Review by kaytlynporter -- Korian by Giorgio Garofalo

[kaytlynporter]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Korian" by Giorgio Garofalo.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Korian: The Manian's Spear by Giorgio Garofalo is... a lot but in a good way. Half history textbook, half memoir, all fantasy/fiction - Korian spans literal decades following a few different characters, reaching the climax of a world's history after thousands of years of turmoil. Garofalo seamlessly blends the history of Endura and King Zoren with the much more recent adventures of Crogan, Will, Doric, (title character) Korian, and siblings Sara and Jannick.

This world is a twin of Earth, called Endura, and located somewhere among the billions of galaxies that make up our universe; Endura is very similar to Earth but is just different enough to distinguish itself as a separate planet. There are two races of people on Endura: humans, who arrive late in Endura's history, and firstlings, an indigenous population that naturally has no understanding of hatred, anger, or jealousy - only righteousness, peace, and tranquility. While very physically similar, firstlings differ from humans in their hands - rather than five fingers, they have one appendage that replaces the middle and ring fingers: a thick and curved appendage, longer than the rest, bent like a claw, and lacking a nail. Humans blame the firstlings for events that happened, and it is because of this that firstlings live in secluded and close-knit communities, having little contact with the rest of the world.

Korian starts with Doric as a six-year-old firstling child, discovering that he's not normal - his best friend only existed in his mind, he has thoughts in his mind that are not his own, and he can heal in ways that he shouldn't be able to. A year later, with the introduction of Crogan, a human and the Manian, Doric finds out that he belongs to the ancient Fraternity of Huntsmen - direct descendants of the first Huntsman, marked by the first Manian two thousand years ago.

Will is also a Huntsman, a sixteen-year-old firstling when first introduced. He and his companion, an elderly human named Padron, start packing up their camp when Will starts experiencing different types of pain and takes in his surroundings that he had ignored the night before. It is here that Will realizes he is where he needs to be - he has found what generations of Huntsmen have tried and failed to find. Will ends up releasing a human woman from her dormancy, protected by the first Manian, Lucius. Will loses the woman and, filled with guilt and self-hatred, lives in self-induced exile for the next twenty years, only coming out a few times to assist Crogan. Nuri, the woman that Will discovered and lost, was at one time married to King Zoren, two thousand years ago. She, is according to Lucius, the chest containing the Azura, or Guardian.

Sara and Jannick are human siblings that eventually live in an underground city established by Lucius and re-discovered by Crogan. Sara carries a burden that her maternal lineage has carried for millennia thus far - a ring that will burn any man that it comes in contact with, except for the one true owner. Sara and Korian cross paths at one time in their childhood and are forever intertwined going forward. Nothing else can be revealed about Korian because his whole life is just one big spoiler.

Garofalo described Korian as a coming of age novel, which was a little confusing considering that it wasn't labeled as young adult fiction as one might expect. But after reading the novel, it makes a lot more sense. From the very first chapter, there is bodily harm, and from the second chapter, violence. Garofalo doesn't glaze over the details of the violence but doesn't make said details grotesque either - a good example of the history textbook/memoir stylization. The narrator, third-person omniscient, is purposefully detached from everything that is happening, but also recognizes that even the smallest details can be significant.

Garofalo correctly identifies Korian as a coming of age novel because we witness Doric, Will, Korian, and to some extent, Sara and Jannick, grow up. The novel does span literal decades after all, and it would only make sense that we witness the children grow up into adults and how different events affect them as they grow. For the violence alone, I would not recommend this for young readers. There is also an implied sex scene that needs to be taken into account when choosing whether or not it's appropriate for a teenager.

I read Korian as a MOBI file; I do wish that Korian was available on Kindle or at least some other platform in some capacity because I think a wide variety of readers would enjoy it. There's a lot of mystery and intrigue, and not everything gets answered by the end, but it's clear that answers will come later in the series. It is fantasy, but for a majority of the novel, there's not a hint of magic or other fantasy elements - it very well could just be an alternative history of Earth. And it flips the "chosen one" narrative on its head - you don't know who the "chosen one" is until the very end of chapter fifteen; you can assume, but you don't know until something very plot-relevant happens. In a way, all of the major characters are the "chosen one" in their own right; and the reoccurring messages of fate and prophecy reinforce that idea.

I'm giving Korian: The Manian's Spear by Giorgio Garofalo 4 out of 4 stars. There are very few grammar mistakes, and some of them are so easy to miss that I missed them on my first read-through. I'll admit that I was a little scared going in because the Prologue is just a big history lesson, and I was concerned that that might be how the rest of the novel would go. However, Garofalo kept me on my toes the whole time and wove the history in seamlessly, not revealing certain pieces of the past until it was truly relevant, rather than dumping everything on the reader all at once. When not conveyed through conversation or characters' thoughts, history set the scene for a couple of different locations - which was probably the best way to do it. And there are still parts of the past that are unknown to the reader, to be revealed later in the series when it becomes relevant.

I look forward to reading the rest of the series if only to confirm my suspicions about the overarching villain, Adam Hades, and the sphere. Still, I would be happy to continue reading the series even without those answers because it's just a joy to read.

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Korian
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