Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins

So I know I tend to come on here to bitch about books I don't like or am at best indifferent to... but not today! Today I talk about a book that blew me away.

I went in with relatively low expectations. I discovered Kim Wilkins years ago as part of a university course - she was a guest lecturer for the week covering gothic genre. My opinion back then was that she was a great lecturer (from her I learned the term 'brain-explosion') but I wasn't that impressed with The Ressurrectionists. I went on to read others, like Angel of Ruin and Giants of the Frost, but I never came away feeling really satisfied. Clearly there was something good about them because I kept reading them, but there was an odd depressing after-taste I didn't like.

Then I went to the library last week, intent on picking out Australian authors, and found Daughters of the Storm. I don't know whether my tastes have changed, or Wilkins has become more nuanced, but I loved this book.

The premise is that the King of the Thyrsland is dying, and his five daughters set out on a quest to cure him. Each of them hide secrets that could be the doom of their land, and as their quest unfolds, their secrets begin to be revealed. What really makes this book is the absence of any particular good or evil characters. All of them perform terrible actions, but also good ones. There's only a hair's difference between the protagonists and the antagonists, both sides capable of great selfishness and great selflessness. I genuinely didn't know where some of these characters were going, and found myself surprised several times.

The recurring theme is family. All of the characters are keenly aware of who they are connected to and how they fit into the world, whether they resent it or embrace it. Whether connected by marriage, blood or adoption, family is an immensely powerful force. Betrayal of it has terrible consequences, neglect just as terrible; one could argue that none of this would have happened if the eldest daughter Bluebell had put more effort into forging positive relationships within her family, or had at least paid more attention as to what was going on inside it. Then again, all tragedies require a fatal flaw in their lead, and this is in many ways a tragedy.

I really can't go into any more detail than that without giving things away. All I'll say is this; each character is fully realized in their motivation. They didn't bend to the shape of the plot; they shaped the plot, and when the final scene came, you suddenly see the horrible inevitability of what's been building all along. I cannot wait for the sequel.

"Wild happiness, which had veered so close, now fluttered off on its mad wings. Always beyond her fingertips."