In the Stonewater Kingdom, the Omens are the true rulers. There is a king, but of much greater import is the Abbess in Aisling Cathedral and her Diviners who receive portents from the Omens. The interpretation of these portents decides everything that happens in Stonewater, from the spring planting to business deals to war. Six has been a Diviner for nearly ten years. Her time is almost up. She and her five fellow Diviners have big plans to see the world and finally live after all this time. But then they mysteriously go missing one by one, and Six is left alone. She enlists the help of the new king and the worst knight ever to find them. But she might just find more than she wants to as she searches for her missing sisters in Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth.
[Warning: My review of The Knight and the Moth contains some spoilers!]
She’ll find her sisters even if she has to destroy the kingdom to do it
Six’s life has been very sheltered. As one of six foundlings turned prophets at Aisling Cathedral, she has been locked away from the rest of the world. Her only companions are her fellow Diviners and a confused old gargoyle. Six and her sisters love to dream about what they’ll do when they leave Aisling, and in those dreams they’re always together, just as they’ve always been. It’s almost time for the six of them to leave the protected area where the cathedral sits, but first the new king has come to have his future told.
Six draws the short straw and reads the king’s future. And what a very poor future it is. The Omens don’t give specifics, but five out of five signs are all bad. The young king doesn’t seem distressed, though. He and his knights spend the next night living it up in the local village and, for the first time ever, Six and her fellow diviners join them. It’s a wild night, and Six has a great time. But then the morning comes, and one of her sisters has gone missing. The next night, another disappears. When they’ve all vanished except for Six, she knows what she has to do.
So Six strikes out to find her family. But she doesn’t go alone. A talkative gargoyle from Aisling joins her. They go to the king to ask him for help. He agrees, but nothing is free. The king wants Six’s help too. He’s discovered something about the Omens. Something earthshattering, and he wants Six to help him act on what he’s learned. Six doesn’t like his plan, but she will do anything for her sisters. That’s how she finds herself traveling around a kingdom she’s only ever dreamed about with a knight who could make a saint curse, destroying the only truth she’s ever known to save the only family she’s ever had. It’s a lot for a girl who’s lived on the same hill her whole life. Six needs to be careful about who she trusts because not all kings are good, and not all bad knights are truly bad. Some stories are lies, and some lies are truths, and the truth can hurt. Six is strong, but is she strong enough for the dangerous truth she’s about to uncover?
What will you put your faith in?
Everywhere that Six goes in Stonewater, the people want her to help them interpret signs from their favorite Omen. The different Omens show how people relate to the world and what they think is most important. Those from Toulson Faire favor the Artful Brigand. They look for signs in coins and believe that money solves everything. In the Seacht, they revere the Harried Scribe. They look for the future in their ink and believe that knowledge is the ultimate power. The fishermen of the Fervent Peaks look to the Ardent Oarsman and his oar for insight. To them, strength and stability are the way forward. In the Chiming Wood, worshipers turn to the Faithful Forester and her chime. Here, harmony and balance are the key to unlocking the future. Finally, residents of the Cliffs of Bellidine turn to the Heartsore Weaver and her loomstone for guidance. Love is her guiding principle.
Six finds these people’s attempts to read their fate in everyday objects misguided. The more she learns about the Omens, the worse she feels when they ask her for portents. Her whole belief system is falling apart, and she doesn’t think she can believe in anything but herself now. But wanting a glimpse of the future is one of the most universal human desires. Every culture around the world and through time has had some manner of divining the future. Even today, in our modern, technology-obsessed culture, we use tarot cards, peer into crystal balls, and read tea leaves. Knock on wood, just in case, right? We all want to know what’s coming because not knowing is the scary part.
That’s part of what makes Six’s journey in The Knight and the Moth so difficult for her. She’s lived her whole life in one place with a handful of people. Every day was the same, and she had complete certainty in her faith. Suddenly, those people are gone; she doesn’t know who to trust, and she has nothing left to believe in. Everyone around her still looks to the omens for guidance, but she never can again. She’s truly on her own, and that’s terrifying. Luckily, she thinks she’s found people she can trust, but that isn’t a given. In the end, Six has to look to herself for the path forward and the strength to walk it. It’s a lonely path, but she’s used to being lonely, and she’s strong. If anyone can do it, she can.
To be continued…
I should have realized because the spine says “The Stonewater Kingdom Book One” that this was a series, but I didn’t see it until later. I am really bad at just picking up books and starting them (don’t judge a book by its cover, right?). I even thought that it was all wrapping up until the jump-scare twist with less than ten pages left. I have to say I was suspicious of the character that twists the story the whole time, but because I didn’t know that this was a series, I totally wasn’t expecting what happened, and it really surprised me (good job, Gillig, that doesn’t happen often!)!
I’m not complaining here in case you think I am. I love when a book surprises me, and I’m thrilled to spend more time with Six. She’s a really great character. It’s not every day that a female lead gets to be sharp and spiky without it feeling a) forced or b) degrading. Six is afraid, but she doesn’t want anyone to know, so she projects a strong (and a little mean) persona. Getting to see behind that as the story progressed was exciting. And seeing her come to understand that strength and vulnerability aren’t mutually exclusive was refreshing. I hope that Gillig continues that character growth in the second book. In the meantime, excuse me while I go reread a few of my favorite sections…
Rating: 9/10
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig is available now!
Learn more about the book at the official website for the title.
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