Donald Maass Literary Agency

Kirkus: On the Fair Island, the Idaean people live and thrive. A matriarchal society, the Idaeans value close community bonds and peaceful relations with others, including the People, with whom they trade. They engage in the practice of temporarily fostering children from other societies and sending their own off to strengthen alliances. Former bull dancer turner ambassador Iakinthu’s “given” (foster) child, Rhenthizu, goes through an initiation rite and is officially considered an adult man. Rhenthizu’s given-child status wasn’t acquired through diplomacy—he was kidnapped by pirates from his homeland and then later rescued and taken in by Iakinthu. No one, including Rhenthizu, knows where he was born or who his family of origin is—he was so young when he was stolen that he only has vague memories. Iakinthu, who bears the epithet of “Gephyra” (bridge-between-people), prepares to set sail on her ship, Flying Fish, with the now-adult given child Kilinkizu to reunite her with her mother; Iakinthu brings Rhenthizu along on the journey, hoping to find his family. Along the way, the voyagers encounter a plethora of different societies, from the People, who habitually give away male children to keep their society all-female, to the Egyptians, who are led by a woman pharaoh, to the violent, male-dominated Northerner pirates who have been raising the stolen son of Kilinkizu. McIntyre’s final novel, published posthumously, is a sprawling exploration of gender, community, and family in a historical fantasy setting. The pacing is leisurely and steady, and the characters are all deeply compelling. A few mythical beasts, like the kraken and a gryphon, are even included to add interest. Readers will be enthralled by the author’s worldbuilding, and even more captivated by the lush prose: “Iakinthu stood at the prow; striped porpoises played in the bow wave, riding it as birds ride the wind, hardly moving but for a flick of fin or fluke.”