Today’s book, The West Passage by Jared Pechaček, is definitely the most original and unique piece of fantasy I have read in 2024. It is a surreal fable told in an almost hallucinogenic style; filled with giant ladies who bend reality, seasons controlled by a giant wheel, and an infinite palace in deep disrepair. It beautifully blends dark fantasy elements with sweet and heartwarming characters to create a very odd tone that surprisingly works for the story.
The West Passage is the rare kind of book that is best experienced with as little foreknowledge as possible, but there are a few plot hooks I can throw your way to reel you in. The tale takes place in a palace the size of a city, ruled by giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin. There are several prominent towers in this palace, each with different thematic colors, that have different responsibilities and cultures. The palace is a thing of bygone beauty as it has been many years since it was originally built and it has been left to slow decay, drowning in the debris of generations. Although the towers are fairly independent and somewhat lawless, there are many roles and positions across the palace that still hold authority and respect. One of these is the Guardian of the West Passage, an appointed sentinel chosen to slay cataclysmic beasts that sometimes appear. When the current Guardian dies, and signs point to a beast on the horizon, the small denizens of the Grey Tower must decide what they are going to do about it.
These plot hints vastly undersell how wonderfully odd and thought-provoking the story is. Everything about the book feels a little eccentric and off, in a way that makes it feel like the author deeply loved and cared about their story. Exploration and discovery are a huge focus in the book, with the story often presenting elements that are not clearly explained. At every turn, the reader is encouraged to figure things out on their own and it creates this little play of beautiful moments, especially because the characters are so weird and fun. If I had to say one thing about this incredibly fun book it would be that it is charming from start to finish. Despite the looming disaster in the narrative and the many horror elements that lurk under the surface, I never stopped having a good time from the moment I opened the book til I closed the last page.
This standalone is inherently slow and encourages you to reread many of its passages to dig deeper into their meaning and really get to the bottom of things. This is also mirrored by many plot elements where characters reassess what they know and what they have seen and dig for new layers of truth. Nothing, including the ending, ever feels final or solved in The West Passage. Even when revelations and twists are uncovered, they simply lead to new thematic bogs to swim and mazes to run. The book revels in mystery and does a wonderful job of expressing how the unknown is in itself a joyful thing to experience. Truth is relative here. and Pechaček very convincingly presents his version of the idea that the journey is more important than the destination.
The West Passage is also one of those books that talks about the power of stories. In particular, it examines both reality and fable through the lens of decay and what happens when things don’t renew or evolve. The strengths and weaknesses of stories are explored in detail–where some stories serve as a connection to the past and loved ones for some, others see stories and traditions as shackles dragging them down. The palace and towers have a lot of very rigid roles and rules, but as evidenced by the rampant decay around them these pieces of order don’t seem to have kept people safe and happy. It is a story that examines the importance of both rules and rulebreaking with clever insight.
Taking a step back, I have said all I can think of about The West Passage without starting to pull away some of the joy of discovery for a new reader. It is a very difficult book to talk about, but it is easily one of my favorite discoveries of the year. It is a delightfully charming and weird look at stories and the people who inhabit them. I highly recommend you check it out if you are at all curious.
Rating: The West Passage – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
One thought on “The West Passage – Charming Eldrich Decay”