A Star-Reckoner’s Lot by Darrell Drake

A Star-Reckoner’s Lot is probably the first historical fantasy book I’ve read, so it was a bit of a different experience for me. Not a massive difference from normal fantasy, except you can look up historical figures mentioned in the book and actually see who they are, and what they did, which I found to be pretty cool.

Darrell does a good job at giving just as much information as needed for the story without going into the full historical background as well, however if you are like me, and want to know more then you might spend some time looking things up afterwards. Overall, the book provides you will all the information you need to understand what is happening.

Darrell also writes some fantastic insults, and the book is an excellent guide on how to swear at, and insult people.

Setting

Ashtadukht is a star-reckoner. The worst there’s ever been.

She commands the might of the constellations… though her magic is as unpredictable as the die rolls that decide its fate. But star-reckoners are humanity’s first defense against divs, so if Ashtadukht is to fulfill her duty, she must use every trick at her disposal—risks be damned.

An excuse. A lie she tells herself. All that remains of a life she should have had. She travels the empire to hunt down the div that brought her world to ruin. The longer her pursuit, the more her memories threaten to consume her. The darker her obsession becomes.

Every spell is a catastrophe waiting to happen, every div a tale of its own, every tale a thread in her tapestry of vengeance. This is the story of her path… a warning to those who would follow in her footsteps.

Ashtadukht is a star-reckoner. The worst there’s ever been. Hers is no hero’s journey.

• • •

A tale of loss and misadventure in a fantasy setting inspired by the history and culture of 6th-century Sasanian Iran.

Characters

There are 3 main characters over the course of the book:

• Ashtadukht, the main character of the book, is one of the more interesting characters I’ve seen recently. She is the character for those people who want a deeply flawed character with an interesting past who struggles through adversary. Ashtadukht has an illness, and everyday is a struggle, some more than others, but she isn’t ever fully well, and it makes reading her story very interesting
• Waray is… Waray… there really isn’t any other way to describe her. She’s a half-div who loves eggs and pulling pranks, has no real idea of how to be a person, and is overall just an amazing character to read about. Everyone I’ve spoken to who has read this book has loved Waray
• Tirdad is Ashtadukht’s cousin and guardian. He’s the one with all the weapons, helping Ashtadukht on her poor days, putting up with Waray and her pranks, and generally making sure everything goes in the direction it should.

Plot

The plot of A Star-Reckoner’s Lot confused me for a good part of the book, and I didn’t realise how deeply connected events were until the grand finale. As you read it seems like a bunch of unrelated events happening throughout the book and developing the characters. We know that Ashtadukht is on a mission of vengeance, and these events are happening along the way, but that’s about it, and then you hit the 80% mark of the book suddenly everything makes sense, all the little pieces along the road fall into place and you release how deeply connected all the events are just in time for the epic finale. Darrell does a fantastic job of bringing everything together, it just takes a while to realise what’s happening, and the ending is spectacular.

Audience

This book is probably best for people who like:

• Interesting characters
• Unique characters
• Flawed characters
• Female POV
• Non-Human protagonists
• Desert Setting
• Interesting and unpredictable magic
• History
• Iran

My lovely co-blogger, Hiu, was also kind enough to draw up a several nice new covers for the book! We haven’t yet convinced Darrell to change it, but we are working on it.