it when magic is directly derived from the gods in a novel's pantheon—as are the few character races that we meet. Especially Atharaisse, of Echentyr.

There was beauty to The Unspoken Name, and growth that still has time to occur. The first in a series is not always fully realized, so I have high hopes should the second novel be released in the future.

Definitely unique, rich in detail and absolutely something that will stand out, The Unspoken Name is a great debut for author Larkwood.

With an original blend of genres and a setting with a time span of years, this is definitely a story that took it's time evolving, growing and being created. From the full character development to the world building, this story was heavy on the details and little was left to the imagination.

All in all a great start to a series and something fresh and fun for fans of the genre that are looking for something a little more stand out and uniquely all it's own.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood is a brilliant debut fantasy full of creative world building, enjoyable characters and a fast paced story line. This tale of sacrifice, exile, loyalty and love is one that shouldn’t be missed!

The thing that I found most enjoyable was that the publisher’s description only gives away the most basic plot points. What you read in the description is only the beginning, leaving so much more for readers to experience.

Csorwe is a priestess, chosen to become a sacrifice to The Unspoken One. This day should be the day of her death as those who enter the Shrine of the Unspoken One never exit. But Csorwe is propositioned by a powerful wizard named Belthandros Sethennai to abandon her role, in order to help him on his mission to reclaim his seat of power in a home from which he was exiled, while working to obtain a magical relic.

I thought these plot points alone would take up the entire book, but alas, I was wonderfully surprised to discover there is so much more to this tale! Larkwood keeps readers engaged by maintaining an astonishing pace for the events in the story. Concepts are skillfully described in a manner that makes them easily understandable, yet leaves just enough to the imagination that the reader doesn’t feel bogged down by lengthy descriptions. I am truly in awe that this is a debut work and look forward to the next installment in the series!

My favorite quote from the book is, “Nothing in this world or any other deserves your fear.”
My review will also be posted on Goodreads and Instagram @rosetree_bookreviewer closer to the publication date.

My sincerest thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advanced readers copy of The Unspoken Name by A.K Larkwood in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, this was completely different to what I expected. Overall, I would give it 3.5 stars. I had some issues with it that pertained more to pacing of the story, but all in all, this book was definitely an interesting and intricate read. The world building was seriously some of the coolest I have read and a couple of the characters were really enjoyable.

Starting off- world building. This world was so different to anything I had ever seen before. It was confusing at first because we are kind of thrown into the middle of the world with Csorwe, but it is very easy to get your bearings quickly and then find yourself captivated. There are different worlds and cities, different gods and races and creatures. I don't know how A.K kept them all straight, but she did a beautiful job. One of the things I really liked about all of these worlds and settings that A.K gives us is the different races. Oftentimes in fantasies we just see humans, elves, dwarves, and that's about it. Here our main character is completely unique when compared with any other fantasy I have read in the past few years. In fact, she has tusks!! I just thought the setting was one of the biggest strengths to this.

Next up- characters. Some of the characters I had a little bit of difficulty understanding and getting to know. Csorwe was one of those. At times, I found her vividly entertaining and at times I didn't really understand what was going on in her head or what her motivations were. She confused me at times, though perhaps that was because she herself was confused and struggling to find her home and her purpose. I did enjoy her but not nearly as much as I enjoyed.....

TAL! Wow, I love Tal. And not because he is a good guy. No, he's annoying and selfish but he was meant to be. I thought he was very well-written and a compelling and engaging character. He constantly had me chuckling with his quips and just the way he spoke and reacted to the events surrounding him and Csorwe.

Honestly, there are several amazing characters, and although I didn't always understand them and I certainly could not trust them (Oranna cough) I really had a lot of fun reading about them.

My biggest issue was the pacing of this story. The book spans YEARS, something I am not used to in my reading. It made it difficult for me to connect at times, because it seemed like so much had happened and so much character growth had occurred off the page. I think this was another part of my problem with Csorwe. This could, of course, just be my personal preference and I am sure that there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind it.

All in all, however, this was an enjoyable read! I definitely recommend this to you if you are a fan of more detailed and high fantasy. I felt like this one book could be enjoyed as a standalone if you wanted, but the ending did leave plenty more to be discovered and dealt with in the future installments!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this free copy in exchange for an honest review!

AK Larkwood debuts with one of the most original fantasy books I've read in a long time.

Our heroinne is a young orc girl, Csorwe; a sacrifical virgin, who gets rescued by a travelling wizard, Belthandros Sethennai, on the day of her death. He becomes much like a father to her, albeit one she hero worships and she will do anything for him, becoming his bodyguard/weapon, with no wishes or dreams of her own. All this would probably have continued for eternity, if not for one thing; while on a mission for Sethennai, along with her frenemy Talasseres Charossa, Tal for short, the unthinkable happens; Csorwe meets Shuthmili and falls in love and loyalties are put on trial.

The world in which the story takes place is a vast array of paralell worlds, all with gate portals opening onto a huge dimension called the Echo Maze, from where you can enter other worlds. You weave your way from world to world, through the maze in floating maze ships, which gives a kind of steampunk or scifi feeling. Gods are both real and powerful as Csorwe will find out soon enough.

I had so much fun reading this book, at first I was a bit unsure if it was YA, but it is definitely written for adults. There's no sex, but some focus on love, but more as a plot driver as that is what makes Csorwe question her life and gets the whole storyline on a different track. And did I mention the names? They're are just brilliant!

This is an absolutely amazing fantasy book, I absolutely loved it and I absolutely believe it will be "the talk of town" in 2020!
And I can't wait for the next book!!

I was lucky enough to receive an E-ARC from @Tor/Forge, via the good people at @Netgalley.

Overall Enjoyment: 4/5
characterization: 4/5
World building: 5/5
Diversity: 4/5

I requested this book because of the summary. Csorwe seemed like she'd be interesting, and I was curious at the culture that would encourage sacrifice of a person (orc). I enjoyed this book. This book felt massive to me though. There were many arcs within this book with an overarching story, but there was so much going on and it was so long that at the end I lost a bit of interest in it. This is book 1 of 3 from my understanding and I must admit I’m really not sure how this story will continue for 2 more books.

The world building was a bit confusing to me in the beginning. This is a book that explains elements only when it becomes relevant to the story and not just in the interest of world building. However, when you need answers the author is very deliberate about explaining the necessary information or leaving it for later as a twist later. There is a small element of cyberpunk with the technology of this world with flying ships which was the part that got the least attention and was the most confusing for me. The three main sentient species in this story were orcs, humans, and elves (black elves specifically). Each group is given its own religion which is what is given the most attention in this story and is really a major driving force throughout this fiction. The religions are a bit darker than I’m use to, but they were well thought out and interesting. A very interesting grouping of worlds.

For characters I felt that everyone had a pretty distinct voice with enough story to the main characters that I felt like they were very well rounded. Csorwe is a character I really enjoyed though I didn't fully understand all the time. She’s very loyal in a way that was unquestioning and then she suddenly wasn’t. I like the character development with her though at the beginning it didn’t make much sense. Then, Tal. I didn’t like him at first, but he grew on me. I think I liked him a bit more simply because he felt more relatable to me. He’s just trying to do his best and is just getting the rough end of deal most of the time. There’s also Oranna who I guess you could say could be consider the villain, but within the world she just comes off as a very strong-willed determined lady. You also have Shuthmili and Sethannai, but while they both play very important roles within the story I feel like they don’t get as much attention.

The diversity in the book was refreshing. The main characters are mostly people of color and there are sprinklings of queer characters throughout the book.

Overall, even though there were points where the book was slow, I think the book was really well written. The worlds were carefully written and built, and the storyline was interesting. If you’re looking for a diverse adult fantasy book, then this book is for you. The book will be published on . Keep a look out for it!

What a wonderful, unique main character this book has!

The Unspoken Name is a refreshing change from typical fantasy/YA books these days. It has an unusual main character - a young orc - who grows so much along her journey with a powerful orc wizard. It has storytelling and worldbuilding like it should be in a fantasy book: rich with fascinating characters, strange worlds, fights and magic, an epic journey across worlds and dark gods and godesses with many secrets.
Also, unusal for this type of book, it has queer characters and it is beautiful.

On their journey to find a long lost artifact, the unusual heroes take the reader with them and lets them experience great adventures. It really was time for another brand of heroine.
I hope book 2 will be just as fresh and exciting!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this amazing eARC.