Avid fantasy readers looking for a new dark and thrilling tale may expect Adrian Selby’s Brother Red to follow narratives of other fantasy epics. However, it is clear from the very beginning that it carries so much more than a tale of love, loyalty, and the importance of protecting people in need. With the perfect amount of politics, action, and interpersonal relationships, this novel will entertain readers throughout each and every page.
Brother Red follows the story of Driwna Marghoster, a soldier for a group of merchants called The Post. As she rides with her brothers defending an important trade caravan, the group is attacked by bandits—rendering the caravan almost completely destroyed. However, after Driwna and her comrade Cal bring the bandits to justice, the pair discover something harrowing in a barrel of alcohol—the body of a dead baby girl. From first glance, Driwna knows that this girl is one of the Oskoro, a peaceful group of people surrounded by mystery and tales of the powers they obtain through planting seeds in bodies, essentially becoming one with the most important resources in the novel’s world, plants. As Driwna and Cal try to navigate around the mystery of the dead Oskoro girl, the pair find themselves entangled in an even bigger mystery and decide they must get to the bottom of the deceit they keep witnessing at the hands of those in power.
There are many enjoyable aspects to Brother Red, one of them being the character Driwna and watching her develop from the novel’s introduction to its conclusion. From the beginning, it is made clear to readers that Driwna is a fierce young woman who has joined The Post in order make her family proud as well as make a name for herself after her and her family spent much of their time in exile during her youth. Through the way Driwna communicates with those who have more power than her, it is clear that this character is a picture of a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind and to stand up for what is right. In addition, the way Driwna is able to meet and accept the Ososi and Oskoro people for who they are in very important to the development of Brother Red as a whole. Through Driwna’s open mind—and a relationship she begins to develop with one of the Ososi—the world of Brother Red is able to evolve and change throughout the duration of the novel. Finally, the relationships Driwna creates with people along her journey provide a much-needed lightheartedness while the characters are not politicking and forced into action.
Aside from many of the characters being well-developed and interesting, another aspect that readers may enjoy is the interesting way plants play a major role throughout the story. The Ososi and Oskoro people are known to plant seeds in their bodies where thorns, vines, and bark grows throughout their skin and helps them connect with the Earth as well as assist them in battle. The leaders of the Ososi and Oskoro, whom they call the Master(s) of Flowers, plant a powerful flower called the Flower of Fates in their brain. If this flower grows, the master becomes increasingly more powerful and can even share their blood with others in order to make them stronger in times of battle. In addition to the relationship between plants and the Oskoro and Ososi people, there are many other ways different plants can be used. Some oils extracted from plants can be dripped into a person’s eyes so they have a heightened sense of vision, a mixture of different herbs can heal wounds, and some plants can even make warriors stronger during battle. The interesting ways that many of the characters use these resources throughout keeps the reader interested through the ways plants affect people as well as their overall importance in this world.
Whereas the politicking is necessary throughout the novel in order to understand the importance of Driwna’s storyline and mission, some scenes leave much to be desired. Throughout the amount of detail and information trying to be conveyed through these scenes, it makes it increasingly more difficult for the reader to retain this amount of information. In addition, it would be helpful for readers to have more scenes where characters are just spending downtime together. This would show how deep these interpersonal relationships are between these characters as well as connect the reader to the character’s stories on a deeper level.
Overall, Adrian Selby’s Brother Red proves to be a thrilling fantasy epic about love, loyalty, and the importance of protecting people in need. From the cunning character of Driwna Marghoster to the mystery surrounding the body found in the van, this novel is a true page turner in its entirety.
Brother Red is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 26th 2021.
Will you be picking up Brother Red? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From one of the most exciting new voices in dark epic fantasy comes an intensely brutal and brilliantly cinematic novel: the story of a soldier torn between loyalty to her family and her quest to preserve a kingdom’s future.
She was their hope, their martyr, their brother . . . Driwna Marghoster, a soldier for the powerful merchant guild known as The Post, is defending her trade caravan from a vicious bandit attack when she discovers a dead body hidden in one of her wagons.
Born of the elusive Oskoro people, the body is a rare and priceless find, the center of a tragic tale and the key to a larger mystery. But as Driwna investigates who the body was meant for, she finds herself on a trail of deceit and corruption . . . a trail that will lead her to an evil more powerful than she can possibly imagine.
