Seeds of Destiny
The Seeds of Destiny follows Brann, the son of a miller from a small village in the back of beyond. Anyone with a passing interest in fantasy will know that only from such humble beginnings, can a properly epic coming of age tale begin, and that is precisely what The Seeds of Destiny is. The clue is very much in the title of the series and the individual books, Hero Born, Hero Grown and Hero Risen.
Within the first couple of chapters circumstances conspire to detach Brann from his simple way of life and place him in the company of some seafaring slavers, not you’ll understand as a passenger, but rather as part of the engine room. Thankfully the captain of this particular ship is a reluctant slaver at best, the kind who treats his slaves well, valuing them and their wellbeing as the source of his wealth, status, and in some cases continued existence. The slaves for their part are reasonably content with the set-up, after all, there’s worse situations to occupy than pulling an oar in return for food and safety (something graphically illustrated later in the series).
The camaraderie born of shared captivity gifts Brann some new friends. His inquisitive nature coupled with a preference for using brains rather than brawn to solve a number of pressing problems (and an inability to keep his mouth shut about it) ingratiates him with his masters (that and a prophecy, obvs). At first this intellectual ability is rather rudimentary (and in my view some of his crewmates could probably do a bit more of the mental heavy lifting, I’m looking at you Grakk), but thanks to the patience of his fellow slaves and the patronisation of his masters it is nurtured over time.
At the time of Brann’s capture, masked savages subject his village to an unconnected attack; in the confusion, he assumes that his captors had perpetrated the attack. Until the intended recipients of his new ship’s cargo are massacred in atrocious fashion. At this point, it becomes obvious that the Captain of the ship is neither a barbarian nor a simple slaver and Brann is dragged into a mission to understand the reasons behind the attacks and identify the culprits.
The books are written in an easily digestible style (while considering this review, I was flitting through the book, checking a few details and found myself completely sucked back in to the story). There are some violent scenes, the nature of the atrocities investigated and Brann’s journey itself requires some graphic descriptive passages, but there is no obvious relish or revelry in the telling, just a narrative requirement to be fulfilled. The lack of enthusiastically described brutality and the presence of an arresting story makes this series well worth a look for fans of a more reserved fantasy vintage. I’d also feel comfortable recommending this for a slightly younger, young adult audience.
- Hero Born (2015) – Amazon – Book Depository
- Hero Grown (2016) – Amazon – Book Depository
- Hero Risen (2017) – Amazon – Book Depository