Waylaid By J.M. Snyder Published by JMS Books, 2024 Four stars
What struck me most about this charming book is its intentional smallness. It is a fantasy, but not an epic—although it may all take place within the context of some larger epic story what we never experience.
What do I mean by that? The narrator of the story (whose name we never learn) is the owner of a waystation—an inn that both serves as a local tavern and a shelter for travelers. The entire story unfolds in or near the waystation.
The innkeeper inherited the waystation from his father, and has led a contented life there, at the center of his community, which is focused on farming and salt mining. It seems that humans tend to the farming, while dwarves are in charge of the mines.
In a classic “stranger walks into a bar” moment, a handsome uniformed soldier appears one day, He is on a mission for the queen, and needs a place to stay. The innkeeper points out that the rooms are unavailable because of damage from an early snowstorm. The soldier—whose name we also never learn—is a quarter elf. After a brief flirtation, he chooses to sleep with the innkeeper. I think the only significance of his being part elf is that he’s older than he looks.
That initial little seduction is no accident, and it becomes the single epic event that triggers the rest of the tale. This is a love story. It is quiet, poignant, and ultimately profound. Things happen to the elfin guard, and history happens in the world outside the innkeeper’s village; but ultimately the story is about these two youngish men in this out-of-the-way place. They are changed by their first encounter, and nothing else is ever the same
I kept expecting something to happen. Something did happen, but it happened while I was looking for something different. For all its inevitability, this love surprised me. The way love does.
Of course there’s plenty of sex in this little book, because that’s the genre and the audience. However, Snyder makes the innkeeper a gently fascinating character, and getting to know him through and through is the essence of the book. It is oddly satisfying.
By J.M. Snyder
Published by JMS Books, 2024
Four stars
What struck me most about this charming book is its intentional smallness. It is a fantasy, but not an epic—although it may all take place within the context of some larger epic story what we never experience.
What do I mean by that? The narrator of the story (whose name we never learn) is the owner of a waystation—an inn that both serves as a local tavern and a shelter for travelers. The entire story unfolds in or near the waystation.
The innkeeper inherited the waystation from his father, and has led a contented life there, at the center of his community, which is focused on farming and salt mining. It seems that humans tend to the farming, while dwarves are in charge of the mines.
In a classic “stranger walks into a bar” moment, a handsome uniformed soldier appears one day, He is on a mission for the queen, and needs a place to stay. The innkeeper points out that the rooms are unavailable because of damage from an early snowstorm. The soldier—whose name we also never learn—is a quarter elf. After a brief flirtation, he chooses to sleep with the innkeeper. I think the only significance of his being part elf is that he’s older than he looks.
That initial little seduction is no accident, and it becomes the single epic event that triggers the rest of the tale. This is a love story. It is quiet, poignant, and ultimately profound. Things happen to the elfin guard, and history happens in the world outside the innkeeper’s village; but ultimately the story is about these two youngish men in this out-of-the-way place. They are changed by their first encounter, and nothing else is ever the same
I kept expecting something to happen. Something did happen, but it happened while I was looking for something different. For all its inevitability, this love surprised me. The way love does.
Of course there’s plenty of sex in this little book, because that’s the genre and the audience. However, Snyder makes the innkeeper a gently fascinating character, and getting to know him through and through is the essence of the book. It is oddly satisfying.