I can pretty much state that Driftwood is going to be one of those books where other people rave about it and I just shrug and move on to something else. This is definitely one of those Not For Me books and that's a real shame, as initially it looked like it was going to be much more suited to my tastes than it turned out to be in the end.

The basic premise of the book is that its setting is made up of a wide variety of worlds that are coming together, to end up in something called the Crush - as a result, your world gets squeezed against another which could be wildly different from yours, on its way to eventual destruction. That variety of worlds means there's a need for competent guides, able to pick up a wide variety of languages and understand cultural issues, and that's where Last comes in. We meet him on a couple of occasions in the book, as he's employed to sort out problems and then later, after his disappearance for a long period of time is taken as evidence of his death and people are telling stories of him at his memorial.

I guess in the end it comes down for me to world-building in search of a plot: the overall story is a series of vignettes of how different people cope with the experience of their world being torn apart, with Last playing a greater or lesser role in each one, but I ended up at the last page going 'is that it?'. Not my kind of book at all, though I dare say it will get squeals of delight from folks whose tastes are very different to my own.

What a wonderful story made up from a few short stories, connected by one man named Last. Who is Last and why is this his name? And how is he still alive, wandering around Driftwood, making legend of himself?

I was hooked up from page one and the thing that pulled me in was a beautiful prose. I really liked the style of writing here, it carried with itself the sense of wonder and, sometimes, a nostalgia. And every short story gives us a feeling of magic, but also fleeting and vanishing of everything. Because Driftwood is where worlds die. There are many of them, but they aren't whole. They come to Driftwood after their apocalypses, shredded and dying, just to exist for a while and then disappear into the Crush.

With its construction, this novel reminded me a little of first volume of the Witcher series, where we have some kind of introduction to each story and then we got the story. Also Last as a character in times reminded me of Geralt of Rivia.

Like I said, this is a wonderful story with a beautiful world, or worlds, all connected by Driftwood and Last. Excellent idea and I hope we will see more of the universe.

A master class in world-building, Driftwood follows Last, a Drifter who vanishes without a trace and from there the story unfolds about his effects on the lives of his fellow citizens. With sympathetic and varied characters, masterful world-building, and cerebral humor, the author manages to build a cohesive whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Truly, my only complaint would be that the novella was not a 30-part series!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was utterly incredible. An unbelievable feat of creative worldbuilding. If you like cerebral fantasy that's still delicately wrought in beautiful unembellished prose, this is definitely for you. There are lots of tropes turned inside out here - not a world being built so much as a world ending; not an unreliable narrator so much as a narrative which surrounds an unreliable or unknowable character whose pov is never used. It's a series of encounters and tales that are initially confusing but break through to a glorious whole picture. A stunning novel with strong themes and engaging characters.

This. was. so. cool! I've never read anything like this book. It was so unique, atmospheric, and vast. I love stories where everything ties together, especially when it's done really well. I love the fact that this tale is told in many voices/perspectives. It was definitely a bit confusing at first and it feels like you're being thrown face-first into a new world. However, this doesn't last long and it's all explained well in the end. I would definitely read more by this author and plan to pick up a physical copy when this comes out.

“Driftwood is the end, the end of the ends. Nothing comes after that. Only oblivion, and maybe not even that much.”

A beautiful book made up of many stories, species, and worlds, all connected by a man named Last. Brennan described it as “a mosaic novel, with the story being told through many voices and many sub-tales… It’s made up of the short stories I’ve written already, plus a novelette-length tale that’s new, and it’s all stitched together with a frame that gives context and greater meaning to the pieces within it. Which makes the text kind of like Driftwood itself.” Perfection. This is one of my favorite books now and I really can’t get over how brilliant it is. I feel like I need to immediately buy this author’s other books and I definitely plan on buying a physical copy of this one when it’s released.

The blurb says: "Mirroring the world that many people are currently living in, the Driftwood stories chronicle the struggles of survivors and outcasts to keep their worlds alive until everything changes, diminishes, and is destroyed."

If you’re confused in the beginning, don’t worry, everything gets explained rather quickly once you’re past the initial little tale where you first meet Last. But here’s a little hint:

“Every world ends someday. Or maybe I’m wrong; who knows? If a place doesn’t come to an end, it doesn’t come here. But Driftwood is where worlds come to die.”

If that doesn’t make you want to read this, I don’t know what else to say. I really just want to write a few pages about what Driftwood really is, and what the Crush is, but alas, that’s a giant spoiler.

There are so many things to love about this book, and the characters are one of them. I thought the jumping around with different characters and their stories would bother me (because it almost always does), but I loved it here. Each world is so different and fascinating, and the stories really sucked me in. Plus, they’re connected in little ways by one character.

There was one story/chapter I wasn’t as fond of, “Remembering Light”, but one among the many isn’t bad, and I did enjoy the story… just not near as much as the rest of the book. It was slow and vague up until the very end. Just wasn’t the best story in the bunch is all.
And one last spoiler type thing that kind of bugged me: <spoiler>We don’t <i>really</i> know what happened to Last. I assume he died, but I’m not crazy about ambiguous endings.</spoiler>

(Side note: I couldn’t help thinking how, if Earth ended up in Driftwood, humans would definitely find a way to completely destroy it and kill everybody, or at the very least, they’d start sowing hate and mistrust at every turn. One character <spoiler> Kuondae</spoiler> does that, and I kept thinking “so maybe she’s got some human in her down the line”. So many times while I was reading about all these different species walking around together, trying to survive together for as long as possible despite the insane circumstances, did I think “I just know that <b>humans would not be able to handle this shit.”</b> Religious fanatics would be fueling some crazy ass fires, everyone would be fear mongering and xenophobic (or whatever word means hating and fearing other species/worlds/realities), and the militaries and governments would either separately start nuking everything or band together to nuke everyone else/everything they didn’t understand. Darkly funny and deeply sad, but I thought about it quite often.)

Anyway. This story is so creative and magical, I wish I had thought of it. And whenever I have that thought while reading, I know I have to recommend it. I would have anyway though, because it’s a fun book with characters and plots that stay interesting start to finish.

Driftwood is one of the most incredibly creative fantasies you will find. The story isn't about world-building as much as world-shattering. Think of a universe built of concentric circles.

On the outside is the Mist. Then, there's the Edge which is filled with all the worlds new to Driftwood, all having faced their own apocalypses and shattering into pieces as they move toward the center. Past this Ring of worlds, each containing unique amazing species and barely separated.

At the Edge, worlds are new to Driftwood. They just had their apocalypses. Farther in, there’s the Shreds, which are but remnants of entire planets, crumbling into Mere neighborhoods and city blocks. And then there's the Crush, where world crumble and die. Sort of like a giant black hole from which nothing emerges.

It's rather hard to visualize how these worlds all come together and how beings travel from one to another, but eventually you as a reader accept the concept.

Also added into the mix is an immortal being, Last, who acts as a bounty hunter or tour guide. He eventually becomes the focal point of the book, but the story is never told from his point of view. Just from those who encounter him and there are many of these who seek from him things he cannot bestow.

The format of the book is a little different too. This isn't an epic quest for the holy grail, but a series of connected folktales told by various people about the Shreds and about Last, the one who cannot die. This is one of those books so creative that it's just fascinating to read. And there's so much here with so many worlds that more stories could perhaps emerge.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.