The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver by Rafael Torrubia

Book Review

Elloise

Shipwright knows magic is being used somewhere ashore as they sail their dead ship closer to old friends and allies. A new day brings new corpses. Shroudweaver tells her they are from the Volante – one of the last remaining ships. If they do not defeat the Crowkisser soon, all the ships will be gone. The city of Hesper, their last hope, draws ever closer, but with his wife near death, and much changed since they last saw one other, can they rely on Fallon, Lord of the Grey Towers, to have the strength he used to?

There is one ship that defies Crowkisser more than any other. One whose sails are made from the souls of dead sailors. One that is faster and stronger than the rest. The one her father sails upon. He is the last weaver, and his partner perhaps the last wright. Crowkisser knows they will come for her. She took their names and brought destruction, so they will come.

The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver is richly immersive epic fantasy from the opening. Despite its significant length, the pace holds steady as the inevitable conflict between our heroes and Crowkisser draws ever nearer. The world on the high seas presented in this story is reminiscent of that in R.J. Barker’s The Tide Child trilogy, in that we have a world torn apart, and its would-be saviours travelling the seas, and wielding dark magics, to try to bring back balance.

In terms of characterisation, Shroudweaver is the standout here. His quietly confident, logical, determined presence, and the terrible potential of the powers he wields, are a tense, solid thread throughout. At his side, Shipwright too is made powerful by her abilities, the depth of which are somewhat obscured from the reader, and by her unwavering loyalty and firm dedication to her partner. It is the relationship between Shipwright and Shroudweaver, and the united front they present, that drives the story onward.

The world Torrubia creates is described in fine, poetic prose, and sits well among its peers in the modern epic fantasy landscape. Character backgrounds, relationships, past conflicts, and the magic powers in play are teased out as the 700+ pages drift by in exquisite detail, with a broad narrative point of view that paints the scenery around our protagonists. This is one for those of us who like fantasy worlds in which to linger and escape.