The Thirteenth Tower

Oh fantasy.

Somehow, after a long week and a run of more serious reading material, there is something about fantasy that  feels like coming home. Seeing as I realize that fantasy and sci-fi often talk about serious issues as well I can understand the awkwardness of that mentality and yet I feel this ever time.


This week I had the opportunity to delve into Sara C.Snider's new book The Thirteenth Tower.

As an orphaned servant girl Emelyn has few prospects in life and hasn't planned much beyond the chores that would allow her to attend this year's festival in the village. However, when strangers overpower her village, leaving herself, a stranger apprentice, and two magisters unaffected Emelyn finds herself caught up in a delicate journey between forces that could lead to her destiny or her unraveling.


 I enjoyed Snider's offering. Emelyn was a character I could easily identify with and support in her journey to unravel the truth that was hidden all around her. Cobbe and her pig, though not as relatable were a great addition and showed the contrast in character styles that Snyder is able to infuse with life throughout her pages.

I also enjoyed Snider's use of the world's mythology in order to drive the story along. Although this, along with certain storytelling techniques, did allow for major plot points to be guessed fairly early in the story the character and charm won me over and continued to hold my interest.

I also enjoyed the villains in this story, the back story, the emotions and reasoning given to major decisions. However, I cannot think of a single way to explain more without giving away to much of the story so I'll content myself to leave it there ;)

My biggest disappointment was that the book feels like a solid set up for a series or, at the very least, opens it up for a good sequel to explore the events that followed the climax of this book. No sign of any second offering could I find online though. Hopefully this is something that can be rectified in the future though.

For fans of fantasy and classic fairy tales, Snider offers a wonderful new offering to this genre.

4 out of 5 stars.

I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for my honest opinion.

Update: For those who, like me, felt this story ended too quickly be sure to drop in at Snider's website  for some exciting news!