Wild Isle Review:

WARNING! INEVITABLE SPOILERS BELOW!

Destin is the first of three books in the Kumasagi series—or should I say epic? For while the scope of setting in this first book is rather local, honing in on the great Shakti Lake City, both the style of its storytelling and the vast world that storytelling sets up resemble sweeping epic poems and cosmogonic tales. Fundamentally, Destin is a love-triangle wrapped in Asian-and-Islander-inspired myth, religion, language, and culture: the Kumasagi, this world’s incarnate spiritual guide, finds himself a literal soul-mate with Asta, his brother Jayan’s wife.

Like any first book in a series of fantasy stories, Destin has its work cut out for it in terms of planting its setting firmly within its readers’ minds—especially a setting as fleshed out and novel as this. The world of the Kumasagi series shares enough commonalities with our own that its society and institutions feel very intuitive; and yet, the culture and customs described—seamlessly interwoven from a great number of what seem to be Pacific Islander, South-East Asian, and Far East Asian traditions—feel sufficiently alien to an English speaking American reader. I could really believe in a city of semi-aquatic mystics, born of a Sky Fish, who live lives in which religion and spirituality cannot be separated from everyday living.

As mentioned, the style in which the Kumasagi series is written fits the setting perfectly. The third person omniscient narrator gives the reader the impression he or she is reading a translated mythological manuscript more than a modern novel. Furthermore, the author, Leslee Sheu, executes fairly well at this style (especially when she’s describing mystical elements, giving imagery to things fundamentally unseeable; it’s rather impressive, actually).

However, it is on this very point where criticism can be leveled. As is so often the case, Destin’s weaknesses lie within its strengths. We’ll start with setting. It’s extraordinarily well fleshed out and described in painful detail. And I mean painful (at times). The author takes extra care to ensure the reader is oriented in the city correctly, so much so that the story often comes to a grinding halt in order to explain the relative positions of certain buildings, districts, and other geographical landmarks. While rich, these details rarely affect the plot or the characters, and after a while they feel like padding, as if a third of the book could be cut and the pacing improved. Unfortunately, this problem is compounded by the narrator’s point-of-view. The nature of an omniscient narrator is psychic-distance, and so, aside from the very mystical scenes, these setting details are delivered rather dryly (or as part of dry expository dialogue).

Mentioning dialogue allows me to shift to my second criticism: the characters. Our main cast; the Kumasagi Najat, his Explorer brother Jayan, and Asta, the destin for which the book is named, are all a bit flat and static (with Asta being the least so). Each of the cast’s personalities seems almost reducible to his position or profession. Najat is serious and devoted-to-a-fault. Jayan is rough and adventurous. Only Asta seems to go through a character arc (from demi-conscious virgin to a self-conscious wife trying to find her meaningful place, her destiny)—though because this is only part one, her arc is yet complete.

And that’s a good place for this review to end, as I expect many of my criticisms to be addressed in parts two and three. Yes, that means this book’s cliff-hanger finish has caught me, and if you enjoy mythology or new and inspired fantasy settings, Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin might hook you as well. Click the picture above to pick up a copy yourself (and if you leave a review, tell the author, “Ai, Saati! I honor your novel with the highest of mudras!“)