Julia Ember

In the companion novel to The Seafarer's Kiss, shield-maiden Ragna embarks on a dangerous expedition to avenge her family's death. Inspired by Norse mythology and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, The Navigator's Touch is a tale of vengeance, valor, honor, and redemption.

The Navigator's Touch

Story Eater

I read this out of order with The Seafarer’s Kiss. Every aspect of the characters that may or may not have been used in the first book is new to me. 

It seems like all the good stories have already been told, and all modern writers can do is take the originals (that were already good enough) and make them “different” or “better” by appropriating some aspect of modern culture onto them. I know many people like retellings with twists (or publishers wouldn’t publish them), but I believe that this type of storytelling has been vastly overdone. While the writing in itself may be above average in some instances, the plots are, mostly, ultimately unoriginal. 
 
Mainly, the development of the characters and their relationships felt rushed and fell flat in every instance. Ragna, a young woman (actually, a 17-year-old) whose village was wiped out by an evil earl’s (jarl’s) henchman steals a boat and exacts revenge on the man who murdered her family. Ersel (who I assume is supposed to be a rendition of The Little Mermaid’s Ursula), a curious mermaid who wants to find out about life on land, forges a relationship with Ragna and tags along with her on her voyage in order to do so. The village Ragna sails to for help and sanctuary shrouds their jarl in mystery, presumably for the purpose of adding drama to the identity reveal (view spoiler)[(surprise! It's a she!) (hide spoiler)]. These are all flat characters with a “modern” twist in order to make them appeal to a certain audience. I felt they could have been richer, more original, and substantially more complex characters. 

Additionally, the bonding moment between Ragna and her hesitantly loyal crew felt forced and superficial. Every interaction between the Ragna and her crew was an opportunity to show a slow bonding and building of trust. Instead, Ragna spends her moments with them resenting them for playing a part in razing her village and kidnapping her, all the while threatening to keelhaul or feed them to sharks. 

Also, I’m not quite sure why Loki is presented as gender neutral. I didn’t quite like this revisionist characterization of him. When I read the first sentence about Loki, I thought maybe the editor/proofreader would have to catch some pronoun/antecedent agreement problems; but the “they” kept happening. Norse gods are already solidified characters in a rich cultural mythology. I don’t think a change to any aspect of them added a modern edge to the story at all. If anything, it made the plot, which was already rushed and superficial, even more so. 

Ultimately, there are too many things going on in this book that were not given enough depth, and the book did not feel much like a story, though it had the potential to be great.

The Navigator's Touch

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