Ariah

[sawyl]

Something slightly off the beaten track in the form of B.R. Sanders' Ariah. Set against a fantastic backdrop which comes complete with an oppressive empire and multiple different groups of elves, Ariah is actually a quiet coming-of-age tale about someone struggling to reconcile his nature with his oppressive upbringing as he tries to find his place in the world and happiness with the people he loves.

The story opens with Ariah arriving in Rabanath in the Qin Empire, where his parents have arranged for him to study languages. Ariah studies with Dirva for an uneventful few years, all the while playing down his abilities as a shaper — a sort-of magical mimicry that enables him to read minds. When Dirva learns that his father is dying, the pair travel to the City where Ariah meets Dirva's brother Sorcha for the first time and the pair become inseparable. Ariah's friendship with Sorcha and his inability to overcome his strict Semandran heritage causes an estrangement from his tutor and he attempts to return to Rabanath on his own, only to be pressed into service for his mind-reading skills by the Qin border guards.

Eventually bought out servitude by his mentor, Ariah returns to Rabanath and takes up a humble position teaching at the university. His Quin students are uninterested in what he has to say; but his lone Semandran student Shayat, studying languages in order to become a trader, makes up for this and she and Ariah build a teasing friendship as he tutors her. But with Ariah's shaping magic running increasingly out of control and Dirva concerned about his failure to teach his former pupil the skills he needs to maintain his sense of self, Ariah decides to go and study with Dirva's former mentor in a distant city. Here he happens to meet up with Sorcha and the pair fall back into their friendship, each still trying to decide what they want from the other.

From this point Ariah embarks on a series of travels, crossing deserts and plains, sometimes in the company of others, sometimes alone. There are periods of settlement, including a time in Rabanath where he and Sorcha help Dirva and his wife raise their child, but most of the rest of book is essentially a journey of self-discovery. Gradually, Ariah realises that his heritage isn't nearly as fixed as he thought — in the Semandran language, parents are always married and relationships are very tightly constrained — and he comes to realise that many of the things that shocked him when he first travelled to the City with Dirva are actually parts of his own character.

Although not perfect Ariah offers an interesting alternate take on fantasy worlds, on relationships, on character, the pursuit of happiness, and one's place in society. As such, it's well worth a read and genuinely though provoking despite bits which, for me at least, didn't quite work.