My buddy and colleague right here at SFFWorld Mark reviewed The Eternal in October.
As soon as once more, Alix E. Harrow has given readers a novel that has, at its cornerstone, the facility of story. Whereas her earlier novels had story as a element, The Eternal is the driving pressure for the characters, the world, and the historical past. It’s a fantasy novel involving time journey with echoes of the Arthurian fantasy. The Eternal of the title is Una, a Woman Knight (with each Arthurian and Joan of Arc echoes) whose story units the inspiration for a nation. However historical past has a means of being blurred by time.
Sir Una Eternal was Dominion’s best hero: the orphaned lady who turned a knight, who died for queen and nation. Her legend lives on in songs and tales, in kids’s books and recruiting posters—however her life because it actually occurred has been forgotten.
Centuries later, Owen Mallory—failed soldier, struggling scholar—falls in love with the story of Una Eternal. Her story takes him to battle, to the archives—after which into the previous itself. Una and Owen are tangled collectively in time, certain to retell the identical story over and over, it doesn’t matter what it prices.
However that story all the time ends the identical means. In the event that they need to rewrite Una’s legend—in the event that they need to inform a unique story—they’ll should rewrite historical past itself.
Owen Mallory is a scholar, a historian who has made his main space of examine the legend of Una Eternal, a girl whose knighthood has change into a historic pillar for the nation of the Dominion. Like many historic figures of excessive import, the reality of Una’s life has change into unclear. What was actual? What has grown past reality into fantasy? No matter is the reality, the Dominion bases its existence, justifies its society on the “sacrifice” Una made in unifying the lands about 1,000 years earlier than the “present” time of the novel.
By way of a legendary ebook that seems to be actual, Owen is in a position to return by time and meet Una, chronicle the occasions of her life with accuracy. His admiration for Una turns into much more highly effective as soon as he meets the woman knight, love from afar turns into love in particular person. However Owen has an issue (an identical drawback to our previous buddy Marty McFly*) in that he is aware of how occasions are presupposed to transpire. He is aware of how and when Una will die.
Una, for her half, is weary when Owen first meets her. She desires to pack it and retire from knight life, being the Queen’s cost has taken its toll on Una. However even realizing this final mission she should undertake will see the tip of her life, Owen should encourage and persuade her to retrieve the Grail, to treatment the Queen and restore vitality to the unified nations.
Carrying this compelling story is Harrow’s beautiful prose, which acts as a comforting blanket that you already know took ability and energy to craft. The story is greater than only a gender-flipped King Arthur story. After all these echoes are current, however heroism, love, avarice, dependancy to energy, and love are a part of the story, too. Owen and Una are the hearts of this story and their hearts are related. However there are two extra characters who kind assist to flesh out the story: Queen Yvanne from Una’s timeline and the formidable Chancellor Vivian Rolfe from Owen’s time. Each highly effective ladies push and drive our heroes (Yvanne pushing Una; Vivan pushing Owen) to be able to make sure the sanctity of the land. Or so they are saying, as a result of there’s one crucial factor we must always all keep in mind about individuals in energy – they’re keen to go to nice lengths to make sure they preserve that energy.
It isn’t usually that point journey is current in a fantasy story (the one one which instantly involves thoughts is D.B. Jackson’s Islevale Cycle), however Harrow doesn’t appear to care. The best way Harrow makes use of the trope in such a superb means as if to say, why wouldn’t someone use time journey in a fantasy story. Nicely, most likely as a result of few authors had the storytelling chops to tug it off so elegantly. In some methods, the time journey is analogous to being a author, being a storyteller. What number of drafts does a author undergo earlier than they get to the model that’s revealed? What number of occasions is historical past retold earlier than it turns into the accepted model?
If it isn’t clear by this level, I liked this novel. The story was addictive, the “easter eggs” (like Owen Mallory sharing his identify with one of many foremost purveyors of Arthurian fantasy) had been pleasing, the characters had been unbelievable, the themes insightful, and the story was simply plain enjoyable. Each novel I’ve learn by Harrow has been a spotlight of the 12 months for me and The Eternal isn’t any exception. It’s a type of novels that’s deceptively easy in the way it reads as a result of it’s a freaking addictive novel, however you already know Harrow put her coronary heart and time into this one.
In the event you aren’t studying Alix E. Harrow and take into account your self a fan of fantasy and nice storytelling, what are you ready for? Leap into The Eternal, you’ll not remorse it.
Extremely advisable
© 2025 Rob H. Bedford
Tor Books | Hardcover (Deluxe Version)
October 2025 | 320 pages
https://alixeharrow.wixsite.com/
Excerpt: https://reactormag.com/excerpts-the-everlasting-by-alix-e-harrow-prologue-and-chapter-1/
Evaluate copy courtesy of the writer
*Because it so occurs, after I was writing up my assessment Again to the Future III was on my TV. Then once more, a type of films appears to be on pretty ceaselessly with the 40th anniversary of the primary movie being this 12 months (2025)
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