Last year I wrote a review for Trem, the self-published
debut novel from Alex Baxter Scott, where I found it to be an engaging, if
flawed, first novel, whose myriad of issues could come from better formatting
and a second edit. Trem: Exiles,
the sequel, released two years later, addresses many of these issues and more
in what amounts to be a highly engaging sequel.
The first point of note about Trem: Exiles is its length: while Trem
struggled with a 400 page count only containing a story for about 350 pages,
Trem: Exiles breezes past with a 272 page count, allowing for a quick
pace, expecting readers to already be familiar with the previous novel. This isn’t to say that Scott has to keep
writing shorter books, there isn’t the issue of the end of the book being
dragged out to meet a page count, without feeling like a novella or a short
story. This hits the necessary story
beats to tell a full story while deepening the worldbuilding of the Manzazzu,
spending much of the book searching for Trem’s parents and giving Gabby Morgan’s
parents a real weight, going against the trope of hiding the magic from family
and bringing them into the action after being kidnapped by the Styx
sisters. The theme of family, and
providing trust in that family, is the major thrust of Scott’s novel. Trem essentially saw the Styx sisters
lost the closest thing they had to a family with Treman’s defeat. The sisters adorn the cover and Trem:
Exiles is their story as much as it is Gabby and Trem’s. Scott attempts to have a redemption arc after
the kidnapping, setting up future books, but in this one they’re a trio of
villains, which is where Scott seems to take a fish out of water story as they adapt
to Earth.
There is an interestingly smug sense of authority when
it comes to portraying Manzazzu society, which gets featured in this book. The Queen in particular having an open mind
makes an interesting twist on the general formula of an alien society looking
at humanity as lesser. There is a need
to convince the Queen to accept Gabby as a person. There is also the interesting connection
between Gabby and the Sentinel, initially teased as a possible future version
of Gabby, though this only lasts through the first few chapters and the actual
identity of the Sentinel is far more interesting. Trem: Exiles takes cues from the myth
of Orpheus, with Trem and Gabby descending once again into the Styx to rescue
Trem’s parents, though unlike orphic storytelling this at its core is not a tragedy. The action moves quickly back to Earth after
finding Trem’s parents, and that Earth setting makes it feel distinct from the
first book where everything seemed to revolve around the Styx. There are hints here of a deeper world and
Scott has clearly given thought to just how deep the world he’s creating is:
there are Manzazzu exiles living on Earth, masquerading as human beings and
simply trying to live their lives which makes for an interesting idea, though one
that is not explored to its fullest extent.
Trem: Exiles also
takes the series in a different direction from the first book: while the ghosts
where a major through line in the first book, here they are relegated to minor
characters, and while Trem and Gabby’s romance is still a thing, it is more a
background feature for the characters.
This means that the romance subplot that also drove Trem isn’t
here, though Scott does keep it as a deepening feature. There are just points where it may have served
better for some of that romance to slow down the plot and come to the
forefront, as the fast pace doesn’t allow for much romance. Introducing Trem to Gabby’s friends is also an
interesting prospect as it brings the two worlds together quite well. Overall, Trem: Exiles is an exciting installment
and improvement over the initial installment, though still suffering from a few
problems. Scott’s style improves and the
formatting increase makes this one much easier to read and unlike Trem,
which finished before then setting up a sequel, there is clearly more coming in
the series and further developments will be followed with interest. If you want a good fantasy series from an independent
author, this series is one of your options.
8/10.
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