Review: 'The West Passage' by Jared Pechaček

Imagine a city, if you will, one containing multiple towers, ruled by powerful Ladies. The city is on the brink of disaster and full of intrigue. A Beast is coming, and with it most likely the end of your city. Now imagine you're but a novice, who must face this threat alongside all the wonders your odd city has to offer. Meet The West Passage, an utterly innovative Fantasy novel which took me surprise and gave me hours of delight. Thanks to Tordotcom and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Pub. Date: 16/7/2024
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group; Tordotcom

THE LADIES REIGN. THE PALACE ROTS. THE BEAST RISES.

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer, foretelling the coming of the Beast. The too-young Mother of Grey House and the Guardian's unnamed squire set out to save their people.

Their narrow shoulders bear a heavy burden. Before them lies the West Passage, home to horrors and delights that defy imagining. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for sure: the world is about to change.

 I am a very avid Fantasy reader and have been for decades now. As such, I have at times lost the ability to be truly surprised by many Fantasy books. I don't mean on a plot-level, where authors are consistently surprising me with their twists and turns. I guess I mean the level of world-building, or, even more abstractly, the way a Fantasy novel engages with the tropes of the Fantasy genre itself. This is mostly true for Fantasy novels which, in some way, base themselves on European history, mythology, and folklore as I am intimately familiar with it, in part due to my vocation as a Medievalist. I will recognise the elements drawn from medieval literature, or from the first wave of medievalist works, like The Lord of the Rings, and understand pretty quickly where the world building is going and what kind of book I am dealing with. Because of my familiarity with the material and my love for works like Tolkien's, I also often miss a sense of depth in the world-building. Not everyone, in fact hardly anyone, should feel forced to invent entire languages for their Fantasy novel, but sometimes I can tell that the history of a story world is thin and does not extend past what is on the page. For a reader like me, that is always a little disappointing, even if it does not always affect my enjoyment of the book. The reason for this long preamble is to state that in The West Passage, Jared Pechaček surprised me on almost every page. I was already intrigued by the blurb, but I was not prepared for the way Pechaček plays with Fantasy. Rather than following its rules, he takes the genre's freedom and runs with it, dragging you along for a thrilling journey.

The West Passage is the story of Kew and Pell, two young inhabitants of Grey Tower. Pell is in training with the women of Grey Tower, a group which is slowly dying out. When Yarrow, one of the two remaining Grey women, dies, Pell becomes the new Yarrow. With her group under threat and the Beast's arrival imminent, she must set off to warn the other towers. Kew, meanwhile, is the apprentice of Hawthorn, the Guardian, who is meant to stand against the Beast when it rises again. When Hawthorn dies, he wants to take her place but realises he must travel to the Black Tower and its Lady in order to warn them of the coming Beast. Both set out, separately, from Grey Tower in order to warn the rest of their city. And that is where I'm going to leave you, plot wise, although it just about covers the first two of the nine "books" of which The West Passage is made up. It is best, I think, to go into this book with as little knowledge as possible, so that Pechaček can surprise you at every turn. I will say that I was enamoured with both Pell/Yarrow and Kew/Hawthorn. Their journeys, both the physical ones through the Towers and the emotional ones as they become settled in their (new) identities, selves, and roles, are crafted very well and allow Pechaček to comment on preconceptions, our belief in the stories we grew up with, and our desire for a future. The novel talks about the desire for and fear of change, the disregard of those in power, and the power of history and story.

Jared Pechaček is an artist and this comes through really strongly in his descriptions of the Towers and its various inhabitants. He has an imagination I could swim in, and the way he brings it to life in the pages of The West Passage is what makes this book such a stand-out. From the large concepts to the small details, there were things in this book I had never read before and which are still echoing around in my head. I would love to tell you about the things Pechaček does, believe me, but I think you deserve to discover it on your own. The novel is billed as a medieval fantasy, which makes some sense if one considers the (stunning) cover and the emphasis on story telling throughout the novel, yet there is also something very post-Industrial Revolution/Enlightenment period about it to me. Pechaček creates a blend of different influences and ideas, which feels incredibly rich. There is a sense of knowledge being passed down generations, of centuries of history behind every object or figure, which gives the novel a great depth. I always felt as if there would be more to learn and discover, if we only lingered in that location a little longer, or if Kew or Pell had asked a slightly different question. For me, that is a marker of excellent world building and I could spend hundreds of more pages in these Towers. This is also helped by a strong narratorial voice, which is almost in cahoots with the reader as we follow the two apprentices on their journeys. The West Passage is very confident for a debut novel, in all it does, and I cannot wait to read more by Pechaček in the future. 

Note on the cover: it is truly beautiful! According to a FB post from Tordotcom, the cover art is by Kuri Huang and the cover design by Christine Foltzer.

I give this novel...

5 Universes!

The West Passage is one of my favourite books of 2024 so far! It is inventive and surprising, both daring and kind, and the kind of book I will absolutely be rereading. I only finished it a week ago, but I am already itching to dive back in.