Book Review- Peace and Turmoil by Elliot Brooks
Peace and Turmoil was a slow burn, political fantasy that gracefully built up the elements of magic, intrigue and character relations as the story progressed.
Thirty years of peace have graced the lands of Abra’am, a peace that will not remain for long. Tensions have started to rise amongst the nations as familial and political power plays come to light. At the heart of the worldbuilding and plot lie the characters themselves. Three of our four main characters (we will get into these a little later) are heirs to their kingdoms and have come to those positions by various means. These nations and characters dance around each other through the rising tension of personal and political motivations. I know that sounds vague but delving too deep into the political or character elements is going to go into spoiler territory.
Before we jump into my personal thoughts and review, I will say that if you like family drama, a huge cast of characters experienced through multi POV’s, political intrigue, a world rife with magic and a touch of whimsey to offset some of the darker elements, Peace and Turmoil is absolutely going to work for you.
This book hit nearly all the marks for my personal reading tastes, from the amount of thought that has gone into the execution of the physical book itself, to the complexities of the politics coupled with the simplicity of the magic, Peace and Turmoil has been carefully planned out at every step of the way.
Brooks has gone to a phenomenal amount of effort to make this book as engaging and magical to read as humanly possible. This goes far beyond the story and the words on the page. Each chapter and POV is headed with the part of the map we were in or were following for those 10-20 pages. Personally, I am not a huge map person, I don’t tend to flip back and just go with the flow, but having those headers certainly made me think more about the parts of the world I was in at the time and where they were in relation to the rising tensions. For such a small detail to the eye, it really packed a punch. This book is also full of artwork, of characters and of the fiends (we will get to these in more detail). Again, a detail which helps draw both visual and non-visual readers alike into the world and provides grounding. Some of these drawings were set to come from one of the characters (Elizabeth’s) sketchbook, which gave an unexpected and delightful insight into the gentle part she played in the story. I thought these things were marvellous and really went above and beyond my expectations without getting to the story itself.
Speaking of the story itself, Brooks has done a phenomenal job of creating a complex political climate rife with character tensions, motivations, and machinations. Each leader needs to make sure they are looking after their own by whatever means necessary, even if it means backstabbing their own family in the process. Each family followed, wants to come out on top, the power plays, pleading, and bloodshed made this a much darker read than I initially expected.
At the centre of the politics, comes the characters, from a seemingly innocent Gwenivere, heir to Xenith and holder of the amulet. Roland, the one she longs for but cannot have, who holds the Dagger of Immortality. Powers and lines which may never come together due to age old feuds between the families. To the deceitful Duchess heir Natalia who seeks the Dagger of Eve and the power of immortality for herself. A character connected closely to both families and will switch allegiances at will to gain power and protection. Dietrich, who carries ancient elder blood and can bond with powerful fiends also seeks the dagger to save his dying mother and will pit these nations against each other if he has to. Another character worth mentioning is Dravian, inquisitor watching over a prisoner with glowing eyes, one with such control of magic she is deemed as a threat but may be the key to saving them all. This complex character struggled with a gruff exterior and softening motivations towards my favourite character in the book, X’odia. Who I suspect has a bigger part to play in this series going forward.
While the political and character aspects of this story may seem overly complicated, the author has coupled these elements with a simple prose, magic system and added an element of whimsy in the fiends. The magic system centres around auroras, a magic that allows the user to call certain elements and abilities. Most people carry a weak ability to call these magics and can use them for basic tasks such as heating a room. However, a handful are able to call on these magics in more powerful ways, allowing them to fight, or even save entire nations through one ability or another. This magic even makes its way into the weaponry, with those strong enough able to use called blades full of black aurora magic, and others only able to use man made or touched weapons. This concept was easy to grasp and was highly entertaining while trying to place together the more complex aspects of the book. The fiends were also delightful and dangerous depending on the type you came across. These were animals/creatures which could be friend or foe and were everywhere you turned within the story. From wolves without skin to giant dragons, these were highly visual (some artwork provided from my earlier point at the beginning of chapters helped with visualisation) and fun to follow.
I love the way that the elements of this book have come together, and I cannot wait to see what Elliot Brooks has in store for us next. For fans of character driven, dark political fantasy which will have you wanting more. This is the read for you.
