Book Review: The Riddle-breaker by Rob Koops (Ancient Blood #1)

 

 Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads Oerbloed #1: De Raadselbreaker.

This one looked interesting to me! Spoilers ahead.

In this fantasy, we meet Obbe, a young Book Brother who discovers a mysterious book in a hidden room. This book turns out to be none other than the long sought-after Seventh Book, a historical artifact said to contain vast knowledge and have driven people mad in the past. Obbe is sent on a quest to get the Book into safe hands, and along the way he is joined by a tomboyish girl named Darja. Will they succeed before it is too late and the book falls into the wrong hands?

Overall a neat little start to this new fantasy series. It's pretty simple, but it has a decent setup and you do really care about these characters and their quest, even if the plot is not the most creative out there. It's a simple but effective quest story for get this book to safety. The stakes a high and there is this real pressure we feel for Obbe and Darja to keep the book safe, especially with them constantly falling into precarious situations or coming across dangerous people. The world-building is also creative, drawing influence from Nordic culture and life, but also having enough new ideas and concepts introduced to feel unique and truly like its own world.

The main characters themselves, while not the most complex, were also still likable. I genuinely liked both Obbe and Darja and how they're flawed but good people. I especially like how Obbe is far from the perfect protagonist to go on this quest: instead of persisting he tries to give up on the quest several times but through circumstances is constantly forced to pick things up again where he left off and continue. And despite how much it pains him in these situations, he does continue. Which are admirable qualities in a protagonist.

Is it perfect though? Eh, I wouldn't say that. First of all: the romantic chemistry between Obbe and Darja. I don't feel it. I get that the author wants to pair these two up together, and they're good characters and they play off of each other nicely. But I'd be lying if I said I got any romantic vibes from them. Any romance in this book between them just feels forced and like they are only falling in love because the author demanded it happened, not because of any genuine romantic spark I felt between them. Again, these characters have nice interactions and I can 100% buy them being close friends, but their romance just could've been executed better. Especially when at some points they start referring to each other as "dearest" to really hammer home the romance point. These are teens, teens just don't talk like that, and again there is no real romantic spark between these two (and what there is feels forced). So the romance could've been improved on. Maybe that's something for book two.

Also: Bliksa. I've got to admit the initial reason I checked out this book is because of the wolf of the cover. You know me and my love for anything lupine in books. And the wolf, Bliksa, is there...but she doesn't do anything. She's not in the book for most of it, but joins up with the main group in the last third or so. But even after that she just constantly feels like an afterthought. Bliksa barely has a presence, doesn't do anything of note and she doesn't even really have a personality that sets her apart because she's barely brought up in the story. She just kind of feels like she was there to be an accessory, a cute animal companion, for the main characters. But that's kind of it. And I never like it when that happens in stories. 

You can have animal sidekicks, sure, but make them matter. Give them a personality. Give them a presence. Make them contribute to the story in some way or form. Bliksa just felt like a bit nothing-burger of a character. The author really should've done more with her, or just left her out altogether, right now she just feels like a pointless addition to the cast.

Overall this is still a good fantasy I do recommend though! Not the most complex and the romance could use some work, but it's overall a neat book I'm glad I read. Probably will be checking out book two when I can.

Rating: 4/5