“What walks unseen between the worlds? What seeks demise of impossibility?”
Opening the cover of a new Kallattian Saga book from Andrew D. Meredith is like uncorking a bottle of well-aged Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a rare opportunity to savor the work of a master vintner whose art is intertwined with centuries of religious history. As the third volume of the Kallattian Saga, Gloves of Eons is vintage Meredith, with a timeless feel that captures the essence of humanity in a well-realized world far removed from our own.
Many authors strive for an immersive worldbuilding experience, but few achieve it as successfully as Andrew D. Meredith in Gloves of Eons. Every aspect of Meredith’s world is meticulously crafted, giving it a lived-in feel that evokes the depth and nuance of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
Gloves of Eons brings back all our favorite characters from Deathless Beast and Bone Shroud. It feels like catching up with old friends as we spend time with each of Meredith’s main protagonists.
First up are Hanen and Rallia Clouw, the brother-and-sister duo who, after suffering a stinging betrayal, struggle to find their path forward among the Black Sentinels. Meanwhile, Jined Brazstein continues navigating the politics of his religious order while discerning his own personal faith among competing theologies. Among the Paladames, Katiam Borreau and Astrid Glass (depicted on the beautiful cover by Sara Ferrari) care for an unexpected companion who brings both promise and uncertainty.
As much as I loved spending time with these well-established characters, the star of Gloves of Eons is Ophedia, a young Black Sentinel with surprising parentage and the most captivating character arc in this third volume of the series:
“Yeah,” Ophedia said. “I’m a responsible adult now, which is why I’m jailbreaking foreign spies and acting as an accomplice to a guy with a cloak made of darkness.”
Gloves of Eons largely focuses on the fallout of events from Deathless Beast and Bone Shroud. Like the first two volumes of the Kallattian Saga, the plot of Gloves of Eons has a hockey stick-shaped buildup, with a slow and methodical start leading to an unexpectedly tense climax that brings a satisfying, albeit too abrupt, conclusion to the novel.
Andrew D. Meredith’s prose is Proustian as ever, timeless in its understated beauty. Like Proust, Meredith brings a charming eloquence to every page, regardless of whether he is describing the astounding or the mundane.
Gloves of Eons is a stunning lamentation: a remembrance of things past with a hopeful eye toward time regained. As his characters discern their legacies, Andrew D. Meredith establishes himself as a master of the literary epic fantasy. The Kallattian Saga will continue with Book Four of the series, Dread Knight.
4.5/5
