Sister Wake by Dave Rudden Review

A proud culture oppressed for centuries. An island over-run by bestial gods. And a girl with the power to raise the fallen . . .
 

For three hundred years the wild island of Croí has been subject to the Empire of the Answering. Clans have been subjugated, their language outlawed, their religion reduced to the whisper of fugitive priests.
 

Until Croí's prayers are answered. The Gods return. Feral and majestic, they stride the land as colossi, throwing the Empire into chaos.
 

The dispossessed and the vengeful struggle for power. A ruthless priestess rallies the faithful, offering a simple choice - believe, or die - even as the empire's Queen makes the first moves in a long and dangerous game.
 

But for all their machinations, one woman will decide the fate of them all . . . Sister Wake, unwilling saint of the Goddess of Death.
 

The first in a high fantasy trilogy, inspired by Ireland's history of English oppression. With the help of their newly arisen gods, Croí is finally about to fight back against the Empire of the Answering - but are the gods on their side, after all?

Steeped in Irish folklore and narratively inspired by Ireland’s oppression by England, Dave Rudden’s Sister Wake is an expansive high fantasy epic full of thematic and cultural content. The start of a planned trilogy, Sister Wake follows three individuals of different backgrounds and affiliations during a period of rising political conflict following the reappearance of monstrous gods causing unpredictable carnage across contested land. Ambitiously written and creatively inspired, Sister Wake is a novel full of big ideas that sometimes feels like it’s struggling with fitting together its individually strong pieces and balancing its complex plot.

Usually, I try to avoid directly recapping what a book is about in my reviews but for Sister Wake, this book blurb is particularly vague; even with a 1^st edition copy in hand, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. Set on the fictional island of Croí and the neighboring continental peninsula controlled by the Answering, Sister Wake is a high fantasy adventure of colonial rebellion and political conflict. Previously taken over from across the strait, the Answering has ruled over the distant and wild Croí by instituting their hierarchy of leaders, schooling, culture, and hanging all those favoring traditional Croí culture and legends for the past three hundred years. However, the sudden appearance of Croí’s old legendary and giant gods once spoken and sung about have returned, disrupting the oppressive status quo and causing mass damage and casualties in their wake. Based on Irish mythological gods and figures, Sister Wake’s gods take the form of giant, juggernaut kaiju-like beings capable of leveling everything in their path or using various fantasy powers such as Sister Wake’s Cailleach, the Goddess of Death who kills everything she looks at.

As the Croí rebellion, the Answering, and other groups navigate the tense arrangement, Sister Wake is presented through the perspectives of three different individuals caught in the shifting tides of change and power. The book’s namesake Sister Wake is an individual blessed by the Goddess of Death who has the power to reanimate recently deceased animals and is a rising figure and face of the Croí rebellion seeking to restore their independence (it took me far longer than I would like to admit that the title Sister Wake refers to an priestess figure and not a phrase or slogan, hence “Sister” Wake). Abelard Caudefoy is the son of one of the Answering’s lords and is an aspiring naturalist who is interested in rumored “beasts” causing instability in Croí. And finally, Talasa is the daughter of the Answering’s Queen and second wife of the King (of no blood relation to the King) who has zero political power or inheritance and is navigating the political instability caused by the King’s mysterious absence. Alternating by chapter, Sister Wake follows these three characters and their individual adventures around Croí and the Answering’s nearby land, whose lives and future are all affected by the gods’ return.

The start of a planned epic fantasy trilogy, this book is expansive and full of creative concepts and ideas. As previously mentioned, the series is inspired by the historical oppression of Ireland by England and though neither are directly mentioned by name, the series is a direct adaptation in a high fantasy reimagining. Croí and the Answering are direct counterparts to Ireland and the English and many of the book’s terminology, folklore, culture, and stories either have strong Irish inspirations or are incorporated as-is. Although I’m not particularly well-versed in Irish history and culture living half-way around the world in the middle of the ocean, the English history of colonizing the Irish is well-known and that basic understanding is all you need to get the gist of Sister Wake. However, the book isn’t simply a story of angry rebellion but is a much more complex exploration of what change can look like and how it affects individuals on a micro level. The three different characters provide very different snapshot views into Croí’s growing resurgence as well as the cost and casualties involved.

In addition to the themes of colonization and oppression, the book also has a strong recurring theme of given and inherited responsibilities. All three characters face difficulties navigating their perceived roles, none of which are their own choice, and what everyone else around them thinks they should be doing. Besides having different political affiliations and storylines, each of the three main characters also have distinctive personalities whose ideologies and character logic give each perspective a different tonal flavor. Fiery, headstrong, yet emotionally passionate, Sister Wake’s adventure across Croí is action-packed, vibrant, and nuanced, particularly due to powers of reanimation that infuse her with the memories and feelings of those she mentally inhabits temporarily. Abelard is more nervous and scholastic, whose chapters see science clashing with folklore, culture, and conflicting loyalties. And Talasa’s intuitive, strategic resourcefulness is put to the test as she attempts to sway the Answering’s top lords in a similar vein to the Queen. Across the three storylines, the book is full of world-building, folklore, and elements that perfectly suit the series’ mythic fantasy premise. Rudden’s prose also enhances the material in a dramatic and sweeping fashion that’s also quite distinctive both in terms of phrasing as well as thematic reflection.

While I found Sister Wake fascinating to read from a literary review standpoint, I found the book less enjoyable from a subjective reader standpoint. Multiple POVs are quite common and standard for high/epic fantasy books and Sister Wake utilizes them to show different angles to the Answering’s occupation of Croí. While I found each of the three perspectives individually compelling, they felt quite isolated and tonally different from each other. The issue isn’t that each perspective is geographically separated or follows a character of a different affiliation, it’s that each perspective feels like completely different narrative. One is a cross-country fantasy action adventure, one is a scholastic exploration of loss of culture, and one is of political strategizing and manipulation. On paper, all three narratives are loosely tied to concepts of colonialism, oppression, and cultural conflicts and initially at first the variety of content was refreshing and interesting. But when read back-to-back repeatedly, especially once each perspective continued to develop, the narratives often felt like they were clashing to me. Sister Wake and Talasa’s perspectives in particular felt like I was often reading two different books and I often would forget Abelard’s story was there until the next chapter shifted to this story despite enjoying his character and arc when actively reading them.

Additionally, each perspective has different figures that could be considered villains, have different political entities in play, and all have their own set of world-building that is likely intended to show the huge scale and scope of the series. However, the book’s world-building and lore were already quite extensive in general and by having three separate perspectives in different settings and political climates, it felt like I was getting triple the amount of setup with not enough progression or context clues for where the story was heading. After a strong opening prologue and first few chapters, I found my overall interest fluctuating dramatically due to the constant perspective shifts. I feel the issue here was due to each narrative hitting sudden plot twists or spikes in intensity mistimed or out of sync from each other, for example a major battle occurring with Sister Wake and a sudden discovery in the destroyed town followed by a lull in Abelard’s chapter. Or in Talasa’s chapter where a major development in regards to the missing King occurs, by the time the book makes the full rotation across all three perspectives and returns to Talasa, the momentum her story had built had partly deflated or worse, forgotten. This nitpick also affected the character development for me, particularly its character relationships and dynamics. The three main characters had good character development individually, especially when it comes to their stance and opinions of the Answering and Croí’s status. However, possible romantic interests felt like they went from platonically strained to romantic abruptly and I often felt like the book could’ve used more character moments in general to draw the reader in. While I found the characters likeable, I didn’t feel particularly invested or connected with any of them or their journeys which reduces the intensity of dramatic moments.

In addition to the already disjointed feeling of the book, at about the halfway point I felt like I lost the plot and struggled to try and figure out where the book was going and what it was trying to do. Quite a bit of new developments happen, complimented with supplemental world-building and framing. However, I often found myself trying to discern their relevance to the overall plot. Some other reviews have previously highlighted the book’s strong conclusion, but I personally found myself increasingly more confused and puzzled by new narrative elements being added rather than them adding to the book’s intensity and tense atmosphere. The confusing nature was also sometimes exacerbated by Rudden’s prose which while generally immersive and poetic about 75% of the time, but occasionally veered into convoluted territory for me. At that midway point I was foggy on where the trajectory of both the book and by the end of Sister Wake, I’m still uncertain on where the story is going and how the different narrative elements across the three perspectives come together which isn’t an encouraging impression to end on.

Imaginative, ambitiously conceptualized, and full of thematic depth, Rudden’s Sister Wake is unique mythic fantasy epic full of great ideas. The themes and metaphors of the English’s colonization and oppression of Ireland are very well-adapted and for those that enjoy folklore inspired by real-world culture and history, Sister Wake is a great book to pick-up. However, as much as I can appreciate the book’s literary aspirations and highlights, the presentation and different narrative elements didn’t quite come together for me. The first half of the book was interesting, but the overall disjointed reading experience and plot prevented me from fully enjoying the powerful story it was trying to tell. Received as part of Goldsboro’s GSFF subscription, this is their first pick that wasn’t my personal cup of tea, however, it’s nonetheless a fascinating book I appreciate being able to experience as Sister Wake is currently a UK-only release. While I likely won’t be continuing with this series, it was still a decent read and one I’m curious to see where it goes.