A review by thereadingrambler
Asunder by Kerstin Hall

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Although no where near as weird as some of the other books I’ve read this year, this one was also odd in a surreal almost dreamy way. Karys is a deathspeaker, someone who has made a pact an Ephirit to receive the ability to look past the Veneer, i.e., into the world of the dead, and speak to ghosts, etc. This also gives her a certain level of access to “see” the magical workings of the world. The issue with these pacts is that eventually the Ephirit who holds the pact will “call” the pact and the human the pact is with will die. Karys has been trying to find ways to avoid this fate for significantly longer than most people are able to stay alive after making a pact. She doesn’t want to die.

Unfortunately for her, at the beginning of the book she gets entangled in a situation that seems to be on a straight track to her death. She binds Ferain, a foreign ambassador to her…shadow? her soul? her body? All of the above? Regardless, they are entangled in a deep and equal parts horrifying and comforting way. And everything progresses from there; we add new people to the party and always new complications and backstories. The writing was immersive and compelling; the characters deep; the world bizarre and fascinating. We are in Karys’s point of view exclusively, but you could tell all of the second characters had their own lives that Karys wasn’t necessarily privy to. She would overhear snippets of conversation or looks shared between other characters that carried weight that Karys didn’t understand. The fact the reader through Karys doesn’t have a good grasp on the lives of the other characters paints Karys, especially in the first half of the book, as pretty selfish, unwilling to ask for or receive help, and more committed to self-preservation over anything else. Her original motivation for helping Ferain is purely transactional, and even as she develops a fondness and (emotional) attachment to him, she keeps trying to convince herself that their whole relationship is purely transactional.

I am of two minds about the book’s ending. The ending leaves space for a second book, but I also want this to be a standalone and let the tragic ending stand. Karys gets what she claimed she always wanted, but it turns out to be nothing at like she imagined or truly wanted. Enough books don’t end tragically lately; I suppose that’s not what people are really looking for, but I loved seeing how different final chapter Karys was from the first chapter. Adding another book that continues her story would follow in a more traditional fantasy duology/trilogy structure, and I want this book to be weird and contemplative and sad. At the same time, I want to know more about Karys and Winola and Heiki because I liked them and liked their relationships. So I don't know what my final takeaway is from this book; I guess I'll see what Hall's next release is.