The Captain’s Log – brother red (Adrian Selby)

Ahoy there me mateys!  This author has written three novels in the world of Sarun that can be read independently from each other.  The other book I read was the winter road which was awesome.  This one was pretty darn good too.

The highlight continued to be the use of plants as a major resource.  Plants are a type of currency and have many uses.  One is for battle brews that enrich a warrior’s sight, strength, and other attributes based on what is in them.  Each war band has it’s own secret recipes and fiercely guard them.  What was awesome is that ye have to “pay the colour” for their use.  Besides causing the user to be violently ill and face potential death, the mixes also ruin the user’s skin and cause a period of complete defenselessness.  I love it.

This installment follows Driwna Marghoster who works for the Post.  The Post is a guild that provides trade caravans and protection on the road.  Her latest trip did not go as planned when she find a dead body hidden in a barrel in a wagon.  This goes against Post tradition and Driwna is overwhelmed by the discovery.  She is determined to get closure for the dead and figure out who is breaking the rules.  It turns out to be a bigger problem then she thought and Driwna is given a huge undertaking that is rough.

I loved Driwna.  She is all the things I love in this type of character.  She is a good friend, intelligent, principled, fierce, and awesome.  I also loved her friend Cal and their history and love for each other.  I wish he would have been in the book more.  I was rooting for Driwna the entire time.  This story was so engrossing that I barely put it down.  And the ending was so very unexpected.  It hurt me soul but also fit the rest of the book.

The only small problem was the big bad was a bit flat at times and because the reader knew about him it was hard to not understand how no one else seemed to be aware of his existence.  That said, it was minor.  Oh and a bit of insta-love but I didn’t really mind that either.

I know this doesn’t really get into the plot much but the story is a hard one to simplify even if it wasn’t hard at all to read.  I still have not read the author’s debut book.  I am glad I have more to read in this world.  Arrr!

Side note: While these books can be read in any order, the chronological order is the winter road, brother red & then snakewood.  I didn’t intend to read them in this order but it entertains me that it panned out that way!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

When the trade caravan Driwna Marghoster was hired to protect is attacked, she discovers a dead body hidden inside a barrel. Born of the powerful but elusive Oskoro people, the body is a rare and priceless find, the centre of a tragic tale and the key to a larger mystery…

For when Driwna investigates who the body was meant for, she will find a trail of deceit and corruption which could bring down a kingdom, and an evil more powerful than she can imagine.

To visit the author’s website go to:
Adrian Selby – Author

To buy the novel go to:
brother red – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

the winter road (On the Horizon – Fantasy eArc)