To the Towers of Tulandan by Bradley P. Beaulieu
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
The Maharraht Khadija has reached out to her former mentor and teacher the Aramahn Ashan. She seeks his assistance with a powerful yet difficult to reach boy named Nasim. Ashan chooses to come despite suspecting Khadija's masters wish to use the boy as a weapon.
To the Towers of Tulandan is listed as a prequel to the Lays of Ansukaya series. Despite being a prequel it seems crucial to have read at least the first book in the series before reading this story. The story begins as though the reader has full knowledge of the world's terms and magic systems. Seeing as I haven't read any of the books in the series this prequel was more slow and confusing than anything else.
Unfortunately I didn't find anything in this short story that I enjoyed. The characters personalities and actions could often be summed up in a single word. Khadija is angry, Nasim is distant, Ashan is insightful, and the others mostly seemed various degrees of mad. The story itself begins as a clear cut case of radical fighters resisting those who occupy their country. Shortly afterward it turns into a science fiction philosophy story mixed with incomprehensible powers, unclear motives, and lots of vague questions asked. The story is only 50 pages or so long, but I found it difficult to finish. Perhaps if I read another book in the series first I'd feel differently.
The Towers of Tulandan is a prequel that requires reading at least one book in the series in order to understand and likely to appreciate it.
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