I’ve been reading A Dagger in the Winds by Brendan Noble, and one of the things I’ve particularly enjoyed is the setting. It’s rooted in Slavic mythology, with a strong Polish/West Slavic influence, which makes it feel noticeably different from the more familiar pseudo-medieval Western European fantasy setting.

First- some of these things I had to look up– just so you don’t think I’m guessing or a snooty know-everything type)

There are two main POV characters. Wacław is sixteen, the second son of a high chief, but his mother was his father’s secondary wife and the two of them were pushed to the outskirts of the tribe when he was young. He’s grown up very much in his older brother’s shadow and is eager to prove that he has some value of his own.

He also has a rather unusual problem: whenever he sleeps, his soul leaves his body and can wander invisibly. He’s lived with that for years without really knowing why. As the story progresses, he discovers that there’s considerably more to it than he realized, particularly after an encounter with Marzanna, the goddess of winter and death, leaves him with a mystic dagger and a much darker connection to her power.

His other ability makes for an interesting complication. He can move unseen in his soul-form, which sounds incredibly useful until you discover that injuries suffered there can carry over to his physical body. So it isn’t quite the convenient supernatural scouting trick it initially appears to be.

The other main POV is Otylia, Wacław’s childhood best friend. The two were inseparable when they were younger, until their fathers intervened. After Otylia used forbidden magic to save Wacław’s life, his father ordered him to cut ties with her and eventually threatened to banish her from the tribe if he refused. Wacław gave her up to protect her, but from Otylia’s perspective, her closest friend simply abandoned her when she needed him most.

Otylia is a szeptucha, a kind of whispering sorceress who channels power from the gods. She’s unusual even among them because she has been chosen by two goddesses, Dziewanna and Mokosz. There’s a healing element to the tradition, but her abilities go considerably beyond simply being the party healer.

So there are several things going on at once: the strained relationship between these two former friends, Wacław’s need to prove himself to a father who has never really valued him, Otylia’s anger at being abandoned, tribal politics, and gods who seem to have agendas of their own.

And the politics quickly stop being background scenery. Wacław manages to insert himself into negotiations between his father and the other chiefs and, in trying to prove himself useful, ends up being handed the sort of assignment no sensible person would volunteer for: travel east and somehow secure an alliance with the tribes and nomadic clans beyond their borders.

I’m not finished with it yet, but I’ve been enjoying the fact that the mythology, creatures, religious practices, and political structure all feel a little unfamiliar. It’s still recognizably epic fantasy, but it isn’t using quite the same collection of cultural building blocks I’ve read dozens of times before.

You can check it out here– a UBL for all retail platforms:)