Ships and Secrets a rollicking fantasy adventure
Ships and Secrets: Maps and Monsters Trilogy, Book One,
by Bhat Boy.
Friesen Press, 2022.
Review by Susan Townley
A dash of spy intrigue, mixed with the feel of historical fiction, all wrapped up in a fantasy adventure, and you have Ships and Secrets by notable local Glebe artist, teacher and now author, Bhat Boy. This quick-paced debut novel, from the self-publishing press Friesen Press Bookstore, is being marketed towards the young adult and adult audiences but would also appeal to a younger reader. It is announced as book one of a trilogy.
When we meet the main character Brunet, he is a young boy, and his world has been turned upside down. He and his mother are found floating adrift on the shore of their home, which has been burnt and ransacked. Soon after their rescue, Brunet finds that his mother is not who he thought she was, and in fact neither is he! With the death of a grandfather he has never met, Brunet has become a lord. He is quickly torn away from his mother and sent off to Charters Hill, a school designed to re-educate the children of royalty who have just been defeated and captured. He is soon joined by other young captives, all taken from their homes to the capital of Eute to be held at the pleasure of King Wiligar. Brunet leaves behind his quiet island life, travels across the sea on a perilous journey and is thrown into the hustle and bustle of the city.
Brunet and his friends are suddenly in a world of secrets, shadows and political intrigue. It turns out that Charters Hill is also a school for mapmakers, created by the King’s great-grandfather to further the nation and make sure that young lords would serve the crown. There they meet Margatha, a girl from Mournier, the same island where Brunet grew up. Margatha is talkative, friendly and a bit bossy, but Brunet soon learns she is indispensable when it comes to navigating the intrigue of Charters Hill and Eute. She is a voice of reason and rationality. When they first meet, Margatha rationally explains something that amazes Brunet. “Magic,” she says, “is just science you don’t understand.” Many people in today’s world would do well to listen to Margatha when examining the understanding of magic and science.
At the funeral of King Wiligar, Brunet rescues the future queen from an icy river. His bravery and impulsiveness draw him into the intrigue of the new Queen’s court, where there seems to be a malevolent force at work. Brunet and his friends are constantly lurching from one adventure to another as they are stalked by unknown pursuers. The novel ends with a hint of a future adventure and the next book.
Ships and Secrets is filled with Bhat Boy’s medieval style maps and illustrations of buildings, adding to the atmosphere of the story. Bhat Boy has also posted beautiful, coloured editions of the double-page maps to his website. It would have been wonderful to have these coloured versions in the book itself.
This is a fast read that will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of fantasy. Young readers who have enjoyed Jenny Nimmo’s Children of the Red King series will enjoy this rollicking read as well.
Susan Townley is a children’s librarian at the Sunnyside Branch of the Ottawa Public Library.
