Bloody Books Review: Prince Maesa
Prince Maesa (and Shattercap the Spite) has appeared in a numerous short stories and audio dramas since 2017, Which have all been reworked and expanded to form a novel that is quiet and in it’s unique voice, one of the most enthralling books I’ve read this year.
Prince Maesa, of the Wanderers branch of Aelves, charts the Mortal Realms to bring back his beloved wife, a human woman named Ellamar, from the Realm of Death. He travels from Shadespire to Ghyran to Hysh in a grief-filled quest as he teaches Shattercap how to be good, and refuses to turn aside any call for aid. On his heels throughout is Nagash’s Hounds, holding the judgement of the Death God.
From that first Shadespire-set audio drama, I fell in love with Maesa and Shattercap, and on starting this tome, I was surprised to see that it had a narrative version of that production. I was worried to begin with that this novel would be the stories I had already read, but instead it forms a new narrative from those tales, reworking the wording in ways that make each part already experienced fresh, with new chapters between and an ending that took something truly special and elevated it further, making the differences in the different versions of those tales make sense. . It is an impressive job done exceptionally well, with “Hungerfiend” especially having gone a revision, becoming a new take on a heartbreaking tale already told, allowing the reader to experience it again, for the first time. It’s the eyes of someone who does not belong to any of the Mortal Realms, exploring them, taking on other’s viewpoints as he does so. For a while, Maesa is joined by a Duradin, Stonbrak, who both add’s to the dynamic between the Aelf and his impish companion, whilst also carrying his own narrative weight into the unfolding drama.
Guy Hayley’s flair is on full display here, as he manages to walk a tightrope between a bleak Old World grimness , and the more hopeful take that AoS often displays. The dialogue is incredibly engaging and sinking into this novel has been a delight in multiple manners. It says a lot that in a year that contains Echoes of Eternity, I am very much in the mindset that this has been my book of the year. It is nothing short of beautiful, immersive with joy and sadness taking turns in the spotlight to make something of Prince Maesa that is more than it’s parts, but whole that I would be suprised to see matched, though I hope that would be the case. Guy Hayley has arrived in the Mortal Realms, and I dare to dream this is only the start.
-Adam