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Perilisc
Legends of the Exiles
The isolated barbarians of Neather have deep ancestry and strict traditions. Four resilient women defy tribal customs as they fight to overcome their own tragedies. Abuse. Addiction. Assault. Grief. What struggles can they endure to defend their hopes and their hearts?
Helena seeks a love as bold as she, yet finds the men of her village lacking.
Jocelyn fears her strange visions and sacrifices a life with the man she loves for the one her destiny demands.
Torn apart by abuse and grief, Ellen is a brilliant woman who must focus her intellect on finding reasons to persevere.
Rachel, a brash girl of noble heritage, dares all men to challenge her and longs for one who will.
In this set of four interwoven novellas, award-winning author Jesse Teller challenges assumptions and showcases the strength of feminine resolve.
Helena seeks a love as bold as she, yet finds the men of her village lacking.
Jocelyn fears her strange visions and sacrifices a life with the man she loves for the one her destiny demands.
Torn apart by abuse and grief, Ellen is a brilliant woman who must focus her intellect on finding reasons to persevere.
Rachel, a brash girl of noble heritage, dares all men to challenge her and longs for one who will.
In this set of four interwoven novellas, award-winning author Jesse Teller challenges assumptions and showcases the strength of feminine resolve.
- GenresFantasy
457 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 25, 2019
Like a broken record, I have to say that author Jesse Teller may have just topped himself as he delves deep into his characters’ lives, giving an up-close vignette of the lives of four women who dare to defy customs in search of their own healing and strengths. Strong female characters face their lives with courage as individuals, not just as women and in the setting of their stories, they demonstrate what being a heroine really means as they overcome their own inner demons as well as those of the world around them.
LEGENDS OF THE EXILES by Jesse Teller digs deep into each story and comes up with a true sense of individuality and personality in each one. These are NOT cookie cutter stories, each stands on tall on the strength of this author’s ability to build characters that breathe and feel, characters that are timeless.
Mr. Teller’s settings are painted in the vivid strokes of his words until we are there, part of his world. He truly has a gift for creating fantasy that feels like reality, characters that we become attached to and reading that is almost impossible to put down.
If you haven’t traveled to Perilisc yet, you are missing out on a world of epic proportions from an author who clearly loves his craft and the lands he has created.
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Jesse Teller!
Publication Date: April 15, 2019
Publisher: Jesse Teller
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Print Length: 454 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
LEGENDS OF THE EXILES by Jesse Teller digs deep into each story and comes up with a true sense of individuality and personality in each one. These are NOT cookie cutter stories, each stands on tall on the strength of this author’s ability to build characters that breathe and feel, characters that are timeless.
Mr. Teller’s settings are painted in the vivid strokes of his words until we are there, part of his world. He truly has a gift for creating fantasy that feels like reality, characters that we become attached to and reading that is almost impossible to put down.
If you haven’t traveled to Perilisc yet, you are missing out on a world of epic proportions from an author who clearly loves his craft and the lands he has created.
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Jesse Teller!
Publication Date: April 15, 2019
Publisher: Jesse Teller
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Print Length: 454 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com
February 26, 2019
The arrow wants to fly, her instructor said all those years ago. It is only waiting for the right moment and the right warrior to fly from.
I always find it exciting to begin reading the works of an author I'm unfamiliar with. There’s the thrill of not knowing what to expect and the hope of thumbing through the final pages with a sense of satisfaction in finding a treasure in a vast sea of wonderful adventures. When I first read the blurb for this book, I knew instantly it was something I needed to read and now that I’ve closed the back cover, I can say with all honesty I’ve found a priceless trinket and Jesse Teller has has gained a loyal reader.
Legends of the Exiles is an exquisitely beautiful and poignant narrative that follows the lives of four women from different clans as they venture to find love, but in the end find their true selves. Each of the four original with an independent voice, and a warrior in her own way, whether it be in the traditional sense of a trained fighter, a survivor of abuse and loss, one who sacrifices all in the name of duty, or one who is willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto true love. All four the living embodiment of fortitude, driven by strength and conviction regardless of how dark and hopeless things may seem. Their ability to stand in the wake of adversity and overcome what life forcefully hurls at them is truly inspiring. It seems as though, despite their differing backgrounds and upbringings, these women have more in common than they may think.
The format of this book is brilliant and something I have yet to encounter. Each woman is the focus of her own novella - four separate novellas, knitted together with the use of similar timelines and familiar faces, adding a whole new depth and understanding of the world that surrounds us as we journey from the mountain to the City of Exiles and back again. Reading this was akin to putting together a magnificent jigsaw puzzle, each page another piece in the grand scheme. Once I began the second novella and witnessed the threads from the first seeping in, I was blown away and completely committed.
What I appreciate most about this story is its ability to tackle issues that many face - regardless of gender - in an authentic and unwavering way, never hiding the grisly aspects that, unfortunately, oftentimes remain behind closed doors. The effects of sexual assault, bullying, shame, death, and all the ghastly pain that follows. Although set in a fantasy setting, it feels real and relatable, and done in a strikingly tasteful way.
I went into this with high hopes and am more than pleased that Teller has exceeded my expectations. Legends of the Exiles is an intelligent exposition of human emotion and behavior deep in its bones. It’s charming and tragic and eloquent and I absolutely adore it. Please please please, give this one a try, I cannot recommend it enough.
I want to thank the author for providing me a complimentary ARC of this wonderful story!
I always find it exciting to begin reading the works of an author I'm unfamiliar with. There’s the thrill of not knowing what to expect and the hope of thumbing through the final pages with a sense of satisfaction in finding a treasure in a vast sea of wonderful adventures. When I first read the blurb for this book, I knew instantly it was something I needed to read and now that I’ve closed the back cover, I can say with all honesty I’ve found a priceless trinket and Jesse Teller has has gained a loyal reader.
Legends of the Exiles is an exquisitely beautiful and poignant narrative that follows the lives of four women from different clans as they venture to find love, but in the end find their true selves. Each of the four original with an independent voice, and a warrior in her own way, whether it be in the traditional sense of a trained fighter, a survivor of abuse and loss, one who sacrifices all in the name of duty, or one who is willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto true love. All four the living embodiment of fortitude, driven by strength and conviction regardless of how dark and hopeless things may seem. Their ability to stand in the wake of adversity and overcome what life forcefully hurls at them is truly inspiring. It seems as though, despite their differing backgrounds and upbringings, these women have more in common than they may think.
The format of this book is brilliant and something I have yet to encounter. Each woman is the focus of her own novella - four separate novellas, knitted together with the use of similar timelines and familiar faces, adding a whole new depth and understanding of the world that surrounds us as we journey from the mountain to the City of Exiles and back again. Reading this was akin to putting together a magnificent jigsaw puzzle, each page another piece in the grand scheme. Once I began the second novella and witnessed the threads from the first seeping in, I was blown away and completely committed.
What I appreciate most about this story is its ability to tackle issues that many face - regardless of gender - in an authentic and unwavering way, never hiding the grisly aspects that, unfortunately, oftentimes remain behind closed doors. The effects of sexual assault, bullying, shame, death, and all the ghastly pain that follows. Although set in a fantasy setting, it feels real and relatable, and done in a strikingly tasteful way.
I went into this with high hopes and am more than pleased that Teller has exceeded my expectations. Legends of the Exiles is an intelligent exposition of human emotion and behavior deep in its bones. It’s charming and tragic and eloquent and I absolutely adore it. Please please please, give this one a try, I cannot recommend it enough.
I want to thank the author for providing me a complimentary ARC of this wonderful story!
April 18, 2019
Jesse Teller’s Legends of the Exiles consists of four intertwining novellas that occur during the same decade, give or take a few years. Each novella focuses on a different female “legend” who is at some point driven from her homeland and forced to adapt to new people and a new environment. Although we might know how some situations play out in advance, the wondrous part is how well they’re woven together to provide the reader with fresh perspective and context. Sometimes we’ll hear one side of a conversation and come away feeling anger towards the opposing party. Then two novellas later, we experience the same conversation from the other side, and the delicate complexities of human perspectives are brought into focus.
Even though it’s fantasy, and we’re talking about characters that kill and ride bears at the ripe old age of six, there’s a certain level of believability that’s needs to be maintained while working within the rules of the story. I’m not sure why it’s easier for me to buy into gargoyle protectors and haunted nightmare gods, but the thought of tiny children acting with more physical strength, maturity, and wisdom than their adult counterparts is something that was at times difficult to accept. One seven-year-old was tasked with choosing a husband and does so with a personal sacrifice to help the greater good. Another seven-year-old decides to sacrifice her life and soul to an eternity of turmoil because of a promise made in friendship.
The first novella, Dreaded Desires, was my least favorite of the four. Early on, new people and names are introduced nearly every page with no preamble. We know nothing about them or how large a role they’ll play, so it was tough to keep track of them all early in the story. This fixed itself over time as characters are re-used in different perspectives, but I wondered if there was a better way to handle this. Also, Helena was a difficult character to root for. She is mean and immature, impulsive and irrational, and displays knee-jerk reactions to any physical or emotional attack. Once she figures out that she’s in love with someone (after treating him like garbage for most of her life), she aims to get her way through any selfish means necessary. Looking back, I see why Helena’s story is important to the overall narrative, but I would hardly classify Helena as a titular Legend.
The Princess Prophet wildly deviated from the rest of the novella in a sense that it leans heavily on high fantasy: gods in the sky, giant earth creatures, an emerald the size of a house, centaurs battling demons, and promises of sacrifices to be made. Jocelyn is five when we first meet her as she is haunted by nightmares. She eventually decides to leave her kingdom to follow the teachings of someone who she thinks can help her. Jocelyn befriends another girl like herself, but it cursed to ruin most of the lives around her because of some careless words spoken early in her training. She is working toward choosing a husband because her baby was prophesized to be a savior, but after her life of sadness ended we still learned nothing about who the savior is and what this person will do. This story felt incomplete and frustrating, as Jocelyn often acted with a world-weary wisdom and strategic planning that most adults never achieve.
Dead Girl is when this book really started to shine. It is the story of Ellen, a survivor of child rape, who sequesters herself from society, creates her own language, and leans on writing so as not to act on her suicidal thoughts. This is a heartbreaking story, and sadly a deeply personal one for the author (http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com...). Once Ellen befriends a young, feral child, their friendship helps restore some of Ellen’s zest for life, yet her turmoil is always just beneath the surface of her thoughts. Rape makes an appearance in one form or another in all four novellas, whether it be spoken of in passing, an implication or threat of it, or the act itself. In a story that focuses on four women, mentioning rape in all of them was something I didn’t think totally necessary. Perhaps in the world that Teller has created, the threat is real and constant and plays a big role in this society. Still, I think it would have been just as impactful, if not more so, that this subject matter was limited to telling Ellen’s story, while the other novellas focused on different adversities the other women faced. That being said, this novella was beautifully handled, yet heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.
The final novella, Daughter of Beasts, was the most entertaining of the four. Rachel, who we were introduced to as the feral child who befriended Ellen, is the daughter of two clan leaders. She had been living with her mother in a female-centric society where she learned how to become a fierce warrior and archer. She has shot 300 arrows per day, every single day from the ages of 3 to 5. I currently have a three-year-old and a five-year-old daughter, and the thought of either of them, or anyone else their age committing to that level of discipline was hard for me to accept. But Rachel isn’t entirely human, so the nature of children in this world is up for interpretation. Rachel is forced to leave her mother’s world and enter her father’s world at a young age. He is a clan leader, a powerful man, but Rachel doesn’t find any man trustworthy after being raised by her mother’s society. We follow Rachel’s journey over the years – one particular chapter, when she brings a date home to her brothers’ chagrin, is hysterical – and the story ties up all four novellas into a satisfying ending. Rachel has many battles to fight: physical, emotional, and spiritual, and her fierce loyalty to her beliefs set her apart.
Reviewing books is a completely subjective system that changes from story to story. I have no set agenda or a list of criteria to evaluate; most of the time I have a pretty good sense of what score I’m going to give a book by the time I reach its conclusion. Choosing a score for this book was especially difficult as there were content decisions that didn't sit well with me, but the last two novellas elevated the book as a whole. No matter where I landed, scores are hardly a fair representation of how to judge if this book is worth reading. This one absolutely is. Teller continues to impress me with another visit to Perilisc, and he seems to have dozens of books planned for decades to come. (Really, he does.) If you’re willing to give his books a shot, know that there’s a bit of a learning curve, but if you put in the time you will be handsomely rewarded.
7.5 / 10
Even though it’s fantasy, and we’re talking about characters that kill and ride bears at the ripe old age of six, there’s a certain level of believability that’s needs to be maintained while working within the rules of the story. I’m not sure why it’s easier for me to buy into gargoyle protectors and haunted nightmare gods, but the thought of tiny children acting with more physical strength, maturity, and wisdom than their adult counterparts is something that was at times difficult to accept. One seven-year-old was tasked with choosing a husband and does so with a personal sacrifice to help the greater good. Another seven-year-old decides to sacrifice her life and soul to an eternity of turmoil because of a promise made in friendship.
The first novella, Dreaded Desires, was my least favorite of the four. Early on, new people and names are introduced nearly every page with no preamble. We know nothing about them or how large a role they’ll play, so it was tough to keep track of them all early in the story. This fixed itself over time as characters are re-used in different perspectives, but I wondered if there was a better way to handle this. Also, Helena was a difficult character to root for. She is mean and immature, impulsive and irrational, and displays knee-jerk reactions to any physical or emotional attack. Once she figures out that she’s in love with someone (after treating him like garbage for most of her life), she aims to get her way through any selfish means necessary. Looking back, I see why Helena’s story is important to the overall narrative, but I would hardly classify Helena as a titular Legend.
The Princess Prophet wildly deviated from the rest of the novella in a sense that it leans heavily on high fantasy: gods in the sky, giant earth creatures, an emerald the size of a house, centaurs battling demons, and promises of sacrifices to be made. Jocelyn is five when we first meet her as she is haunted by nightmares. She eventually decides to leave her kingdom to follow the teachings of someone who she thinks can help her. Jocelyn befriends another girl like herself, but it cursed to ruin most of the lives around her because of some careless words spoken early in her training. She is working toward choosing a husband because her baby was prophesized to be a savior, but after her life of sadness ended we still learned nothing about who the savior is and what this person will do. This story felt incomplete and frustrating, as Jocelyn often acted with a world-weary wisdom and strategic planning that most adults never achieve.
Dead Girl is when this book really started to shine. It is the story of Ellen, a survivor of child rape, who sequesters herself from society, creates her own language, and leans on writing so as not to act on her suicidal thoughts. This is a heartbreaking story, and sadly a deeply personal one for the author (http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com...). Once Ellen befriends a young, feral child, their friendship helps restore some of Ellen’s zest for life, yet her turmoil is always just beneath the surface of her thoughts. Rape makes an appearance in one form or another in all four novellas, whether it be spoken of in passing, an implication or threat of it, or the act itself. In a story that focuses on four women, mentioning rape in all of them was something I didn’t think totally necessary. Perhaps in the world that Teller has created, the threat is real and constant and plays a big role in this society. Still, I think it would have been just as impactful, if not more so, that this subject matter was limited to telling Ellen’s story, while the other novellas focused on different adversities the other women faced. That being said, this novella was beautifully handled, yet heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.
The final novella, Daughter of Beasts, was the most entertaining of the four. Rachel, who we were introduced to as the feral child who befriended Ellen, is the daughter of two clan leaders. She had been living with her mother in a female-centric society where she learned how to become a fierce warrior and archer. She has shot 300 arrows per day, every single day from the ages of 3 to 5. I currently have a three-year-old and a five-year-old daughter, and the thought of either of them, or anyone else their age committing to that level of discipline was hard for me to accept. But Rachel isn’t entirely human, so the nature of children in this world is up for interpretation. Rachel is forced to leave her mother’s world and enter her father’s world at a young age. He is a clan leader, a powerful man, but Rachel doesn’t find any man trustworthy after being raised by her mother’s society. We follow Rachel’s journey over the years – one particular chapter, when she brings a date home to her brothers’ chagrin, is hysterical – and the story ties up all four novellas into a satisfying ending. Rachel has many battles to fight: physical, emotional, and spiritual, and her fierce loyalty to her beliefs set her apart.
Reviewing books is a completely subjective system that changes from story to story. I have no set agenda or a list of criteria to evaluate; most of the time I have a pretty good sense of what score I’m going to give a book by the time I reach its conclusion. Choosing a score for this book was especially difficult as there were content decisions that didn't sit well with me, but the last two novellas elevated the book as a whole. No matter where I landed, scores are hardly a fair representation of how to judge if this book is worth reading. This one absolutely is. Teller continues to impress me with another visit to Perilisc, and he seems to have dozens of books planned for decades to come. (Really, he does.) If you’re willing to give his books a shot, know that there’s a bit of a learning curve, but if you put in the time you will be handsomely rewarded.
7.5 / 10
February 1, 2019
There's a trend in fantasy where creating a strong female character means giving her a sword and combat training. While some of the women in Exiles are quick with a blade, that isn't what makes them heroic.
They live in a low-fantasy setting, a barbarian culture without much subtlety, but their stories resonate with me and confront issues women often face in modern society, the fragile struggles of asserting oneself in a world that can so quickly crush you.
In Dreaded Desires, Helena wants to find respect and fall in love without losing her fiery sense of self. She struggles with her future as the options left available to her suddenly careen beyond her control.
In the second novella, The Princess Prophet, Jocelyn finds herself in a terrible predicament. Despite being tribal royalty, she has to make a lot of sacrifices. Her dearest friend gives up everything to protect Jocelyn, a singular moment that infiltrates every decision Jocelyn makes for the rest of her life.
Dead Girl is a masterpiece. It traverses the circumstances and effects of sexual assault, a sensitive territory the author expertly explores. Ellen is a brilliant young girl, and her survival depends heavily on her intelligence and ingenuity. She is a cautionary tale and an inspiration.
In the final novella, Rachel, Daughter of Beasts, is a proud, strong, confident woman, empowered by her lineage and her upbringing. Her beauty and brash nature become a deterrent to suitors, and her frustrations lead to scandalous adventures. Perhaps her expectations are unrealistic, but she'd rather be alone than settle for a lesser man.
I haven't yet touched on the most spectacular aspect of this book. The four novellas tell intertwining stories, sometimes showing scenes from two different sides, sometimes answering questions in one that surfaced in another. This subtle connectivity is a quality found across Teller's novels, and experiencing it on display here within one volume is a true delight.
They live in a low-fantasy setting, a barbarian culture without much subtlety, but their stories resonate with me and confront issues women often face in modern society, the fragile struggles of asserting oneself in a world that can so quickly crush you.
In Dreaded Desires, Helena wants to find respect and fall in love without losing her fiery sense of self. She struggles with her future as the options left available to her suddenly careen beyond her control.
In the second novella, The Princess Prophet, Jocelyn finds herself in a terrible predicament. Despite being tribal royalty, she has to make a lot of sacrifices. Her dearest friend gives up everything to protect Jocelyn, a singular moment that infiltrates every decision Jocelyn makes for the rest of her life.
Dead Girl is a masterpiece. It traverses the circumstances and effects of sexual assault, a sensitive territory the author expertly explores. Ellen is a brilliant young girl, and her survival depends heavily on her intelligence and ingenuity. She is a cautionary tale and an inspiration.
In the final novella, Rachel, Daughter of Beasts, is a proud, strong, confident woman, empowered by her lineage and her upbringing. Her beauty and brash nature become a deterrent to suitors, and her frustrations lead to scandalous adventures. Perhaps her expectations are unrealistic, but she'd rather be alone than settle for a lesser man.
I haven't yet touched on the most spectacular aspect of this book. The four novellas tell intertwining stories, sometimes showing scenes from two different sides, sometimes answering questions in one that surfaced in another. This subtle connectivity is a quality found across Teller's novels, and experiencing it on display here within one volume is a true delight.
March 7, 2019
I received an ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.
For the full review, click here.
Unfortunately I felt it necessary to give a very low rating. TL:DR here - for full explanation, see full review.
The minor issues I had:
- The writing often felt repetitive, with entire paragraphs built off the same sentence structure. I could never be sure if it was intentional or not, but it didn’t work for me.
- There were a number of inconsistencies in events and the text itself. By themselves they weren’t book-breaking for me, but they were noticeable.
The major issues I had:
- My impression of the novel was more of a societal drama based on character-driven conflicts. The novel I read felt much more like a romance novel, with each novella explicitly focusing on sexual relationships. As a book that proclaimed itself as “challenging assumptions and showcasing female resolve”, I’d have expected to see sex play a role in the novel - but be just one facet of femininity and the challenges these characters face. Sex and romance being by and large the central topic of each of the four novellas led to me not feeling as though my expectations were met.
- Female characters were often lauded as strong, proud figures - but in execution, I found their characters lacking. Too often to me it felt like other characters were telling the MCs how strong or proud they were, rather than the characters showing their strength. That doesn’t make each of the characters bad, but it made me feel like the “they’re fighters/warriors/independent” message was being jammed down my throat, versus guiding me to reach that conclusion on my own.
- Book 3 (Dead Girl) danced with fire in terms of graphic content and sexualizing children, in my opinion. While I respect the message being carried there, I felt that the explicit content and the false agency being given to a prepubescent character sexually was very dangerous.
- Book 4, then, leaps straight past that boundary and oversexualizes a child for no discernable good reason. Rachel was not a likeable character, and had very little in the way of actual growth - her being sexualized on top of that made her feel like a tool. Regardless, under no circumstances to I want to be reading about the quality of a 12-year-old’s ‘assets’ as she tries to entice an older boy/young man into sex.
I wish that I could have rated it higher, as I do think there's a lot of potential here and Teller is clearly a skilled author. At this time I just couldn't put my support behind it.
For the full review, click here.
Unfortunately I felt it necessary to give a very low rating. TL:DR here - for full explanation, see full review.
The minor issues I had:
- The writing often felt repetitive, with entire paragraphs built off the same sentence structure. I could never be sure if it was intentional or not, but it didn’t work for me.
- There were a number of inconsistencies in events and the text itself. By themselves they weren’t book-breaking for me, but they were noticeable.
The major issues I had:
- My impression of the novel was more of a societal drama based on character-driven conflicts. The novel I read felt much more like a romance novel, with each novella explicitly focusing on sexual relationships. As a book that proclaimed itself as “challenging assumptions and showcasing female resolve”, I’d have expected to see sex play a role in the novel - but be just one facet of femininity and the challenges these characters face. Sex and romance being by and large the central topic of each of the four novellas led to me not feeling as though my expectations were met.
- Female characters were often lauded as strong, proud figures - but in execution, I found their characters lacking. Too often to me it felt like other characters were telling the MCs how strong or proud they were, rather than the characters showing their strength. That doesn’t make each of the characters bad, but it made me feel like the “they’re fighters/warriors/independent” message was being jammed down my throat, versus guiding me to reach that conclusion on my own.
- Book 3 (Dead Girl) danced with fire in terms of graphic content and sexualizing children, in my opinion. While I respect the message being carried there, I felt that the explicit content and the false agency being given to a prepubescent character sexually was very dangerous.
- Book 4, then, leaps straight past that boundary and oversexualizes a child for no discernable good reason. Rachel was not a likeable character, and had very little in the way of actual growth - her being sexualized on top of that made her feel like a tool. Regardless, under no circumstances to I want to be reading about the quality of a 12-year-old’s ‘assets’ as she tries to entice an older boy/young man into sex.
I wish that I could have rated it higher, as I do think there's a lot of potential here and Teller is clearly a skilled author. At this time I just couldn't put my support behind it.
May 15, 2019
Legends of The Exiles tells the stories of four legendary women of the Ragoth, a seemingly barbarian mountain people in the decades leading up to "The Escape." They are stories of love, life, strength, loss, and suffering, where the characters struggle to fight back against the fate of tradition, choose their own paths, and forge their own destinies.
I've been sitting here a while trying to decide how I want to tackle this review. A book that is four stories woven together could be approached in a number of ways. It isn't just a collection of short-stories (or novellas) and it isn't a single story with a single story arc. At first I was going to dish on what I liked and didn't like but sometimes they could go together. So instead I think I'm going to just talk about the things that really popped out to me.
The Format
Teller attempted something interesting with Legends of The Exiles by writing four interconnected stories, each unique, but each interwoven with the other. I know Legends isn't the first book like this to come along, but it IS the first book like this I've read. There are perils and pitfalls to this kind of a structure. Will you keep the reader's attention? Will you mess up the interconnected aspects of the stories? Is each story strong enough to stand with the others? I could go on.
What I really enjoyed about Legends of The Exiles is the way Teller succeeded in weaving them all together. Each story focuses on one woman, Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel who is struggling against the walls and barriers society and culture have put in their way. And while each story is different, with its own agenda, its own plot, its own protagonist and character arc, each is also integrated with the other. Characters from one story appear in the others and at times we even get to see a particular scene through the eyes and perspective of multiple characters.
The Individual Stories (Characters)
One peril with the format is you run the risk of some stories being stronger or weaker than others. For me this was true of LoTE. Helen's story "Dreaded Desires", the first of the book, was the weakest for me. I just really didn't like her. She's selfish and flippant and I'm not sure I was meant to like her. I really fought to find qualities in her character I liked apart maybe from her desire to not be forced down a particular path in life and her will to fight for love and future. As the lead story of the book Helen made me wonder if I'd like the rest of it.
Fortunately I DID like the other character's stories. Jocelyn's story was perhaps the most fantastical. In a book that is fairly low fantasy in terms of things like magic and the supernatural this one stood out. In "The Princess Prophet" we get much more in the way of otherworldly and supernatural elements.
Rachel's story "Daughter of Beasts" is the one that fits most people's expectations of a warrior woman. Rachel is...well a bad ass. She's fierce and someone most men couldn't beat in combat even as a young girl. She stands out as daring all comers and hoping there's at least one man who can live up to the challenge.
My favorite of the four by far is Ellen. In "Dead Girl" we get a heartbreaking and mournful tale of pain, suffering, and abuse, and a woman who struggles through the grief just to survive. Ellen is in my opinion the strongest of all four characters and her story was definitely the most powerful and thought provoking. There is a trigger warning with this story however as it deals with sexual abuse and rape. I know there is a lot of discussion about including rape in fiction these days and Teller addresses why he chose to do so in a post on Writing About Difficult Topics for Fantasy Book Critic.
Themes
Female Strength
One of the strongest themes running through the entire book is that of female strength. In recent years there's been an increase in the number of strong female characters appearing in fantasy. This trend is evident in LoTE with each story focusing on one woman. What is a little different here is that Rachel is the only character to exhibit a warriors strength, a woman who can stand toe to toe with nearly any man; a martial strength. With the others Teller showcases strong female characters in different ways. There's Helen whose fierce desire pits her against the traditions of her tribe and who sets out alone in a dangerous wold to take what she believes is hers or die trying; a strength of will. There's Jocelyn who fights her destiny, giving up life and love for the betterment of her people; a strength through sacrifice. And there's Ellen who suffers horrific abuse and loss, forging the pain into something more than anyone could have imagined; a strength of endurance and even rebirth. Each of the four characters illustrates ways that women are strong in fantasy and in life that doesn't have to fit a preconceived fantasy mold.
Love
Love is another strong theme of the book. In each story it figures prominently. Love for a partner is found in each. At times it is uncertain, at times unrequited, and at times a danger to everyone not just the protagonist. There's also love of friends, and family, and tribe. In every case love is that thing binding people together, be it partners in marriage, bonds of friendship, or between tribal ties. And in every case it is also that thing that can split people apart. It is a driving force of the book and for all the characters within, great or small.
Choice/Fate
I've already alluded to it above but it deserves mentioning again. The tension between choice and fate is a strong one in the book. Like everything else it works differently in each story but it is there. All of the characters are at some point and in some way portrayed as being bound by fate or destiny. That fate may be what culture and society has pre-selected for them, what life circumstances have selected for them, or what the gods have selected for them. Either way, Helen, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel each find themselves fighting back. Theirs are stories of deciding not to accept what has been dealt out to them and instead plunging ahead and forging their own path with all the trials and travails that entails.
World Building
It's evident that Teller has put a lot of work into world building. The various tribes and their similarities and differences are almost painstakingly depicted. But the world building isn't done on a grand scale in LoTE. While the reader is aware of a broader world, what Teller presents here is detail at the micro level. One small segment of the world is on display, the tribes of the mountain and their city of exile. What comes bubbling up through the pages of this book is the story of one people group, at one general moment in time, seen through four lenses. The reader becomes immersed in this people, at this time in history, through these women, with the larger story on the cusp of some great upheaval about to occur.
Writing
This is the first book of Teller's that I've read so I have no idea what his style is like. At first I thought the narrative, character actions and the dialogue was a bit...off. I had a hard time placing it at first. It didn't always seem to flow naturally to me. I thought maybe I was being too critical but it kept worming its way into my mind as I read. But then I thought maybe it was intentional. At some point I realized it read and flowed a lot like a more ancient story...or more like a legend. You know how when you read ancient Greco-Roman stories, or medieval stories, or biblical ones, the dialogue and narrative just read and flow differently? Or when characters do great extraordinary things (like kill bears as a young child a-la Davy Crocket when he was only three). That's how this one felt to me. And then it seemed to fit. Especially after I remembered how the book begins, with a narrator after a great defeat urging his people not to throw their lives away cheaply, so he tells them the stories of four women; four legends of their people.
So What Didn't I Like?
Or maybe a better question, what really kept this from a four star review? Well it fits into two categories...
The Payoff (Minor Spoiler)
Throughout the book there is a constant reference to "The Escape." Every story and chapter begins with some reference to it. The book opens "36 Years After The Escape" and each novella begins between 31 and 40 years "Before The Escape" with corresponding movements through time leading the reader up to "1 Year Before The Escape." But at no point do we ever learn what the Escape is, or why it's important, or even very much about why it occurs. Maybe it isn't central to the four stories in the book as they are in and of themselves, but it sure seems like an important element tying the whole thing together given the number of references threaded into it. In Jocelyn's story "The Princess Prophet" we come the closest to finding out what it is, and what is going on, but even then we only know something big is about to happen before the narrative closes and we are left with something of a cliff-hanger. Maybe this is something to be explored in a future book, or in one of the other books already set in this world (though it's billed as readable even if you haven't read the other books in this world), but it felt like the payoff was missing at the end, that thing that doesn't just tie the four stories together, but that also ties it to the introduction and why the narrator is telling the stories in the first place.
Sex Scenes and Sexualization
I will admit now that I have never been a big fan of romance. This isn't what I'd consider a romance genre book, but it does have elements of romance in it (so maybe it is). Because of this I also admit I may not be the best audience for it. I've tried to not hold anything romantic about the narrative against it because A) if I'm not the right audience that isn't the book's fault, and B) I'm trying to broaden my horizons.
That being said, LoTE includes two elements I didn't personally care for though I know others will be fine with. The first are the sex scenes. Each story has at least one sex scene that is almost graphic in nature. I admit that the sex scenes fit the stories, and are even integral to them, I just didn't like how they were depicted. I don't read erotica for this reason. Now, these weren't erotica, but to me they felt close. So again, this isn't a knock on sex scenes, or me saying they shouldn't be in fantasy books, or on these particular sex scenes, except to say they aren't for me and as every review is something of a subjective reflection of the reviewer and their tastes I would be wrong not to mention it.
The other element that didn't sit well with me was the sexualization of young women, particularly of underage young women...or girls. Here I know I walk a fine line. I'm not saying women or girls can't be sexual beings, or that in real life young women or girls aren't sexual beings with sexual wants and desires, or that we can't talk or write about that subject. I also recognize in this book the characters are not "human" but some other human-like people so what equates to age and maturity is something different. But it was still something I didn't like. Now, I recognize many other readers will have no problem with this element, and there is nothing as depicted that doesn't happen to real women and girls in real life, and that it is an element worth exploring in fiction. It just was something that didn't work for me. Maybe I doth protest too much. I don't know.
In Conclusion
Whew, i know this is already a long review and you're probably like "FINISH ALREADY!" I just started writing and couldn't stop apparently.
Overall I enjoyed Legends of The Exiles. It is a bold book taking a bold approach to female characters in fantasy. Teller approaches his subjects with with care and affection but doesn't coddle them or make their lives easy. They must all go through a crucible of sorts, each being molded into someone new, and each in turn being set apart as an example to future generations of their people not as normal political, or military, or religious leaders, but as simply models of strength and endurance in the face of the hardships and the roadblocks set in their path. Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel show that women in fantasy can be many things, have differing roles, have desires, learn from mistakes, show true strength, and all be integral the "story" without being objects or window dressing for others in the narrative.
I've been sitting here a while trying to decide how I want to tackle this review. A book that is four stories woven together could be approached in a number of ways. It isn't just a collection of short-stories (or novellas) and it isn't a single story with a single story arc. At first I was going to dish on what I liked and didn't like but sometimes they could go together. So instead I think I'm going to just talk about the things that really popped out to me.
The Format
Teller attempted something interesting with Legends of The Exiles by writing four interconnected stories, each unique, but each interwoven with the other. I know Legends isn't the first book like this to come along, but it IS the first book like this I've read. There are perils and pitfalls to this kind of a structure. Will you keep the reader's attention? Will you mess up the interconnected aspects of the stories? Is each story strong enough to stand with the others? I could go on.
What I really enjoyed about Legends of The Exiles is the way Teller succeeded in weaving them all together. Each story focuses on one woman, Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel who is struggling against the walls and barriers society and culture have put in their way. And while each story is different, with its own agenda, its own plot, its own protagonist and character arc, each is also integrated with the other. Characters from one story appear in the others and at times we even get to see a particular scene through the eyes and perspective of multiple characters.
The Individual Stories (Characters)
One peril with the format is you run the risk of some stories being stronger or weaker than others. For me this was true of LoTE. Helen's story "Dreaded Desires", the first of the book, was the weakest for me. I just really didn't like her. She's selfish and flippant and I'm not sure I was meant to like her. I really fought to find qualities in her character I liked apart maybe from her desire to not be forced down a particular path in life and her will to fight for love and future. As the lead story of the book Helen made me wonder if I'd like the rest of it.
Fortunately I DID like the other character's stories. Jocelyn's story was perhaps the most fantastical. In a book that is fairly low fantasy in terms of things like magic and the supernatural this one stood out. In "The Princess Prophet" we get much more in the way of otherworldly and supernatural elements.
Rachel's story "Daughter of Beasts" is the one that fits most people's expectations of a warrior woman. Rachel is...well a bad ass. She's fierce and someone most men couldn't beat in combat even as a young girl. She stands out as daring all comers and hoping there's at least one man who can live up to the challenge.
My favorite of the four by far is Ellen. In "Dead Girl" we get a heartbreaking and mournful tale of pain, suffering, and abuse, and a woman who struggles through the grief just to survive. Ellen is in my opinion the strongest of all four characters and her story was definitely the most powerful and thought provoking. There is a trigger warning with this story however as it deals with sexual abuse and rape. I know there is a lot of discussion about including rape in fiction these days and Teller addresses why he chose to do so in a post on Writing About Difficult Topics for Fantasy Book Critic.
Themes
Female Strength
One of the strongest themes running through the entire book is that of female strength. In recent years there's been an increase in the number of strong female characters appearing in fantasy. This trend is evident in LoTE with each story focusing on one woman. What is a little different here is that Rachel is the only character to exhibit a warriors strength, a woman who can stand toe to toe with nearly any man; a martial strength. With the others Teller showcases strong female characters in different ways. There's Helen whose fierce desire pits her against the traditions of her tribe and who sets out alone in a dangerous wold to take what she believes is hers or die trying; a strength of will. There's Jocelyn who fights her destiny, giving up life and love for the betterment of her people; a strength through sacrifice. And there's Ellen who suffers horrific abuse and loss, forging the pain into something more than anyone could have imagined; a strength of endurance and even rebirth. Each of the four characters illustrates ways that women are strong in fantasy and in life that doesn't have to fit a preconceived fantasy mold.
Love
Love is another strong theme of the book. In each story it figures prominently. Love for a partner is found in each. At times it is uncertain, at times unrequited, and at times a danger to everyone not just the protagonist. There's also love of friends, and family, and tribe. In every case love is that thing binding people together, be it partners in marriage, bonds of friendship, or between tribal ties. And in every case it is also that thing that can split people apart. It is a driving force of the book and for all the characters within, great or small.
Choice/Fate
I've already alluded to it above but it deserves mentioning again. The tension between choice and fate is a strong one in the book. Like everything else it works differently in each story but it is there. All of the characters are at some point and in some way portrayed as being bound by fate or destiny. That fate may be what culture and society has pre-selected for them, what life circumstances have selected for them, or what the gods have selected for them. Either way, Helen, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel each find themselves fighting back. Theirs are stories of deciding not to accept what has been dealt out to them and instead plunging ahead and forging their own path with all the trials and travails that entails.
World Building
It's evident that Teller has put a lot of work into world building. The various tribes and their similarities and differences are almost painstakingly depicted. But the world building isn't done on a grand scale in LoTE. While the reader is aware of a broader world, what Teller presents here is detail at the micro level. One small segment of the world is on display, the tribes of the mountain and their city of exile. What comes bubbling up through the pages of this book is the story of one people group, at one general moment in time, seen through four lenses. The reader becomes immersed in this people, at this time in history, through these women, with the larger story on the cusp of some great upheaval about to occur.
Writing
This is the first book of Teller's that I've read so I have no idea what his style is like. At first I thought the narrative, character actions and the dialogue was a bit...off. I had a hard time placing it at first. It didn't always seem to flow naturally to me. I thought maybe I was being too critical but it kept worming its way into my mind as I read. But then I thought maybe it was intentional. At some point I realized it read and flowed a lot like a more ancient story...or more like a legend. You know how when you read ancient Greco-Roman stories, or medieval stories, or biblical ones, the dialogue and narrative just read and flow differently? Or when characters do great extraordinary things (like kill bears as a young child a-la Davy Crocket when he was only three). That's how this one felt to me. And then it seemed to fit. Especially after I remembered how the book begins, with a narrator after a great defeat urging his people not to throw their lives away cheaply, so he tells them the stories of four women; four legends of their people.
So What Didn't I Like?
Or maybe a better question, what really kept this from a four star review? Well it fits into two categories...
The Payoff (Minor Spoiler)
Throughout the book there is a constant reference to "The Escape." Every story and chapter begins with some reference to it. The book opens "36 Years After The Escape" and each novella begins between 31 and 40 years "Before The Escape" with corresponding movements through time leading the reader up to "1 Year Before The Escape." But at no point do we ever learn what the Escape is, or why it's important, or even very much about why it occurs. Maybe it isn't central to the four stories in the book as they are in and of themselves, but it sure seems like an important element tying the whole thing together given the number of references threaded into it. In Jocelyn's story "The Princess Prophet" we come the closest to finding out what it is, and what is going on, but even then we only know something big is about to happen before the narrative closes and we are left with something of a cliff-hanger. Maybe this is something to be explored in a future book, or in one of the other books already set in this world (though it's billed as readable even if you haven't read the other books in this world), but it felt like the payoff was missing at the end, that thing that doesn't just tie the four stories together, but that also ties it to the introduction and why the narrator is telling the stories in the first place.
Sex Scenes and Sexualization
I will admit now that I have never been a big fan of romance. This isn't what I'd consider a romance genre book, but it does have elements of romance in it (so maybe it is). Because of this I also admit I may not be the best audience for it. I've tried to not hold anything romantic about the narrative against it because A) if I'm not the right audience that isn't the book's fault, and B) I'm trying to broaden my horizons.
That being said, LoTE includes two elements I didn't personally care for though I know others will be fine with. The first are the sex scenes. Each story has at least one sex scene that is almost graphic in nature. I admit that the sex scenes fit the stories, and are even integral to them, I just didn't like how they were depicted. I don't read erotica for this reason. Now, these weren't erotica, but to me they felt close. So again, this isn't a knock on sex scenes, or me saying they shouldn't be in fantasy books, or on these particular sex scenes, except to say they aren't for me and as every review is something of a subjective reflection of the reviewer and their tastes I would be wrong not to mention it.
The other element that didn't sit well with me was the sexualization of young women, particularly of underage young women...or girls. Here I know I walk a fine line. I'm not saying women or girls can't be sexual beings, or that in real life young women or girls aren't sexual beings with sexual wants and desires, or that we can't talk or write about that subject. I also recognize in this book the characters are not "human" but some other human-like people so what equates to age and maturity is something different. But it was still something I didn't like. Now, I recognize many other readers will have no problem with this element, and there is nothing as depicted that doesn't happen to real women and girls in real life, and that it is an element worth exploring in fiction. It just was something that didn't work for me. Maybe I doth protest too much. I don't know.
In Conclusion
Whew, i know this is already a long review and you're probably like "FINISH ALREADY!" I just started writing and couldn't stop apparently.
Overall I enjoyed Legends of The Exiles. It is a bold book taking a bold approach to female characters in fantasy. Teller approaches his subjects with with care and affection but doesn't coddle them or make their lives easy. They must all go through a crucible of sorts, each being molded into someone new, and each in turn being set apart as an example to future generations of their people not as normal political, or military, or religious leaders, but as simply models of strength and endurance in the face of the hardships and the roadblocks set in their path. Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen, and Rachel show that women in fantasy can be many things, have differing roles, have desires, learn from mistakes, show true strength, and all be integral the "story" without being objects or window dressing for others in the narrative.
July 30, 2020
*This is one of the #SPFBO titles in my batch this year* *Trigger warning for child rape*
I picked this up and hoped I would love the story as much as the dreamy cover which is so eye-catching, and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to read this as it's quite different to a lot of the other #SPFBO titles I have read this year. This book is actually a weaving together of 4 different women's stories and each one is a novella with some crossover/connection to other plots.
I will say, this started off a little too name heavy in my mind, and I found myself a bit confused about who was who and all the different tribes and villages, however, you quickly get into the story of Helena, and although she's not the most likeable character I was interested to see where her plot went.
Personally, I liked Helena's story, and wanted it to go on a little more than the end, becuase I felt I was truly getting to know her more by then, but I respect the author for cutting it off at that point and showing us some other characters and parts to this world.
The next novella is about Jocelyn and she's haunted by dreams and nightmares and wild imaginings. There seems to be a world beyond our one where she meets gods and monsters alike, and befriends another young girl (for better or worse), and you would think that I'd love all of that, but it was my least favourite of the novellas.
The third one was a very sad but intense story. This focused on Ellen who is a victim of a rape as a child and her journey into depression, isolation, and eventually recovery. Ellen is not a character put there for shock value, instead she is a character which, horribly, the author has mentioned he relates to due to his own traumatic past, but I think her story was an important one to tell. This one was my favourite of the tales with Ellen being truly locked into darkness, and then some close friends and new discoveries gradually allowing her a chance to live again. I really respected her, and sympathised, and I think kudos is due for the handling of her plot because it's awful, but not handled poorly at all.
Finally the last novella is Rachel's plot and she's a young girl (or maybe more of a feral girl would be accurate) who has been raised in a world where the women have command over men. She's a character who I found pretty engaging from the start, and this novella actually had some very engaging moments between Rachel and her family members, I particularly liked how her father just rolls his eyes at his offspring as they fight and tease one another throughout.
In the end, there's some things I really liked here, and others which felt a little lacking because of the style choices. Personally, I tend to find I prefer a story following one set of characters, more than a few novella stories which link up, and I think this book was a little away from my usual taste, but with that being said I still found some very good writing and passages here. Overall, 3.5*s for this one, and it's certainly one I think those who read more short fiction would enjoy, and it's very much a female-led book which is great too. 7/10 for #SPFBO
I picked this up and hoped I would love the story as much as the dreamy cover which is so eye-catching, and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to read this as it's quite different to a lot of the other #SPFBO titles I have read this year. This book is actually a weaving together of 4 different women's stories and each one is a novella with some crossover/connection to other plots.
I will say, this started off a little too name heavy in my mind, and I found myself a bit confused about who was who and all the different tribes and villages, however, you quickly get into the story of Helena, and although she's not the most likeable character I was interested to see where her plot went.
Personally, I liked Helena's story, and wanted it to go on a little more than the end, becuase I felt I was truly getting to know her more by then, but I respect the author for cutting it off at that point and showing us some other characters and parts to this world.
The next novella is about Jocelyn and she's haunted by dreams and nightmares and wild imaginings. There seems to be a world beyond our one where she meets gods and monsters alike, and befriends another young girl (for better or worse), and you would think that I'd love all of that, but it was my least favourite of the novellas.
The third one was a very sad but intense story. This focused on Ellen who is a victim of a rape as a child and her journey into depression, isolation, and eventually recovery. Ellen is not a character put there for shock value, instead she is a character which, horribly, the author has mentioned he relates to due to his own traumatic past, but I think her story was an important one to tell. This one was my favourite of the tales with Ellen being truly locked into darkness, and then some close friends and new discoveries gradually allowing her a chance to live again. I really respected her, and sympathised, and I think kudos is due for the handling of her plot because it's awful, but not handled poorly at all.
Finally the last novella is Rachel's plot and she's a young girl (or maybe more of a feral girl would be accurate) who has been raised in a world where the women have command over men. She's a character who I found pretty engaging from the start, and this novella actually had some very engaging moments between Rachel and her family members, I particularly liked how her father just rolls his eyes at his offspring as they fight and tease one another throughout.
In the end, there's some things I really liked here, and others which felt a little lacking because of the style choices. Personally, I tend to find I prefer a story following one set of characters, more than a few novella stories which link up, and I think this book was a little away from my usual taste, but with that being said I still found some very good writing and passages here. Overall, 3.5*s for this one, and it's certainly one I think those who read more short fiction would enjoy, and it's very much a female-led book which is great too. 7/10 for #SPFBO
April 11, 2019
Find this review at Forever Lost in Literature!
I've previously read and enjoyed Jesse Teller's Manhunters trilogy (Song, Hemlock, Crown), so naturally I was excited to read something new from him. I was even more excited when I discovered that Legend of the Exiles is a tale of four interwoven novellas that take place in the world of Perilisc, each focusing on one individual woman. I wasn't sure what to expect from this format, but I knew that it was in good hands with Teller.
The stories take place in a low fantasy setting that has been fully built up and explored in his previous trilogy, but that doesn't mean that these stories lack in setting up a great world as well that I was easily able to find myself lost within. Even though I have knowledge of the world from previous books, I think anyone new to Teller's work should have no problems jumping right in. There's no major info-dumping, but there's enough world-building to give readers a solid foundation for understanding and enjoying the world.
The first thing that comes to mind upon reflecting on this book is how much I loved the ways in which Teller portrayed the "strength" of each woman. Lately, so many books--particularly in fantasy--are stuck in a certain rut where a "strong female character" equals being tough, using a sword, and rejecting most feminine values. I find this to be a harmful and frustrating trend, so I was glad to see that Teller used a bit of variety and showed how women can be warriors in more than just the traditional idea of a 'warrior.'
I really enjoyed reading about all four of these women and found all the themes they struggled with extremely compelling, whether I could personally relate to them or not. Ellen's story in particular stood out to me, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how well Teller navigated the topics involved. The other three women, Helena, Jocelyn, and Rachel, also bring great lessons and personality to the book. Each story starts out with an exploration of a general struggle that each woman is currently facing, but the result of the story leaves both the reader and the character making new discoveries about their individuality and how they have the strength to handle everything. The only minor issue I had was that I wish the there was a lot of the women/narrative telling the us the readers about their strength, rather than showing as much as they could have.
Within these stories, Teller tackles a wide variety of difficult topics and does a great job of exploring them and handling them in tactful and engaging ways. One of my favorite things was how Teller managed to keep them intertwined. It wasn't always overt, but there were many subtle mentions that added to both previous and future stories in ways that I thought were really clever.
Overall, I've given Legend of the Exiles four stars! If you're looking for some stories about incredible women, then look no further.
*I received a copy of Legend of the Exiles in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*
I've previously read and enjoyed Jesse Teller's Manhunters trilogy (Song, Hemlock, Crown), so naturally I was excited to read something new from him. I was even more excited when I discovered that Legend of the Exiles is a tale of four interwoven novellas that take place in the world of Perilisc, each focusing on one individual woman. I wasn't sure what to expect from this format, but I knew that it was in good hands with Teller.
The stories take place in a low fantasy setting that has been fully built up and explored in his previous trilogy, but that doesn't mean that these stories lack in setting up a great world as well that I was easily able to find myself lost within. Even though I have knowledge of the world from previous books, I think anyone new to Teller's work should have no problems jumping right in. There's no major info-dumping, but there's enough world-building to give readers a solid foundation for understanding and enjoying the world.
The first thing that comes to mind upon reflecting on this book is how much I loved the ways in which Teller portrayed the "strength" of each woman. Lately, so many books--particularly in fantasy--are stuck in a certain rut where a "strong female character" equals being tough, using a sword, and rejecting most feminine values. I find this to be a harmful and frustrating trend, so I was glad to see that Teller used a bit of variety and showed how women can be warriors in more than just the traditional idea of a 'warrior.'
I really enjoyed reading about all four of these women and found all the themes they struggled with extremely compelling, whether I could personally relate to them or not. Ellen's story in particular stood out to me, and I was so pleasantly surprised by how well Teller navigated the topics involved. The other three women, Helena, Jocelyn, and Rachel, also bring great lessons and personality to the book. Each story starts out with an exploration of a general struggle that each woman is currently facing, but the result of the story leaves both the reader and the character making new discoveries about their individuality and how they have the strength to handle everything. The only minor issue I had was that I wish the there was a lot of the women/narrative telling the us the readers about their strength, rather than showing as much as they could have.
Within these stories, Teller tackles a wide variety of difficult topics and does a great job of exploring them and handling them in tactful and engaging ways. One of my favorite things was how Teller managed to keep them intertwined. It wasn't always overt, but there were many subtle mentions that added to both previous and future stories in ways that I thought were really clever.
Overall, I've given Legend of the Exiles four stars! If you're looking for some stories about incredible women, then look no further.
*I received a copy of Legend of the Exiles in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating of the book.*
June 3, 2019
Having had JT on my radar for a while I was pleased to receive a review copy and intrigued to see how the combined novellas worked under a cracking cover. It is a damn nice pikkie.
It was an interesting experience and the four are strong characters in notable individual manners and by no means perfect. In some cases far from it, which has some major impact(s) as the book progresses.
Helena, in honesty I didn't especially like her as a character. I couldn't see her remaining with a tribe (flawed upbringing or not) without her having her arse rattled. She annoyed me (and the tribe) so often it must have been a chore having her around, particularly when being knife happy. I liked how she was rounded off, but my least favourite.
Jocelyn, was next and also interesting as a contrast in having nothing to want for, yet chose something else. Twice. I enjoyed the sharp turn to the left and the drastic consequences that wrought, but I preferred her away from the mountain. I wanted more of her story there and it didn't quite tickle the itch, even when she digs deep later on for her earlier cowardice in a very unexpected brawl.
Ellen, blew me away. From her early shock and misery, I really enjoyed her arc, her drive and the impact her resolve and intelligence bring. I'd happily buy a book with her story. What she produces I hope will reverberate through other works. A damn fine redemption arc, with a couple of nice touches at the end of her tale, and later again in Rachels. Seeing her happy made my day.
You can't have four strong women without an Amazon and Rachel delivers that in spades. Once again the author drags a girl from a grim beginning, throws her into a new life and allows her to fend for herself. I have to admit I was waiting for her to come a cropper (in the vein of Luthar) and it was a toss up between whether her or Helena made the bigger mess when their hard decisions come home to roost. I liked how they interwove at the end and the way (to a point) the final fight is taken out of their hands, the responsibility handed across and leaving them as equally tense as the tribes in the outcome. A strong story, a hard feisty woman, but a hard act to follow after Ellen.
One cracker, two enjoyable and very twisted and one that prodded my annoyance button, but well written and strongly developed and easy to gloss over a couple of typos.
It was an interesting experience and the four are strong characters in notable individual manners and by no means perfect. In some cases far from it, which has some major impact(s) as the book progresses.
Helena, in honesty I didn't especially like her as a character. I couldn't see her remaining with a tribe (flawed upbringing or not) without her having her arse rattled. She annoyed me (and the tribe) so often it must have been a chore having her around, particularly when being knife happy. I liked how she was rounded off, but my least favourite.
Jocelyn, was next and also interesting as a contrast in having nothing to want for, yet chose something else. Twice. I enjoyed the sharp turn to the left and the drastic consequences that wrought, but I preferred her away from the mountain. I wanted more of her story there and it didn't quite tickle the itch, even when she digs deep later on for her earlier cowardice in a very unexpected brawl.
Ellen, blew me away. From her early shock and misery, I really enjoyed her arc, her drive and the impact her resolve and intelligence bring. I'd happily buy a book with her story. What she produces I hope will reverberate through other works. A damn fine redemption arc, with a couple of nice touches at the end of her tale, and later again in Rachels. Seeing her happy made my day.
You can't have four strong women without an Amazon and Rachel delivers that in spades. Once again the author drags a girl from a grim beginning, throws her into a new life and allows her to fend for herself. I have to admit I was waiting for her to come a cropper (in the vein of Luthar) and it was a toss up between whether her or Helena made the bigger mess when their hard decisions come home to roost. I liked how they interwove at the end and the way (to a point) the final fight is taken out of their hands, the responsibility handed across and leaving them as equally tense as the tribes in the outcome. A strong story, a hard feisty woman, but a hard act to follow after Ellen.
One cracker, two enjoyable and very twisted and one that prodded my annoyance button, but well written and strongly developed and easy to gloss over a couple of typos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2019
I received this as an ARC via TBRinder, but that in no way influences my honest opinion of the work.
Legends of the Exiles is set in the world of Perilisc, and mostly focuses on a low-tech, barbarian society. The four novellas of the book take place in the decades leading up to the Escape, an event which is used as a dating method throughout, and hints at a wider plot that spans Teller’s other works.
I’d not read any of Teller’s work before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of writing and his ability to write compelling characters. The novellas follow the lives of four different, interlinked women: Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen and Rachel. Helena seeks to find out what – and who – she wants in life. Jocelyn’s story introduces magic and gods to the story, and shows how her actions influence the events of the world behind the scenes. Ellen is a smart woman, rejected by her village, yet she struggles on in the face of suffering. The final story is of Rachel, a warrior-woman driven from her nation because of her heritage. Each story is distinct, and addresses themes of love and loss, as they strive to figure out their place in the world.
I had no prior knowledge of the Perilisc world, and lore is hinted at more than info-dumped. Even without being sure of every bit of context, it didn’t affect my ability to connect with the characters. But by no means does this book skimp on world-building. The descriptions are excellent without being too flowery, especially during action scenes. Teller does not describe every action blow-by-blow, but allows the reader to form their own image. There are many quotes which stand out to me, but here is one of my favourites from Helena’s story: ‘He broke upon the Furies around him like a storm breaking upon the world. He was elemental. He was terrible. He was a thing of myth, the reckoning of a nightmare, and before him there was no surviving. Before him, there was nothing but death and blood.’ The writing flows in a way which is both beautiful and easy to read.
Jesse has the gift of crafting characters with lives I truly care about. I love strong women in stories. I love strong women with swords who don’t need a man. But a woman doesn’t need to be able to crush beer cans and men’s skulls with her bare hands (though perhaps this is something Rachel might try to do), or have the emotions of a teaspoon, to be strong. In Legends of the Exiles, strong women can be emotional. They can love, and cry, and fear, and it doesn’t make them weak. Strong does not have to mean physically strong. Strong does not mean be like a (stereotypical) man.
However, there is also the matter of the matriarchal society of the Furies, where the women are warriors and the men are kept as virtually slaves. Is the author implying that a female-led society would be awful? Probably not. Likely he’s showing that women can be just as ruthless and cruel as men. Power can be wielded wrongly, no matter whose hands it is in.
In the patriarchal societies, there are rigid views on gender roles, but this seems realistic for the time period. Luckily, sexual harassment is not tolerated and most of the men treat women with respect. Many of the women feel that their role as homemakers and mothers is just as important as the men’s job of protecting the villages – if not more so. It’s a complex topic and difficult to address well. It is good to see traditionally women’s roles recognised as important work – caring, for partners, for children, for the home, is important. It’s OK for a woman to be happy to take on a stereotypical gender role, but it’s also fine not to want to do so either. It did make me laugh though when a young Rachel reacted with horror at the idea of having to clean things. I know the feeling!
Teller deals with many difficult themes and concepts. Living in a patriarchal society, the questionable intentions of supposed ‘liberators’, exploring sexuality, addiction, and choosing duty over happiness. There are sex scenes, but they are not overly gratuitous, and are important moments in the women’s lives. Helena’s story is probably my favourite. I loved her fierce nature, and her determination not to give up no matter how the odds stacked against her. I could also relate to her struggle to rebel against her village’s expectations, simply because she didn’t like being pushed towards what her heart truly desired. She may be rash and reckless at times, but I couldn’t help rooting for her.
Ellen’s story also dealt with a struggle I think many young girls and women can relate to. Her story could potentially be upsetting for those who have gone through abuse, but it is handled well for such a sensitive topic.
Overall, I think Teller did a great job at portraying realistic female characters. I would recommend it to any who love character-driven fantasy and coming-of-age tales. Although it works as a standalone, I’m eager to read more of the Perilisc world. A quote from the book which stuck with me was this: ‘you are worth fighting for, even if it is you who needs to do the fighting.’ I think it’s a message which would resonate with a lot of young women.
Legends of the Exiles is set in the world of Perilisc, and mostly focuses on a low-tech, barbarian society. The four novellas of the book take place in the decades leading up to the Escape, an event which is used as a dating method throughout, and hints at a wider plot that spans Teller’s other works.
I’d not read any of Teller’s work before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of writing and his ability to write compelling characters. The novellas follow the lives of four different, interlinked women: Helena, Jocelyn, Ellen and Rachel. Helena seeks to find out what – and who – she wants in life. Jocelyn’s story introduces magic and gods to the story, and shows how her actions influence the events of the world behind the scenes. Ellen is a smart woman, rejected by her village, yet she struggles on in the face of suffering. The final story is of Rachel, a warrior-woman driven from her nation because of her heritage. Each story is distinct, and addresses themes of love and loss, as they strive to figure out their place in the world.
I had no prior knowledge of the Perilisc world, and lore is hinted at more than info-dumped. Even without being sure of every bit of context, it didn’t affect my ability to connect with the characters. But by no means does this book skimp on world-building. The descriptions are excellent without being too flowery, especially during action scenes. Teller does not describe every action blow-by-blow, but allows the reader to form their own image. There are many quotes which stand out to me, but here is one of my favourites from Helena’s story: ‘He broke upon the Furies around him like a storm breaking upon the world. He was elemental. He was terrible. He was a thing of myth, the reckoning of a nightmare, and before him there was no surviving. Before him, there was nothing but death and blood.’ The writing flows in a way which is both beautiful and easy to read.
Jesse has the gift of crafting characters with lives I truly care about. I love strong women in stories. I love strong women with swords who don’t need a man. But a woman doesn’t need to be able to crush beer cans and men’s skulls with her bare hands (though perhaps this is something Rachel might try to do), or have the emotions of a teaspoon, to be strong. In Legends of the Exiles, strong women can be emotional. They can love, and cry, and fear, and it doesn’t make them weak. Strong does not have to mean physically strong. Strong does not mean be like a (stereotypical) man.
However, there is also the matter of the matriarchal society of the Furies, where the women are warriors and the men are kept as virtually slaves. Is the author implying that a female-led society would be awful? Probably not. Likely he’s showing that women can be just as ruthless and cruel as men. Power can be wielded wrongly, no matter whose hands it is in.
In the patriarchal societies, there are rigid views on gender roles, but this seems realistic for the time period. Luckily, sexual harassment is not tolerated and most of the men treat women with respect. Many of the women feel that their role as homemakers and mothers is just as important as the men’s job of protecting the villages – if not more so. It’s a complex topic and difficult to address well. It is good to see traditionally women’s roles recognised as important work – caring, for partners, for children, for the home, is important. It’s OK for a woman to be happy to take on a stereotypical gender role, but it’s also fine not to want to do so either. It did make me laugh though when a young Rachel reacted with horror at the idea of having to clean things. I know the feeling!
Teller deals with many difficult themes and concepts. Living in a patriarchal society, the questionable intentions of supposed ‘liberators’, exploring sexuality, addiction, and choosing duty over happiness. There are sex scenes, but they are not overly gratuitous, and are important moments in the women’s lives. Helena’s story is probably my favourite. I loved her fierce nature, and her determination not to give up no matter how the odds stacked against her. I could also relate to her struggle to rebel against her village’s expectations, simply because she didn’t like being pushed towards what her heart truly desired. She may be rash and reckless at times, but I couldn’t help rooting for her.
Ellen’s story also dealt with a struggle I think many young girls and women can relate to. Her story could potentially be upsetting for those who have gone through abuse, but it is handled well for such a sensitive topic.
Overall, I think Teller did a great job at portraying realistic female characters. I would recommend it to any who love character-driven fantasy and coming-of-age tales. Although it works as a standalone, I’m eager to read more of the Perilisc world. A quote from the book which stuck with me was this: ‘you are worth fighting for, even if it is you who needs to do the fighting.’ I think it’s a message which would resonate with a lot of young women.
April 8, 2019
2.5/5
The premise is interesting, but I felt time and again that I was "told" how strong these women are, but never "shown" it...and their stories all revolved around men and finding a man. I think there is potential here, so I will try another book in this world one of these days (I got Song for a, well, song, one day so I've added it to my reading list), but this particular set of tales did not sit well with me. I found there to be too much sexual assault and sexualization of young children, and too much telling, not showing. It felt forced to me. Obviously based off the other reviews, I am in the minority, so there is a good chance that others will disagree with me and I encourage them to read it for themselves and see!
The premise is interesting, but I felt time and again that I was "told" how strong these women are, but never "shown" it...and their stories all revolved around men and finding a man. I think there is potential here, so I will try another book in this world one of these days (I got Song for a, well, song, one day so I've added it to my reading list), but this particular set of tales did not sit well with me. I found there to be too much sexual assault and sexualization of young children, and too much telling, not showing. It felt forced to me. Obviously based off the other reviews, I am in the minority, so there is a good chance that others will disagree with me and I encourage them to read it for themselves and see!
June 24, 2019
Legends of the Exiles is a fantasy adventure book written as a collection of four novellas telling a tale of four resilient women dealing with abuse, addiction, assault, and grief.
The ‘Dreaded Desires’ is about a girl named Helena. She falls in love with a man that she despised for most of her life. Her character is not as appealing as one would like but, nevertheless, she was an interesting character to read about. Her personality was strong in a not so positive way, and her interactions did raise some questions.
The ‘Princess Prophet’ is about a girl named Jocelyn. Her world is filled with fantasy and nightmares. She has to make sacrifices, and her destiny is unsure yet, she is willing to give up what she has in order to see what’s to happen.
‘Dead Girl’ which is book three, describes sensitive matters such as sexual assault. The story is about Ellen. She is a really delightful girl which you instantly bond with. Having gone through an unpleasant ordeal, she is a survivor and wants to change her life around.
The last book, ‘Daughter of Beasts’, is about Rachel. She is different from the other three characters. In a way, I found her more interesting, and her strong character appealed to me.
I have read many of this author’s books. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and this one did not disappoint either. I recommend this book to dark fantasy readers and people who like to read good literature.
The ‘Dreaded Desires’ is about a girl named Helena. She falls in love with a man that she despised for most of her life. Her character is not as appealing as one would like but, nevertheless, she was an interesting character to read about. Her personality was strong in a not so positive way, and her interactions did raise some questions.
The ‘Princess Prophet’ is about a girl named Jocelyn. Her world is filled with fantasy and nightmares. She has to make sacrifices, and her destiny is unsure yet, she is willing to give up what she has in order to see what’s to happen.
‘Dead Girl’ which is book three, describes sensitive matters such as sexual assault. The story is about Ellen. She is a really delightful girl which you instantly bond with. Having gone through an unpleasant ordeal, she is a survivor and wants to change her life around.
The last book, ‘Daughter of Beasts’, is about Rachel. She is different from the other three characters. In a way, I found her more interesting, and her strong character appealed to me.
I have read many of this author’s books. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and this one did not disappoint either. I recommend this book to dark fantasy readers and people who like to read good literature.
August 28, 2019
Amazing women!
I don’t normally read this genre, but once I started this book, I was hooked. Each novella features a different woman struggling to find her place in a male-dominated world. With strength and fortitude, these women forge new paths and find respect amongst themselves and the men of their world. I look forward to reading more about the lands Teller has created.
I don’t normally read this genre, but once I started this book, I was hooked. Each novella features a different woman struggling to find her place in a male-dominated world. With strength and fortitude, these women forge new paths and find respect amongst themselves and the men of their world. I look forward to reading more about the lands Teller has created.
April 14, 2019
“By denying your god when you were small, you damned yourself to a loveless life…fear killed your future”.
In general, I am a very sceptical person. It usually takes me a good 30-40 pages before I start enjoying any book. When I was asked to review “Legend of the exiles” by Jesse Teller, an emotion of uncertainty crept inside of me; how many pages would it take for me to truly intertwine with the contents of the book?
Believe it or not, as soon as I read the first paragraph, I was sucked into the rabbit hole. However, this rabbit hole did not lead me to wonderland but rather it took me to an even greater, more interesting, fantastical world
This world is barbaric and dominated by men. There are kingdoms and within each kingdom there are tribes. Our story shall take place in these crude unpolished tribes.
Like Leonardo Da Vinci creating Mona Lisa, Jesse crafts four valiant courageous women. The four women; Helena, Ellen, Jocelyn and Rachel all partake in an individual battle to vanquish their inner demons and transcend towards a spiritual level of bliss.
While the women try to, as the famous band Gemini Syndrome say, “reconcile the war inside of them”, the tribal society do not want them to change. These women face bullying, shame and death. Through all these inhumanities, Mr Teller works with precision to depict how the protagonists’ rebel against their cultures and show the world how to take on oppression with a smile.
Every woman in the book has her own challenge to overcome. Yet Mr Teller sporadically mingles the stories and then masterfully untangles them. The ambience of magic set by the author is lovely and I truly felt immersed in the mystic world. It was a 450-word thriller and I am definitely looking forward to buying the next few books in the series.
.Combat System:. Mostly Hand to hand, although daggers, arrows and swords are also quite prominent.
.What I liked:. Definitely the beautiful flow of writing. The writer is definitely super talented.
.What could be improved:. Perhaps the age system? I understand that this is a fantasy world and that most adults in the book are around 11-13 years. However, it is still a bit peculiar to see a 10-year-old girl getting married.
Buy the book for your Kindle from Amazon;. https://amzn.to/2ICEDD3
Like what you read? I post regularly about philosophy and football on my blog, shreyaslearns.com. Interested? Check it out!
In general, I am a very sceptical person. It usually takes me a good 30-40 pages before I start enjoying any book. When I was asked to review “Legend of the exiles” by Jesse Teller, an emotion of uncertainty crept inside of me; how many pages would it take for me to truly intertwine with the contents of the book?
Believe it or not, as soon as I read the first paragraph, I was sucked into the rabbit hole. However, this rabbit hole did not lead me to wonderland but rather it took me to an even greater, more interesting, fantastical world
This world is barbaric and dominated by men. There are kingdoms and within each kingdom there are tribes. Our story shall take place in these crude unpolished tribes.
Like Leonardo Da Vinci creating Mona Lisa, Jesse crafts four valiant courageous women. The four women; Helena, Ellen, Jocelyn and Rachel all partake in an individual battle to vanquish their inner demons and transcend towards a spiritual level of bliss.
While the women try to, as the famous band Gemini Syndrome say, “reconcile the war inside of them”, the tribal society do not want them to change. These women face bullying, shame and death. Through all these inhumanities, Mr Teller works with precision to depict how the protagonists’ rebel against their cultures and show the world how to take on oppression with a smile.
Every woman in the book has her own challenge to overcome. Yet Mr Teller sporadically mingles the stories and then masterfully untangles them. The ambience of magic set by the author is lovely and I truly felt immersed in the mystic world. It was a 450-word thriller and I am definitely looking forward to buying the next few books in the series.
.Combat System:. Mostly Hand to hand, although daggers, arrows and swords are also quite prominent.
.What I liked:. Definitely the beautiful flow of writing. The writer is definitely super talented.
.What could be improved:. Perhaps the age system? I understand that this is a fantasy world and that most adults in the book are around 11-13 years. However, it is still a bit peculiar to see a 10-year-old girl getting married.
Buy the book for your Kindle from Amazon;. https://amzn.to/2ICEDD3
Like what you read? I post regularly about philosophy and football on my blog, shreyaslearns.com. Interested? Check it out!
April 17, 2019
A powerful collection of entwined stories about strong women who overcome and persevere.
A hefty helping of strong female characters brings us four stories that will shake you with their intensity. The tales overlap, moving back and forth through where the clans and villages exist on the mountain and within the City of Exiles. Each a complete story, they weave into one another in ways that are unexpected. I found myself in tears at times both in sadness and happiness. The highs and lows are extreme. You cannot ask more from a book than that.
A strong foray into a foreign culture of clans, Legends of the Exiles intertwines the stories of four women as they struggle within their societies. The pain, brutality, hardships, and broken hearts are what forge these legends. Each a survivor, they are the epitome of fortitude, however cruel fortune may be. There is patriarchal oppression, drug addiction, rape (absolutely needed to tell the woman’s tale), and murder. These tragedies are not for shock value. They are the traumas which shape lives. A reader cannot help but be captured by the completeness of each woman in their depth of detail. The characters fairly leap off the page as their stories build the world in which we find them. The setting is vivid and every word put to page serves a purpose. Readers will find themselves desperate for more. To get the answers, you must experience the tale of each woman.
The timelines between each novella run simultaneously but each is at a different point within each woman’s life. The first novella starting five years before the prologue. Within each, the tale is set apart by chapter headings dating the Escape.
Escape from what? Jesse Teller is weaving a great tapestry within his series. A careful reader will begin to see the puzzle pieces of the tales of Perilisc and there is a clue we find in the prologue to this amazing book.
About the book:
The Flurryfists live in a village high on the mountain, steep and set in layered stairs. Not far is the territory of the Fendis, some of whom may soul call a wolf as a war partner. The Furies, a vicious matriarchal society of warriors who are feared by all the clans are high on the mountain land. The Stonefists left the mountains generations ago, but still return their warriors to the mountain to brand them as men.
The bottom of the mountain houses Tregeggor’s Gate. Two massive cliffs in the Fendish lands, the wolf clan whose symbols of snarling wolves are carved into walls surrounding it. Here begins the outlands, and the days of travel to the city of Tergor. The City of Exiles, where the clans live in ghettos ruled by their king chiefs.
From the mountain to the city, and back again, the stories eventually put the protagonists on the same page. Some as enemies, others as friends.
The stunning cover art is by two amazing women, a mother and daughter team, from Seedlings Design Studio. It is beautiful and captures the spirit of the tales within the book.
An absolutely top-notch fantasy that explores the depths of overcoming adversity, highly recommended. Many thanks to the author for an ARC of this book for review.
A hefty helping of strong female characters brings us four stories that will shake you with their intensity. The tales overlap, moving back and forth through where the clans and villages exist on the mountain and within the City of Exiles. Each a complete story, they weave into one another in ways that are unexpected. I found myself in tears at times both in sadness and happiness. The highs and lows are extreme. You cannot ask more from a book than that.
A strong foray into a foreign culture of clans, Legends of the Exiles intertwines the stories of four women as they struggle within their societies. The pain, brutality, hardships, and broken hearts are what forge these legends. Each a survivor, they are the epitome of fortitude, however cruel fortune may be. There is patriarchal oppression, drug addiction, rape (absolutely needed to tell the woman’s tale), and murder. These tragedies are not for shock value. They are the traumas which shape lives. A reader cannot help but be captured by the completeness of each woman in their depth of detail. The characters fairly leap off the page as their stories build the world in which we find them. The setting is vivid and every word put to page serves a purpose. Readers will find themselves desperate for more. To get the answers, you must experience the tale of each woman.
The timelines between each novella run simultaneously but each is at a different point within each woman’s life. The first novella starting five years before the prologue. Within each, the tale is set apart by chapter headings dating the Escape.
Escape from what? Jesse Teller is weaving a great tapestry within his series. A careful reader will begin to see the puzzle pieces of the tales of Perilisc and there is a clue we find in the prologue to this amazing book.
About the book:
The Flurryfists live in a village high on the mountain, steep and set in layered stairs. Not far is the territory of the Fendis, some of whom may soul call a wolf as a war partner. The Furies, a vicious matriarchal society of warriors who are feared by all the clans are high on the mountain land. The Stonefists left the mountains generations ago, but still return their warriors to the mountain to brand them as men.
The bottom of the mountain houses Tregeggor’s Gate. Two massive cliffs in the Fendish lands, the wolf clan whose symbols of snarling wolves are carved into walls surrounding it. Here begins the outlands, and the days of travel to the city of Tergor. The City of Exiles, where the clans live in ghettos ruled by their king chiefs.
From the mountain to the city, and back again, the stories eventually put the protagonists on the same page. Some as enemies, others as friends.
The stunning cover art is by two amazing women, a mother and daughter team, from Seedlings Design Studio. It is beautiful and captures the spirit of the tales within the book.
An absolutely top-notch fantasy that explores the depths of overcoming adversity, highly recommended. Many thanks to the author for an ARC of this book for review.
Read
May 29, 2019DNF
I rarely don't finish books that I start, but I really had some struggles getting through this one. As a result, I won't be giving a star rating on this one, but will give my honest opinion.
First things first, I received a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. I'm super grateful for the opportunity, it just wasn't for me at this point in time.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the beginning passage. It set the stage for what the book is about. Stories of great, inspirational women in a tribe. At that point I was on board.
But when I started reading the story, I began to get a little disappointed, and ultimately indifferent.
Helena is a young woman in a tribe of warriors. Her story covers her life in different stages, from a little girl to a blossoming woman and the struggles she faces.
The world built around Helena was a little difficult to understand for me. I understood what the author was going for, but I wish it was more fleshed out than it was. The reader is given a lot of information in the beginning, but it's hard to keep track of and there isn't much explanation. I think that if the author would've explained several things without info dumping the story would've been easier to understand. Either that or taking things slower would've actually helped in this case.
I also felt that there were too many characters rotating around. There had to have been at least 10-20 characters in Helena's story, and without slowly introducing each individual character and making them distinctly different I had trouble keeping track of who was who and what tribe they were from.
Lastly, I didn't necessarily find the story very inspirational. Although I didn't finish Helena's story, which could account for this, I still felt that there wasn't much development with her. Sure, bad things happen to her, and she has experiences, but I didn't really feel like the experiences affected her much. She seemed much more interested in finding a man throughout several of her sections, and it came off as a little selfish to me.
Anyways, these are just my overall thoughts of the part of the book that I read. I do have to say I like the concept the author was going for, I just think the execution is lacking. Though I would give this book another chance later on, I'm not very sure my opinion would change that much.
I rarely don't finish books that I start, but I really had some struggles getting through this one. As a result, I won't be giving a star rating on this one, but will give my honest opinion.
First things first, I received a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. I'm super grateful for the opportunity, it just wasn't for me at this point in time.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the beginning passage. It set the stage for what the book is about. Stories of great, inspirational women in a tribe. At that point I was on board.
But when I started reading the story, I began to get a little disappointed, and ultimately indifferent.
Helena is a young woman in a tribe of warriors. Her story covers her life in different stages, from a little girl to a blossoming woman and the struggles she faces.
The world built around Helena was a little difficult to understand for me. I understood what the author was going for, but I wish it was more fleshed out than it was. The reader is given a lot of information in the beginning, but it's hard to keep track of and there isn't much explanation. I think that if the author would've explained several things without info dumping the story would've been easier to understand. Either that or taking things slower would've actually helped in this case.
I also felt that there were too many characters rotating around. There had to have been at least 10-20 characters in Helena's story, and without slowly introducing each individual character and making them distinctly different I had trouble keeping track of who was who and what tribe they were from.
Lastly, I didn't necessarily find the story very inspirational. Although I didn't finish Helena's story, which could account for this, I still felt that there wasn't much development with her. Sure, bad things happen to her, and she has experiences, but I didn't really feel like the experiences affected her much. She seemed much more interested in finding a man throughout several of her sections, and it came off as a little selfish to me.
Anyways, these are just my overall thoughts of the part of the book that I read. I do have to say I like the concept the author was going for, I just think the execution is lacking. Though I would give this book another chance later on, I'm not very sure my opinion would change that much.
April 14, 2019
Four women, their stories intertwined with each other, struggle to find their places in the world and to be with the people they love.
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Legends of the Exiles is essentially four novellas in one volume, each story focusing on a different character, and in some ways, a female archetype. Each character is different enough that even though some of them share similarities, each of their stories explores different ground.
One of the common themes is the notion of choice. All the protagonists come from a clannish culture which is not necessarily kind to women and this is reflected in both the choices that get made for them and the results their own choices engender. Resistance against arranged political marriages is seen from inside & out, judgement is placed on victims of sexual assault & unwed mothers and whether the good of the society outweighs personal happiness has to be decided.
One of the greatest pleasures from Legends of the Exiles is the way the stories connect with each other, characters from one appearing, or even starring, in another, makes it that much richer than any one on its own. Sometimes the same scene is featured from another perspective, sometimes a scene beings in one story, then is continued in another. It serves to add authenticity to the world.
There is plenty of evidence of strong world-building. While this stands alone, it is set in the world of Perilisc which is the home of several of the author’s other writings. Maybe the fact that I’ve only read one of those other novels is at fault, but I often found myself wanting to know more about the clan’s and their history and was a little disappointed that it wasn’t forthcoming. Still, that did not detract from the other good qualities to be found here.
Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Legends of the Exiles is essentially four novellas in one volume, each story focusing on a different character, and in some ways, a female archetype. Each character is different enough that even though some of them share similarities, each of their stories explores different ground.
One of the common themes is the notion of choice. All the protagonists come from a clannish culture which is not necessarily kind to women and this is reflected in both the choices that get made for them and the results their own choices engender. Resistance against arranged political marriages is seen from inside & out, judgement is placed on victims of sexual assault & unwed mothers and whether the good of the society outweighs personal happiness has to be decided.
One of the greatest pleasures from Legends of the Exiles is the way the stories connect with each other, characters from one appearing, or even starring, in another, makes it that much richer than any one on its own. Sometimes the same scene is featured from another perspective, sometimes a scene beings in one story, then is continued in another. It serves to add authenticity to the world.
There is plenty of evidence of strong world-building. While this stands alone, it is set in the world of Perilisc which is the home of several of the author’s other writings. Maybe the fact that I’ve only read one of those other novels is at fault, but I often found myself wanting to know more about the clan’s and their history and was a little disappointed that it wasn’t forthcoming. Still, that did not detract from the other good qualities to be found here.
August 12, 2019
Jesse Teller’s Legends of the Exiles is an incredible combination of four interwoven novellas. These novellas contain stories of four women who defy social customs in hopes of finding themselves.
I love character driven novels and Jesse Teller’s ability to dive deep into his characters lives is inspiring to me as a writer. These are strong female characters with strengths and weaknesses. They are incredibly well developed and I was in awe reading each story.
I truly felt like I was in this real. One thing I love is when a fantasy novel feels realistic. You’re able to forget that you’re reading and sore away into a world that doesn’t really exist, but feels extremely real.
I have to give Legends of the Exiles 5 stars. It is just so fantastically written and is definitely in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year. If you love fantasy and strong, deep characters, pick this up!
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from R&R Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
I love character driven novels and Jesse Teller’s ability to dive deep into his characters lives is inspiring to me as a writer. These are strong female characters with strengths and weaknesses. They are incredibly well developed and I was in awe reading each story.
I truly felt like I was in this real. One thing I love is when a fantasy novel feels realistic. You’re able to forget that you’re reading and sore away into a world that doesn’t really exist, but feels extremely real.
I have to give Legends of the Exiles 5 stars. It is just so fantastically written and is definitely in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year. If you love fantasy and strong, deep characters, pick this up!
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from R&R Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
December 25, 2020
The women is Jesse Teller's novels are some of best written. No shrinking violets at all; they are survivors of all manners of atrocities in a world that gives no quarter. These stories can be read as stand alones but keep reading and you'll find as with all Jesse's books there are invisible threads that bind all the characters in one way or another.
December 21, 2019
While there is some good writing that is evocative and moving in places, Legends of the Exiles kind of shoots itself in the foot for me. Primarily this is due to some uncomfortably sexualised pre-teens, but the fact that it is obtuse to readers new to the previously-established world doesn’t help either.
Read
September 1, 2020Did not finish.
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