River Quest, by Sylvia Kelso

The River Quest by Sylvia Kelso

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The River Quest, by Sylvia Kelso, is a beautiful book.

In many ways, it is a classic quest story. The Hero is given a quest, or takes up a quest. A journey follows, one beset with trials and tribulations. The Hero often travels with chosen companions who will be at the Hero's side until the end. This quest will change them all. The Quest isn't complete until the task is complete: the Grail found, the Enemy conquered. The Hero returns, with a boon for the people behind, a gift.

In Kelso's reimagining of the classic quest, there is no Grail, but rather the Source of the River to be found, the drought lifted. This boon will save the people of the Hero, their Prince Arxes--and the peoples who live along this great River of the world. He will save his father who is on the edge of madness, as he fishes for fish that are no longer there in a drying river. The River-Maiden has chosen him for this task.

Arxes travels at first, with only brave companion, his "staunch comrade ... Captain Ervan-second-Phylarchy-third-Taxis-royal-Phalanx ...suh" (15). They are joined by the brave Tomyris, daughter of the chieftain of the Plainsfolk. On their perilous journey seeking "the River's mysterious source," they will travel through "desert, forest, city and steppe, encountering an emperor, an enchantress, a shaman, a witch. "They will meet unforeseen friends and foes, gods, monsters, beings out of myth: they will risk the elemental perils of lightning, fire and ice" (back cover). Each will be tested, and tried, as heroes on a quest must, and they will be faced with hard, hard choices.

The world of River Quest is richly imagined and detailed. The language itself becomes a river of words, of metaphor, of meaning. The gods they encounter, both benign and not, are the mythos of the world, including the Horned God, the Smith, among others. This Quest is a journey of love, of companions, and of the heart, as each companion grows and becomes themselves. It doesn't matter that the reader knows how a Quest should end.

Highly recommended.



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