Hey, everybody! Welcome back to Tumnus’ Bookshelf, where we review any and all books written by, about, and inspired by CS Lewis, The Land of Narnia, and The Inklings. For today’s review, we will be looking at Bailey Davenport’s new fantasy novel Eilinland: Through the Wall.
Title: Eilinland: Through the Wall
Author: Bailey Davenport
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 8, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1725085089
ISBN-13: 978-1725085084
Summary:
One day, four warriors, Bierno, Aenin, Jexxa and Gillio are bidden by a shared vision. A woman, held captive in a prison in the neighboring kingdom of Vreen. Bidden by the King the embark on a quest to free her and others like her. Along the way a chance encounter with a young girl named Rheen. A wayward girl heading down a bad path she is instructed to join them by the king
Returning home Rheen encounters people from her past and wrestles with her choices as her new found friends conduct an investigation that leads them to learn that the girl in their visions and many like her have seemingly vanished from the town. Along the way Rheen will forced to pick sides as her journey unfolds that exposes more dark secrets in her home town then she imagined.
Review:
It cannot be stressed enough: fantasy and speculative fiction is always the best way of explaining abstract concepts in concrete ways. Where it’s power being manifest in a Ring, or temptation taking on the form of candy, the genre is filled with these symbols and metaphors. After all, it is one of the few forms of literature in which can have the characters wrestle with physical manifestations of literal personal demons they may face. This is the case for the young girl Rheen in Bailey Davenport’s new fantasy novel Eilinland: Through the Wall.
Unique to this story, Rheen isn’t a princess, or even a farm girl. In fact how she is brought into the company of the heroes is something often reserved for boys as Rheen begins her story as a thief on the street. We’ve grown sued to these scoundrels in literature, whether it’s the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist, Aladdin, or Han Solo and Ezra Bridger in the Star Wars saga. Rheen is just as down on her luck as they are and in an even more desperate situation, and thus could be forced into such a situation if need be.
We learn through the course of her story why and how she fell to this life, and that despite her attempts to justify herself she wants to be free from her past. It isn’t easy as she’s continually hunted by literal specters of her past in the form of Sniws, hideous goblin like creatures, their treacherous servants, and her old friends. She becomes the key to saving her old captives, and it feels like a natural extension of her character as Rheen knows what it’s like to feel trapped, but knows the relief that comes when some extends you grace and sets you free to follow the right path.
She’s bidden by the same reoccurring dream as her new friends. Leading the charge is the experienced hero Beirno, a man who is willing to do everything to save their prisoners haunting his dreams for no other reason then it’s what he’d want if it happened to his beloved wife, Sonya, and their children. Guiding them is sage like Aenin a living star, like Ramandu and Coriakin in Narnia, while Jexxa the mysterious were-creature who can transform into a tiger, appropriately keeps to herself Last in their company, the youngest Gillio, who tries his best to lighten the spirits of his friends.
Of the characters in the story, Aenin and Jexxa were the ones I was most curious about as they show signs of great world building to come and hope to learn more about them in future books. It may be unsettling at first for some readers to see a heroic were-creature, but if Lewis could “redeem” fauns and centaurs, and Tolkien could do the same with elves, all characters of pagan origins, then it stands to reason the same can be true for a were-creature. As Jexxa’s animal form is that of beautiful, noble white tiger it makes her much more palatable and heroic then it would if she was a straight forward lycan.
There is still the standard Dark Lord, Rundyl, in the background bidding his evil minions due to his will, but perhaps one of the principal villains is one of Rheen’s old friends, Rove. What makes Rove so terrible is how he plays mind games with Rheen to make her doubt herself, her new friends and try to talk her back into her old life. As the two of them have unresolved romantic feelings for each other it makes his tricks all the more effective. There’s also a suspect or two in the disappearances who pops up, but to reveal them in the context of a reveal would tread into spoiler territory and rob the story of its mystery.
While Davenport certainly loves to use old fantasy favorites like dragons, sentient stars, and were-creatures, one little touch of world building I appreciate is the presence of the North American mythical creature known as a jackelope. Too often, fantasy writers on this side of the pond rely too much on the fantasy mainstays of a Greco-Roman, Celtic, or Nordic influence and forget to include some creatures like from American folklore. In including this small creature, who is almost treated like the White Stag in Narnia, Davenport gives her world a distinctly American feel and a desire to set her work apart from British counterpart. While in her interview with us, Davenport admitted she wished she did a better job researching the creature and promises even more creatures to come, the jackelope is an excellent start and hopefully inspire other fantasy writers to tap into the same well.
Since the prime narrative of the story involves the four warriors trying to solve a mystery, Davenport weaves the story in an episodic pace, akin to books like The Hobbit, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, or The Silver Chair. After all a mystery cannot be solved overnight and when the characters have only one lead to go on, they need to take their time looking asking the right questions. There may even be a misdirect or two as the suspects try their hardest to get away. This allows the readers to be part of the adventure and try to piece it together as each chapter concludes, making for a fun and intriguing read.
As a long time fantasy fan, I find Eilinland: Through the Wall a delightful story and a wonderful successor to fantasy books like Gilbert Morris’ The Seven Sleepers. Full of fun characters, cool creatures, and an intriguing mystery, Eilinland: Through the Wall shows tremendous potential from a promising new author. I look forward to reading the next installment and learning more about the world of Eilinland and the characters who call it home.
Four out of Five shields.
Order the book from Amazon.com.
Learn more about Bailey and her book here.
