Written by Adrienne Miller
If fantasy stories should be one thing, it is fantastical. As logical as that statement is, fantasy itself should defy conventional logic (albeit with a logic of its very own). Regular readers will well know I read a lot of fantasy books, which sit within a variety of subgenres. However, it is rare that I read a book as fantastical as Adrienne Miller’s The Travelling City, and one that defies Earthy logic on such a grand scale. This novel is packed full of whimsy and psychedelia, through which the author has crafted an entirely unique vision.
The titular travelling city is a world amidst the clouds. While these clouds give humanity the ability to manifest their desires into reality, too much exposure causes them to lose their sanity and live the remainder of their lives in a catatonic state. It tells the story of Reihan, a “seaver”—a person born from a test tube (adding some science fiction elements into the mix), who is immune to the clouds’ power and is thereby tasked with keeping people’s manifestations in line—who is tasked to St Leopold’s Asylum for the Mentally Incapacitated. Her path crosses with Phillippe—an escort at the Brothel of Transformative Curiosities—whose brother, a resident at the asylum, has gone missing. The pair must then embark on a quest to find him. It’s a fairly straightforward plot if you strip The Travelling City’s high concept away from the book, and one that builds slowly, taking a while to get moving.
However, stripping the high concept away defeats the purpose of the novel. The concept is integral to the book and its themes, and is central to the world. Miller has created a thriving world unlike any I have read before. At every turn, the world offers something new and unexpected, ensuring the reader is kept off-balance, not knowing what the next fantastical element will be. While such an approach could lead to a mess of poorly defined ideas, it is held together by the world’s internal logic. It’s a robust form of logic, and at no point did the world challenge my suspension of disbelief. While the story has enough dark elements to firmly classify it as a dark fantasy, the world itself is packed full of breathtaking whimsy and psychedelic imagery.
At 429 pages in paperback (or an estimated 369 pages on Kindle), The Travelling City is a reasonably long book. It feels longer than this page count would suggest, and the book’s psychedelic stylings play a large part in this. Not only does the prose paint a picturesque view of the world, it presents it all in a way that feels like a fever dream. It is full of long paragraphs that delve into minutiae. As vividly as it presents the world, it slows the pacing down, and requires the reader to read the book closely to follow along. This is made slightly more difficult through the use of redundant words that, if removed, would have added some extra clarity.
The other element that makes The Travelling City feel longer than its page count is the use of dialogue. For all the book’s long descriptions, it also features a heavy amount of this. Conversations continue for large amounts of time with little description between them, and at times, they can be difficult to follow. Additionally, incorrectly formatted dialogue and tags make it a little more difficult to parse. The book presents these dialogue-heavy sections and the detailed descriptions separately, which affect the story’s ebb and flow.
Although the book’s conversations can be difficult to follow, The Travelling City’s dialogue works incredibly well. As the book’s main characters, Reihan and Phillippe have the majority of dialogue, and much of it is with each other. It flows naturally, and the characters bounce off each other well. The novel features a number of other characters—including Ellis, who has a few chapters told from her point of view—and the dialogue all works, with them sounding unique to one another, with their own style of speech. A large part of what makes the dialogue work so well is the characters, who are fun and engaging to follow. Reihan and Phillippe are opposites in many ways, but their chemistry sings, creating a wonderfully odd couple. Phillippe is a particularly interesting character, whose manifestations allow him (as largely described in the book’s text) to change genders. The character feels entirely queer in a wonderful way that is accepted by those around him unquestioningly.
As I mentioned above—but it’s worth repeating—The Travelling City is a dark fantasy. As whimsical as the world and the book’s stylings are, the story is peppered with unsettling moments that add a tinge of horror, and an almost bleak presence permeates the story. While serving as a juxtaposition to the book’s lighter elements, the two elements work well together. Some readers might find the subject matter a little too dark for their taste, but the book shies away from presenting it in explicit detail.
The Travelling City is a wholly unique fantasy tale that presents a world unlike anything I’ve read before. While I have issues with the dialogue and prose’s presentation, which could have been cleaned up through some intensive copy editing, it remains a thoroughly entertaining book. If you’re a fan of fantasy, whether it’s dark or whimsical, and are intrigued by the prospect of something different to most everything else, you’ll find a lot to love.
Favourite Passage
Ellis tried to calm her racing heart, then she waded further into the mist. After a while, she thought she felt something cold on her skin. She looked up and saw a dark blue sky amidst which snowflakes dripped out of tiny, chubby hands. They swirled around the mist, then disappeared when they hit the surface of the glowing purple water. Everything around Ellis was empty and still. But feeling alone didn’t make her feel any better. There was no point in staying sane if no one was watching her.
The Travelling City, Chapter 15
The Travelling City was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review.
The Travelling City is available in both paperback and Kindle forms, exclusive to Amazon.
Note: I do not post scores for reviews on this website, but do post them on my Amazon and Goodreads reviews:
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Interested in purchasing The Travelling City?
Please find a link below; please note I do not collect any proceeds from the sale.
The Travelling City : A Fantasy Action Adventure (The Travelling City Series Book 1)
wastanley.com 