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.

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THE WINTER ROAD was the first of Adrian Selby’s books that I read, and it was an absolute highlight of 2018. Heading into BROTHER RED, I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t realize it was set in the same world, Sarun, as THE WINTER ROAD and his first novel, SNAKEWOOD. The two that I’ve now read absolutely work as standalones, but unless I’m mistaken, the chronology of these three novels is:

-THE WINTER ROAD

-BROTHER RED

-SNAKEWOOD

So I’m actually on track to having read them all chronologically, which is cool!

I’m not someone who tends to get hung up on genres & classifications or whatever. Which, given the online handle I’ve chosen, is…funny? Maybe? I’ve certainly been asked more than a few times if something is or isn’t grimdark, and more often than not, my answer is…I dunno, maybe? A little? I’m not sure. Ask someone else, please, it’s just a name, I thought it sounded cool?

So, is BROTHER RED grimdark? Yeah, maybe. In places. It’s brutal at times, as was THE WINTER ROAD. But there’s also so much hope & raw emotion packed into Adrian Selby’s words to offset some of the occasional bleakness. I mean…goddamn. This is an author who seems to be quietly carving out a spot as one of the most unique & exciting voices in fantasy. These books are challenging & completely unlike anything I’ve ever read. I was absolutely absorbed by BROTHER RED from the very first page, and this is for sure an early favorite from 2021.

Driwna Marghoster is a soon-to-be promoted soldier for the Post, the merchant guild created by Teyr Amondsen (from THE WINTER ROAD). Out on the road, Driwna and her partner, Cal, make a gruesome discovery: the body of an Oskoro, hidden away in a barrel. The Oskoro are a mysterious race of people who embed plants & seeds in their bodies and become…something more than human.

This discovery has an absolutely profound impact on Driwna, and sets her course for the remainder of the novel. The more she tries to understand who killed this Oskoro and why, the more she uncovers about a vast conspiracy. This is…kind of as much as I’m gonna get into the book plot wise, because it’s a lot, and this is definitely a book that takes you to some very unexpected places.

As I mentioned, I’ve found THE WINTER ROAD and BROTHER RED to be challenging reads, but in really rewarding ways. Selby’s characters often speak or narrate in a very particular dialect, with some turns of phrase that feel unfamiliar. But there’s almost this rugged beauty to the language in this book, in the way Driwna expresses herself. There were times where BROTHER RED felt like it veered slightly into Western territory, which is something I adore in fantasy.

Selby is also giving us some of the most frenzied & unpredictable fight scenes in fantasy. The characters take fightbrews, specialized concoctions that dial up their strength, speed, awareness…different brews for different things. What they have in common is a rather ruinous effect on the body & a lengthy recovery period. Additionally, battles are fought not just with blades & bows, but with deadly natural elements, like spores and gases. It’s fucking brutal!! These are absolutely chaotic fight-for-your-life moments, and I felt exhausted after reading some of them. Fucking hell.

There are some amazing secondary characters in this book, each of them coming in & out of Driwna’s orbit throughout the course of the novel. Her relationship with Cal is really fascinating to see, and it feels like there’s a ton of history there. Two characters who are always there for one another, can eviscerate each other with sarcasm, and just know they have each other’s back, no matter what.

There’s also some incredibly beautiful romantic elements to the story, as Driwna meets and falls in love with a woman named Ufra. I don’t want to say much about Ufra, but the relationship between her & Driwna captured my entire heart and will be the thing I remember most about this book. Oof.

BROTHER RED is a brutal & gorgeous novel. Utterly heartbreaking & uplifting in equal measure. It’s also weird as fuck at times, that can’t be overlooked. Adrian Selby has a really unique approach to writing fantasy, and the end result is something that’s so different, and so fucking compelling. I’m not sure what else to say. BROTHER RED is amazing, and I’m gonna read anything Adrian Selby writes.

Massive thanks to Orbit for the copy!!