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The Drowning Eyes

Emily Foster (Goodreads Author)

3.42 · Rating details · 649 ratings · 163 reviews

When the Dragon Ships began to tear through the trade lanes and ravage coastal towns, the hopes of the archipelago turned to the Windspeakers on Tash. The solemn weather-shapers with their eyes of stone can steal the breeze from raiders' sails and save the islands from their wrath. But the Windspeakers' magic has been stolen, and only their young apprentice Shina can bring ...more

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Paperback, 134 pages

Published January 12th 2016 by Tor.com

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· 649 ratings · 163 reviews

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Sep 14, 2015 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, arcs-and-galleys, novella, review-copy

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2016/01/26/n...

Tor.com kicks off the year with another irresistible lineup of novellas in early 2016, and leading the charge is Emily Foster’s debut release The Drowning Eyes. In this slim little volume, a lone survivor sets off on an adventure in a wind-swept coastal fantasy to retrieve what was stolen from her and her people. With the Windspeakers’ island enclave pillaged and destroyed by the Dragon Ships, villages along the coastlin 3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2016/01/26/n...

Tor.com kicks off the year with another irresistible lineup of novellas in early 2016, and leading the charge is Emily Foster’s debut release The Drowning Eyes. In this slim little volume, a lone survivor sets off on an adventure in a wind-swept coastal fantasy to retrieve what was stolen from her and her people. With the Windspeakers’ island enclave pillaged and destroyed by the Dragon Ships, villages along the coastline are left unprotected and open to attacks. Now it’s up to Shina, a young apprentice, to reclaim the weather-shaping magic of the Windspeakers in order to save the villagers and drive back the raiders.

Determined and resourceful, Shina manages to find a captain desperate for funds and bargains for passage on her ship. Tazir and her crew are unhappy at the prospect of transporting their new guest at first, but they soon come around when everyone realizes the importance of Shina’s quest.

I know I can be a harsh judge of novellas, often with my main complaint being a wish for them to be longer or feel more complete. I’m afraid this is once again the case with The Drowning Eyes, which feels a lot like a too large idea trying to fit into too small a package. This admittedly weakens the story somewhat. But be that as it may, I want to underscore a few things I thought this novella did amazingly well and other areas that might have been limited by the short fiction format but shone through nonetheless.

First, the characters. I might not have spent enough time with them to call them truly memorable, but they were delightful to get to know. I have a soft spot for roguish sailor types, and the crew endeared themselves to me for the brief time I got to read about them. Their personalities were all wonderfully unique, and I enjoyed the interplay between them and the way they gradually accepted Shina into the fold and decided to throw their support behind her.

Second, the magic. Before you go thinking that this sounds like your typical feel-good quest narrative-type adventure story, you should get a load of the Windspeaker’s powers. Weather magic, the kind that is central to the plot in The Drowning Eyes, is a strictly guarded medium. Apprentices are brought to the enclave at a young age, and when they are deemed ready to don the mantle of a full Windspeaker, their eyes are gouged from their sockets and replaced by stones. It’s true that I may not remember the names of all the characters in this novella a year, three years, or five years from now, but I can pretty much guarantee I’ll remember this gruesome little detail about Windspeaker tradition for the rest of my life. Also, seeing as this is the third book I’ve read in as many weeks about ships and characters with weather-based magic that can control winds, it’s refreshing to see a new twist on a familiar idea, even if it is kind of disturbing.

Lastly, the world-building. I certainly liked what I saw, even if this story merely gave me a limited view through a tiny window. The rich descriptions paint a very lively picture of coastlines and the cultures of their inhabitants. The place feels very much alive, and even a small setting like life aboard a ship seems to have its own atmosphere.

And it was all over way too soon. I wish I could have held off the ending, but it came upon me like one of the story’s magical storms, and after a whirlwind of confused and sudden events, the book was finished. This is rather unfortunate, because a satisfying ending might have left me liking this book even more, but as it is, I felt the conclusion felt too incomplete—jarringly so.

However, as you can see from the many positives I talked about, The Drowning Eyes was still a book I really enjoyed. I think this would have made an excellent full-length novel with a more fleshed out plot and developed characters, but if given the chance to read more stories set in this world, I certainly wouldn’t say no. An impressive debut novella. ...more

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Oct 15, 2015 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another terrific novella from the TOR series. This one has a fantastic list of very diverse characters that really shine. The story is engaging and the ending was unexpected.

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Jan 30, 2017 The Shayne-Train rated it liked it

This was an entertaining story about hip-dialogue sailors and weather witches running from vaguely Viking guys....I guess? The magic system in this world was pretty harsh, which is a plus. And, like I said, the dialogue was pretty snappy, a little Mamet-meets-Whedon. But I didn't really get into it, and the characters didn't really end up giving two shits about each other, so I didn't end up giving two shits about them.

One huge plus though: the main character is LGBT, and.....who cares? There's ...more

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Oct 14, 2015 Anya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: tor-dot-com

Fantastic story full of weather magic and swashbuckling! And a whole lot of characters with dark skin *gasp* and women who like other women *double gasp*. The pacing was fantastic though a couple of times I got confused about a time jump. The magic of the world is very cool but has some serious consequences that will leave you wondering if it is worth it. I love fantasy that makes me think!

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Feb 15, 2016 Eon ♒Windrunner♒ rated it liked it

This one started out slow and then got really interesting and I was hooked and then the climax and the aftermath just kinda didn’t do it for me at all.

Still, I will check out the author’s future books.

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Oct 15, 2015 Robyn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

My only real complaint here is that I wanted more - I felt like this could have been incredible in novel length! Interesting world, strong characters.

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Jan 01, 2016 Rachel (Kalanadi) rated it liked it

Shelves: novellas, publisher

3.5 stars, now that I've had more time to think on it. I liked the ending the most (unexpected!). Solid writing. Distinct, engaging characters. Running from the nameless invaders' ships...? That was the only weaker part, but the rest of the story was stronger than that one detail. ...more

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Dec 26, 2015 Tammy rated it really liked it

The nitty-gritty: A compact story with big ideas, featuring a fascinating magic system and fierce and determined female characters.

I was immediately drawn to this novella by the cover: a beautiful and fierce-looking woman in the middle of a stormy sea. What was happening to her? It is book covers like this that make me want to read a book, and I dove in, hoping to find adventure, danger and an answer to my question. And I was not disappointed. The Drowning Eyes packs a lot of story into such a small page count, and introduces readers to some very unique characters. Foster takes the idea of a group of women who can control the wind and bring forth storms through magic, and tells the story of a girl who has been given a difficult task to complete before she is considered a full-fledged “Windspeaker.”

Tazir is the captain of the Giggling Goat, and along with her small crew, she sails among the Tahiri Islands, transporting travelers from island to island, assuring them safe passage through choppy waves and storm-prone skies. As they wait in a port, looking for their next customer, they are approached by a young girl named Shina, who offers them a huge amount of money to get to a distant island. She says her parents are forcing her to marry against her will, but Tazir knows she’s hiding something. But, unwilling to turn down such a huge fare, Tazir takes the job.

Shina is hiding a secret, a big one: she’s a Windspeaker, someone who can bring forth storms with magic. She’s on a quest to find and bring back an icon that is sacred to her people. With Shina’s help, the ship is able to evade a dangerous enemy, but how long can they possibly hide from them?

I love stories that take place at sea, and much of the action happens on the Giggling Goat, as Tazir and her crew get to know Shina, who is clearly not the innocent rich girl she appears to be. Foster did a great job with the atmosphere of the story, and she literally made me feel the sea spray on my skin, and I could clearly imagine the rocking of the ship as the winds kicked up.

Foster’s magic system is strange and disturbing. I don’t want to give away too much, but I will tell you that Windspeakers have a tradition that when they come of age and are ready, their eyes are exchanged for rocks. I’m usually not the squeamish type, but this one story element made me cringe each time it was brought up. But still, I loved the idea of weather-related magic. This certainly isn’t the first story to use this idea, but I’ve never seen it done quite this way before.

The Drowning Eyes not only features multi-ethnic characters, but gay and bisexual ones as well, so for those looking for more diversity in your stories, this one has it all. Throw in a mostly female cast and you have a short but powerful story that delivers on many levels.

I think Tor.com is off to a great start in 2016 with their first published novella of the year!

This review originally appeared on The Speculative Herald. This review originally appeared on Books, Bones & Buffy

...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Nicky rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, short-stories-novellas

There’s a lot about this novella that’s fascinating — the image of the Windspeakers having to sacrifice their eyes and receiving stones instead is just, wow; I’m pretty sure that’s going to stick with me. The crew are cool, too; crabby and sympathetic and brave and practical. A mixture, like real people, and able to really get on each other’s nerves like real people, too. There are some awesome descriptions of weather magic, too: of the way the protagonist feels it in her body.

The flipside of th ...more

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Dec 18, 2015 Saphana added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, hell_bloody_no

I feel, I have to explain my rating.

I'm tumblr-damaged, insofar as American citizens seem to insist on PoC, female writers with PoC female lead characters. I know, you'd insist on giving this the highest rating, based on those two facts alone. Bonus points for the captain being a lesbian.

If that's all you require, then CHECK. This should have been a five star review.

To me, it's not. This novella started out so fine, so perfect. Yes, female pirates. Yes, PoC pirates. But most of all, the fine li ...more

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Nov 19, 2018 Karishma rated it liked it

Shelves: read-before-2020

Superb and gripping for the first 4 chapters, with excellent worldbuilding which has you hungry for more - okayish for the next 2.5 and then the end leaves you completely dissatisfied.

But this is the author's debut and I'm looking forward to get refining her craft in her future novels! ...more

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Oct 16, 2015 Helen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a fabulous novella, I could easily have read more.

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Mar 02, 2020 Angela rated it liked it

Shelves: sff

Slim nautical fantasy with lots of potential though ultimately underwhelming. I enjoyed the characters and dialogue but the plot was on the weaker side. I'd be interested to see what this author can do with more pages to develop her ideas. ...more

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Nov 14, 2018 Mark rated it really liked it

This book was a really pleasant surprise. I didn't know much about it in advance; in fact, I randomly picked it from a list of fantasy novellas (I'm in a novella-reading mood lately) and only skimmed quickly through the synopsis.

For a short book, the characters felt realistic, and I *loved* the always-grumpy Captain Tazir...she made for a great lead, and her interactions with the rest of the cast were one of the highlights of this book.

I'm not a reader who is typically concerned with magic syste ...more

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Jan 12, 2017 Lis Carey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: f-sf, fiction, audiobooks, novella

Tazir has been plying the sealanes in her trade ship for many years, and is facing the same challenges all her competitors are, in these hard days when the Dragonships have started ravaging those some sealanes and the communities near them. She has no interest in anything other than keeping her ship and crew afloat and profitable--even if only barely--and no interest in challenging the Dragonships.

Shina is a young woman fleeing something, probably an unwanted marriage, but she has the money to h ...more

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Feb 12, 2016 Naz (Read Diverse Books) rated it liked it

Full review can be found in my blog: http://wp.me/p7a9pe-7q

Strongly recommended for fans of Fantasy. The characters are interesting and diverse, the adventures are dangerous, and the magic is awesome, as in literally awe-inspiring. ...more

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May 02, 2016 Maya rated it it was ok

Awesome cover lured me in. Everything else fell flat for me, though.
There are some nice ideas, but the writing is unpolished and the plot thin. There are pirates and chases, but I never felt the suspense, because too much time is spent on the "pirates" arguing around as immature ex-lovers (they talk like bitchy teenagers) and unresolved emotional issues between them. A novella is maybe not the best format for a story that focuses on world-building and character relationships, but certainly it i ...more

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Jan 21, 2016 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: short-format, fantasy, kindle-reads, most-recommended, 2016-challenge-books

This was really good, the world was really rich and I adored all the characters. My one big problem with it is that I just wanted so much more. I'm typically okay with short stories/novellas, I can dip in and out. But this one I wanted to be 300 pages, I want to walk around and travel with these characters. I'm hoping for more in this world from this writer, she's bumped up to the top of my watch list, I loved this so much. ...more

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Mar 26, 2017 Shanna Matheo rated it really liked it

I love that cover!!

And nearly 3 years later I finally decided to read this. I loved it. I love the air of mystery and urgency mixed with that down to earth vibe of life in the tropics. I really wish it was longer though. So that we could get a little more depth a little more information on why the Dragon Ships were intent on destroying these people's lives.

And I still really really LOVE that cover!! ...more

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Dec 24, 2015 Adriyanna Zimmermann rated it liked it

I’m really disappointed with this novella. After hearing so many good things I expected to love it – the premise is exactly what I love reading in a fantasy book. I was confused for most of the novella, although the ending was definitely better than the beginning. Reading the first chapter, I felt bombarded by several characters, like opening a book on a random page. There were too many voices being introduced at once. I actually considered DNF-ing it, but decided to push through, since this is ...more

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Jan 28, 2016 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: novellas-and-short-works

The seafaring vibe in the synopsis for this tor.com novella caught my attention, so I picked it up on a whim while I was in between other things. Its story and cast were just the right size for a work of this length; the entire action takes place over a handful of small islands and there are only four main characters.

For some reason, "Shina's caught her eye" in the synopsis made me think there'd be some romance, but anything along those lines is very low-key. So low-key that I didn't realize who ...more

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Feb 26, 2016 John Wiswell rated it liked it

A great introduction to a cast of characters. This one feels short even for a novella, in part because the adventure the crew of the Giggling Goat go on feels like the start of something bigger. The world, and the relationships between the crew, don't have full arcs, so much as lovely existences in a story that feels shorter than they are. I wouldn't be surprised if Tor releases a series of these, if the first sells well.

The Windspeakers can swallow storms and control the weather in a world that ...more

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Dec 17, 2015 Josh rated it it was ok

Nothing too special to write home about on this one. I found it really hard to follow and to differentiate the characters in my mind. The book was pretty confusing because the story wasn't explained that well, and the sections that were more understandable were not all that interesting. So, even though the book is short, I couldn't wait for it to end. It's also rife with harsh and coarse language. I think the book tries to implement too many innovative concepts and just can't sustain it all. I d ...more

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Jun 14, 2017 Teleseparatist rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017, owned

I actually finished yesterday morning but was too busy/tired to update.

I must confess this novella felt incomplete to me. The characters were alright, the world and style worked, the plot had some nice beats. But the emotional connection to anything within it was just missing.

Still, the ideas and the beautiful cover deserve a 3-star rating.

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Jun 29, 2017 Quartzen rated it really liked it

This story about storm magic was an enjoyable listen, with likable characters, lots of magic, and both drama and a bit of humor, though as always with me and audiobooks I'm left feeling like I probably missed some nuances and I'll probably reread it in ebook eventually.

The novella length shows in the tight scope of the story and the way that a lot of the worldbuilding is done in glimpses and pieces, strictly need to know. I'd happily read another adventure in the setting that shows a fuller pict ...more

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Jul 25, 2018 Megan rated it it was amazing

I picked up this book not knowing much about it but I liked the premise and that it was a short book. I'm so glad that I did pick it up because it was such an engaging read and I finished it fairly quickly.

This is the story of a seasoned Captain named Tazir who is traveling along the coast with her young Quartermaster Chaqal who appears younger than she actually is and Kodin who is Tazir's closest friend and occasionally the muscle when needed who all call a fairly small ship named The Giggling I picked up this book not knowing much about it but I liked the premise and that it was a short book. I'm so glad that I did pick it up because it was such an engaging read and I finished it fairly quickly.

This is the story of a seasoned Captain named Tazir who is traveling along the coast with her young Quartermaster Chaqal who appears younger than she actually is and Kodin who is Tazir's closest friend and occasionally the muscle when needed who all call a fairly small ship named The Giggling Goat. The quarters may be tight and she has a few issues but overall, the small ship has gotten them through some rather hard times. They have stopped at a tavern called Shasa's which isn't exactly known for it's reputable people and are in search of someone to take aboard that will pay their way. In stumbles a very young girl named Shina who claims she's a sugar farmer's daughter who is willing to pay a lot of money to get away from the area and not have to marry her hated cousin.

There are some things that don't seem to quite match up with Shina's story and Tazir is suspicious but she can't turn down the incredible amount of money that has been offered and reluctantly agrees to take her aboard and get Shina to her destination. The crew of The Giggling Goats have no idea just how much adventure they are about to have with Shina aboard and the danger they will be rushing to get away from.

There are rumors that people known as Windspeakers are at war with people who man Dragon Ships which have caused a lot of trade to slow down and many are wondering when things will clear up so they can get back to their daily lives. Windspeakers are people who have control over the wind and have been known to cause quite the powerful storms. They are a race of people that are equally revered and feared though not a lot is known about them.

The crew of The Giggling Goat would rather stay out of the affairs of these two races of people though it's much easier said than done and there will come a point where they will have to choose whether it's better to stay out of the way or stick around at least long enough to help a certain young girl.

Full of adventure, a dash of magic, lots of rum, a brief history of Tazir and her crazy spoiled ex-wife and the power of trying to do the right thing, it was a book well worth reading. I'm looking forward to hopefully reading more by this author and I hope there's a sequel! ...more

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Jan 24, 2016 AJ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have a feeling I would have given this one five stars if it was a full-length novel. I was completely sucked in by the story and would have read it in one sitting if sleep hadn't dragged me down, but I was left wanting more depth.

There's some really cool world building and magic and characters in this story, but its short length means there's not a lot of time to get into any of it in depth, so the reader is left to fill in a lot of blanks. And the story itself felt a little rushed, as it trie ...more

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Jan 25, 2016 Tyrannosaurus regina rated it really liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, fantasy, worldbuilding, novella, pirates

I really, really enjoyed this, mostly for fantastic worldbuilding and magical system and the vivid, mostly female characters. However—and I don't usually say this because I love the novella length best—it was a novella that needed to be a novel. I couldn't help but feel that there was so much I was missing, so much that could have been more, because the story skipped by too fast. ...more

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Sep 07, 2017 Ariel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, fantasy

I really wanted to like this because the magic here is very imaginative. I mean, people can control the wind at whim...but they have to get their eyes cut out first? Come on, who wouldn't like to find out why? I just..........really hated every single one-dimensional character here, the disjointed storytelling, and there was really no pay out for me in reading this. Oh, well. ...more

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Jan 08, 2017 Sidsel Pedersen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-short-stories, _novella, fantasy

I'm not sure it made sense, but I liked it

The novella is poetic and beautiful. It does not explain it self much and a lot of things are left unanswered. I do wonder if there are more written in this world as I am intrigued ...more

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