No synopsis…mysterious!
But basically, this novella tells the tale of a Mayan tribe that, anticipating an apocalyptic event, seek the help of something much bigger than them, through a bloody ritual.
Dark bleatings, my lovely tribe! I’ve got a novella recommendation/review for you today. Last year, I reviewed this author’s debut novel, ‘End Realm’, and quite frankly I was disgusted by how good it was. Brand new writers should not be this good. So anyway, I assumed it was a fluke, and then I read this effing novella, which is of equal writing excellence and I think even better storytelling. So…my envy rages on, I guess.
This is about a Maya tribe who go on a journey in hopes of reaching and summoning a mythical beast (dragon!!!!!), the Skybreaker. Our main character is Cualli, a young woman embarking on this quest with her extended friends and family. This is a horror story so of course, everything doesn’t go to plan.
The opening is possibly the most atmospheric, epic introduction to a story I’ve ever read. Wonderful, skilful use of language to set the stage for what’s to come, and the scale of it. I could practically see and hear the lightning and thunder. What is the Skybreaker, exactly?!
In terms of storytelling, it switches between the first person narration of Cualli, and third person narration that’s so effective that it almost reads like second person because we’re being directly spoken to. I thought this was particularly effective because the overall story is much bigger than the characters, which we really feel when we’re in the third person sections. When we’re with Cualli, however, we benefit from empathising with the much smaller, personal world of this one girl and those she loves, and how she’s experiencing the situation. Basically, Welch absolutely nailed both plot and character and created a character/plot driven hybrid. I’ve never seen that before. Whatever is most important to you in a story, Welch covered it.
The climax is where the true horror really comes in. For a novella-length story, it reached heights I didn’t expect. The scope of the danger is unbelievably epic. There’s a moment that almost made me cry, which does not happen often when I’m reading.
I can’t go into further detail without spoiling things for you, so I won’t. I’ll just end on the note that I wholeheartedly recommend this to book lovers, especially if you like tribal characters and stories set a way back. I think fantasy fans would also like this, it’s quite the infusion.
If you’d like to check out the book or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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