(This review was originally published on StaticMultimedia)
Robert V.S. Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy unfolds the titular conspiracy slowly, moving characters into place like chess pieces before a grand battle. Pazel Pathkendle is the orphaned son of a witch and a traitor, surviving by working his way from ship to ship in the empire that conquered his homeland. He has a special gift, given by his mother (through nearly lethal poison) that allows him to learn any language he hears, but that brings debilitating headaches as its effects wear off that nearly drive him mad. He finds himself aboard the great ship Chathrand, the last of its kind as no one living knows how it was made, on its mission to forge peace between the world’s two warring super empires through an arranged marriage. Thasha, the treaty bride, is bold and independent, and is not interested in playing her role for the good of the empire. She also holds an ancient book full of secret truths, given to her by the head of her school, a strange cross between a severe nunnery and finishing school. Tiny stowaways called ixchel inhabit the crawlspaces and lower decks of the ship, and Pazel’s gift makes him uniquely able to hear their plans. In turn, their tiny size makes them uniquely able to learn the secret plans of a group of conspirators aboard ship, who hope to turn this mission of peace into one of war by manipulating prophecy seeded in the rival nation years earlier.
While the premise is interesting, The Red Wolf Conspiracy unfolds its plot a bit too slowly. A sense of accumulation permeates the novel, and each event feels like it will lead to some grand payoff down the road, but in the mean time, action is hard to come by. Many events seem to happen off camera, and are recounted to the main characters after the fact. Pazel never seems to be in the right place at the right time to learn anything first hand. The overarching conspiracy demands that the protagonist be somewhat out of the loop, but often there seems to be a far more interesting novel just out of reach.
Which may in fact be the sequel. Events at the end of the novel suggest that the characters we’ve invested in will play a far more pivotal role as the series continues. As an opening act, The Red Wolf Conspiracy has potential for excellence. Glimpses of the much larger world are fascinating, and despite the frustratingly tantalizing plot of this novel, the series has promise as long as the protagonist are allowed to engage with the main plot hiding just around the corner.
