ARC received via NetGalley. Note: the book is about world building. As such, this review cannot avoid some spoiling that certain world building exists, but doesn’t go into any details.

I loved this books architectural prowess in its world building. The fundamental caveat in the world is that the differences between the label of magic and the label of science is mostly in the context of knowledge management. Plot-based artifacts function as the magical, action-pushing devices common in high fantasy: at the same time, the same artifacts are used to commentate on how cultural power is tightly retained through knowledge control (more common in science fiction).

This conceit makes the main protagonists, a man in a society where men are disenfranchised, and a little girl who has not yet been taught the knowledge used to continue the disparity, acutely useful tools to introduce and then envelop the reader into the world.

I came to this book with a mild skepticism: I dislike, as a rule, stories whose fundamental world building includes enforcement of the gender binary. Usually, this effectively creates a world where trans people are either abominations of the natural order or nonexistent. This is a world where non-cisgendered people are unusual & treated differently in society; this is not a narrative where that treatment is generally condoned. To avoid spoilers I will not go further.

I found the characters to be varied in depth. The Princess Viella is an excellent portrayal of a 9 year old going through extreme trauma- she is kind of annoying, desperately clings to her perceived safe adult figures, and struggles to express to those same figures important information because she fears the instability that may come with it. Her glorified babysitter also has page space to go through being frustrated, scared, introspective, and loyal. Other characters with less page space simply have less space to develop; I expect the promised sequel will shore these up!

The pacing of this book is fast. A lot happens within a few days by a lot of people. Expect political intrigue, action packed fights, folkloric figures on spiritual journeys, and a little bit of tenderness. This is not a book where paragraphs could be skipped without missing some kind of plot/info. Still a delight to read.

Would be great for fans of deep world building, hard magic systems, action packed pacing, and political intrigue. Some of my favorite passages came out of prose from the perspective of a folkloric spirit, adding just that bit of wonder in an otherwise fierce and desperate world.

"The Nightward" is the first fantasy-scifi novel in R.S.A. Garcia's "Waters of Lethe" duology. In a world where women lead and have some form of magic, while men are often without magic, Viella is a 9 year old princess who is about to be confirmed as the next Hand of Gaia. When a coup leaves her Queen mother dead and their court in shambles, Viella is saved and taken away by her bodyguard, Luka. There are powerful machinations behind the scenes and we find out that things are not all as they seem. Wonderful world building that leaves you wanting to know more about this world and what exactly is going on. Readers will eagerly await the next novel. Recommended for adult fiction collections where fantasy and sci fi are popular.

Long ago, Chaos resigned in Gailand, until the Goddess Gaiea banished those responsible for the Dark, and entrusted the world to those she knew could trust: Women. Only women can possess strong magic, and train from a young age to be warriors or seers. Queens rule Gailand, with the High Queen of Dun acting as Gaiea’s Hand and her heir as Gaiea’s Spirit.

When young Viella is to be confirmed as the High Queen’s heir, there is a coup, and the Queen is murdered. Acting on pure instinct, Veilla’s bodyguard Luka, saves her and whisks her away to safety. However, the two are unsure of who they can trust, and as a man in a woman’s world, Luka already has secrets he must hide if he wants them to stay alive.

Nightward is a political high fantasy that offers a intriguing look at a society completely opposite of what most of us have ever known: a matriarchy, where men are viewed as “less than” and advised to not travel without a woman for protection.

This book was a wild ride with non-stop action and intrigue from the start. At times it gave me Game of Thrones vibes because of many perspectives you get. On one hand I loved seeing all the moving pieces, like a chess board. On the other, it could get overwhelming trying to remember all the names and locations.

The world and magic system are complex, unfolding slowly while reading, and you’re never given a complete or in-depth explanation. This is intentional, as piecing together the origin of the world and its magic are a big part of the main plot for the series, but I still found it a little frustrating. It’s honestly the only thing that kept it from being a five star read.

I loved the characters and all the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. I became very emotionally invested in several of them, especially Viella, and I’m really looking forward to continuing the series (and getting answers to all my questions!!!) Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Pub Date: October 14, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my e-reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited for this one, given the buzz I've heard - I just couldn't connect with any of the characters and it turned into a slog because of that. Interesting worldbuilding but the characters just were not there for me.

The Nightward as a fun Sci-Fantasy book filled with political plotting, magic, and adventure. While, at in the first half I wasn't totally hooked by the second half and end I needed to know what was going to happen next. I cannot wait for the sequel to come out and to see how they story wrap up.
One issue I did have is that as a Sci-Fantasy book to me it felt disjointed as some ancient tech was there but not much was really explained. I am not sure if as the readers we were suppose to deduce it was tech or if that it was some strange old magic like characters in the story. I hope more is explained about the world and the technology aspects in the sequel as I feel have more information will allow for a better connect and feel less disjointed.

Review: This novel is a two-sided coin. Great movement vs. poorly built characters. Fantastic world building vs. wokey trash opinions. Believable magic vs. high technology. Independent and fierce characterization vs. YA blushing and crushing.

Where does this dichotomy leave the reader? Well this reader had fun up until the pronoun bullshjt was inserted with no cogent alignment to the story line. Good thing it was minor in approach and lasted but a few pages. Fug, when does the shjt end?

I am torn between loving the grande questing nature of the story line and not giving a fuk what happens to the characters. That is one of the toughest things to create in any great novel...loving the characters so much that you are constantly rooting for them. Characters that were born with silver spoons in their mouths lessens the ability for readers to form attachments. I will carry on with this series but the character development needs to see improvement.

Rating: 3.2/5

Yeah, The Nightward really does deserve all the awards it has been receiving. If anything I expect it to win even more in the future because I simply couldn’t find anything that didn’t fascinate me. R.S.A. Garcia’s world-building was the highlight for me. It was so unique, intricate, and imaginative that I was simply absorbed into the colorful world she had created. Quite honestly, I am simply obsessed with the mastery of craft behind Garcia’s writing. The world was so vast, its politics so fascinating, and its characters so complex, and yet Garcia was painting on her canvas with such ease that elevated my admiration of her work. I am very much looking forward to R.S.A. Garcia’s future novels but I was delighted to find out that I can read her short stories to bridge the gap.

"'How he loves you, and yet hurts you, all the same? That's what people can do, if you give them your trust. This lesson I teach you freely. Never give people your trust. They will only betray you.'"

The Nightward is the first book in a new sci-fi/fantasy series that follows the story of a princess and her bodyguard. I've seen some reviews calling this novel "too ambitious" and confusing, and while the worldbuilding and characters take a few chapters to get used to, I didn't think the scope was too large. In fact, I'm excited to see where the next book goes in terms of worldbuilding.
The story begins with the assassination of a queen. Princess Viella is escorted to safety by her bodyguard, Luka, sparking a game of cat-and-mouse with the mysterious dark magic plaguing the land. There are multiple POVs, which I found unexpected but welcome, as it allowed me to better understand what was going on in the court Viella left behind. The pacing was relatively fast, although I do think it slowed down at the end (when I was desperately seeking answers about a specific character's chance of surviving). That being said, there was enough action to keep me occupied throughout, and there were a few plot twists that I sort of predicted but still found amusing.
I actually found myself liking the majority of the characters. Mordach reminded me of the evil sorcerer from Elena of Avalor, and I will not elaborate. I also thought Sophia was incredibly cool, and I'm excited to see what she'll do in book 2. I really hope Valan and Enoch are okay and that they'll get their happy endings. Eleanor grew on me eventually, although I'm not sure how I felt about her relationship with Luka (because I pictured her as way older than him). Viella and Luka's dynamic gave me so much happiness with their unconditional trust, and I am extremely excited to see what happens to them in book 2.
The Nightward is the beginning of a new sci-fi/fantasy series that deals with trust, duty, and the consequences of oppression.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

4/5

Great adventure! I loved the fact that the author's Trinidadian background factored into this story, and gave the world-building a flavor not found in other fantasy titles.

The story itself feels like a blend of other YA fantasy titles, like Six of Crows and others of that ilk.

The writing is solid, and the character building proved to be a strong point of the novel. The magical system was creative, and I loved the matrilineal aspect of the queendom, which lends another dimension to the story I appreciated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc! Ho boy, if I could sum up this book in one sentence, it would be: this is too much and yet not enough. Big ideas, huge ambition, but it does not stick the landing. I’m going to break this down into pros and cons

Pros:
-the author has potential
-intriguing concepts
-war cats and big, bad dragons
-this book does not hold you hand
-definitely unpredictable!!!

Cons:
-this book got lost in the sauce of its ambition and concepts; it was very unwieldy and messy
-the scale of this book was too big for the author’s current talents
-nothing was explained in the slightest, and even with an attempt at some info dumps, which made for a confusing reading experience (I’m saying this as a seasoned epic fantasy reader)
-characters were unmemorable, and I felt disconnected to them all
-some plot points made me roll my eyes excessively
-I felt zero emotion save frustration and annoyance
-“sure,””fuck it all,” “why the hell not,” and “I guess???” were common thoughts I had while reading this

Good world-building can breath life into a story, great world-building puts the readers into the story and The Nightward creates its world in technicolor. I was interested by this story's description of a Queendom because I like the idea of turning away from the convention of kingdoms to a matriarchal rule. And, the conflict of a coup in this magical queendom that leaves the scion and her guard on the run sounded like a juicy plot. The threads of mythology woven into the tale could make it even more enticing or just gild the lily. The execution of this description was a well thought out story with an interesting group of characters inhabiting a world where magic canvases a world and casts it in hues of myth and fantasy. The story moves at a fair pace and introduces a number of characters with different motivations but absorption of that didn't take too long for me and until then, the "Dramatis Personae" page was handy. The story hooked me and the ending pulled me in and now I can only await the continuation of this tale in the sequel. Readers who like a mix of folklore, old gods, and magic should consider this first book of The Waters of Lethe duology. (3.5/5)
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.