Rachel Reviews: Whisper by Kay Ross

Kay Ross has written a truly original book in Whisper and I have to say that I am envious of her for having the idea in the first place.

The book is set in a fictional fantasy world and we arrive in it at a time of great unrest. The king is dead and what is worse, it looks like he has been killed by a curse. In Ross' world, a curse is something which can be expelled from a person, much like an exorcism, with dire consequences for the person in whom the curse is contained. And there is no doubt that the curse must die, whatever the cost.

But who was responsible for creating it? This is where the book's action starts as the suspicion about the curse begins in the inner chambers of the palace between the queen and her advisors. Is it an internal enemy or an attack from a rival kingdom? That is what we are here to find out.

What is different is that the book is from the perspective of the curse and we find ourselves following it as it evolves into something more than just some misplaced magic. It can pass from person to person and in this way, it is like an infection or a parasite, hitching a ride as it enters someone's consciousness and soaking up information while it is there.

With the ability of the curse to move around, we observe its journey as it explores its own origin and purpose and how it tries to come to terms with the fact that it might die. There is a game of political power in which it has been chosen as a tool but this is mixed with magic and myth to create a tense pursuit of cat and mouse where even we're not sure who to trust.

Ross is a competent writer and the text flows in terms of the way that it moves from character to character and through the different tensions of the story. In some ways, I feel like the book is more allegory than action in its ultimate message and the way it ends and that the curse is used as a vehicle to present this view. Dialogue is really well evoked and there is a lot to be got from the interaction between characters and this devising of Ross' vivid imagination.

An interesting read.

Rachel Rating: 3/5 stars

This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC:

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