Excellent novella, very good narration. Would love more audiobooks of these novellas!
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Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander (EBOOK)
Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander (EBOOK)
“Someone always leaves.”
That’s what Tovo has been saying to anyone who asks him why his great-nephew Kip Mdang isn’t at his side, isn’t fulfilling the tasks and obligations of the tanà, isn’t there to tend the fire, isn’t home.
“Someone always leaves,” Tovo reminds them. “Kip will return when it’s time.”
He wonders, though. He wonders if his errant grand-nephew was really as bright and as promising as they all thought he was. He wonders if Kip has forgotten the Lays, forgotten what it means to be an Islander, forgotten everything that Tovo taught him.
Of course, the simplest solution to Tovo’s doubts is to go and see for himself.
Someone always leaves, after all, even to the other side of the world.
A companion novella to The Hands of the Emperor.
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Customer Reviews
Overall rating: 4.8 / 5 from 16 reviews.
The audiobook functioned exactly as advertised through Bookfunnel. I loved being able to hear these stories. Thank you.
Michelle W. 5/5 Verified
An absolutely wonderful novella with Buru Tovo at the centre. I love how we get to see more of this character. It's actually really emotional seeing Tovo thinking that he may not live to see Kip come home as the tana-te and then his deep emotions when Kip tells the story of crossing the Wide Seas and living the Fire Dance. I had tears in my eyes at this point. I do also love Tovo's very smart evaluation of His Radiancy and seeing far more clearly than Kip does of the struggle he has to keep the poet locked up inside. I think the most moving part of the book for me was when Tovo teaches Tanaeo a young girl on the sea train about her heritage and sparks what looks like a new trainee tana (we see Tanaeo in AtFotS which is fab)w. It's also wonderful to have witnessed the conversation between Tovo and Aya on Lesuiva. All in all this is another Victoria Goddard Gem which has filled my heart so full
Kate W. 5/5
Perfect
Kate W. 5/5 Verified
Well narrated and a good story.
Judith S. 5/5 Verified
I took a while to get used to the choice of reader, but it was a joy to spend the time immersed in Victoria's world
Susan O. 4/5 Verified
This book tells the story of Buru Tovo´s trip to Solaraa to see his nephew Kip. It offers us a new perspective with which we can see Zunidh, and some of the costs that Kips absence has had on his home, while benefiting other areas of the world. The process of receiving and downloading the audio-book itself was very easy, and the narrator Kae Mills has a fantastic voice! I certainly hope that we will be able to get more audio-books soon. It were nice to hear names and places spoken, and I also found out that I have miss-pronounced Astandalas all this time!
Gustav F. 5/5 Verified
This cemented Buru Tovo as one of the best characters in the Lays
Alexandra V. 5/5 Verified
Goddard is among the best SFF writers working today. Hands of the Emperor audiobook? Soon?
Ed H. 5/5 Verified
Instantly emailed, easy to use app, beautifully narrated, good book!!
Jemmily B. 5/5 Verified
Amazing. Loving getting to see inside of Buro Tovo’s head and especially getting to see an outside perspective of Kip and the Emperor! I really liked learning more about the Wide Seas islander culture and tradition.
Maggie M. 5/5
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Ralph L. 5/5 Verified
This is my favorite short story accompaniment to The Hands of the Emperor. Buru Tovo is an absolutely delightful character and it's wonderful to have a story about him, and from his perspective. The story takes Tovo from the Vangavaye-ve to Solaara to see and test his favorite nephew. Seeing some of the same scenes that were originally in Cliopher's POV now in Buru Tovo's POV is worth the read alone, but the whole story is delightful and well worth the read.
Jill A. 5/5
Yes, I have read a book by Victoria Goddard again, and I plan to continue to do so. How wonderful it is to have a Buro Tovo novella! Because he is awesome and I now realize I want to read more of his stories. I loved Tovo’s long journey. It was magical in all the right ways, especially when Tovo meets the little girl, Tanaea, and tells her stories. “He was the taná. When he saw a spark of something good, it was his duty to nourish it.” It was so interesting to see Kip/Cliopher from Tovo’s perspective. There was a lot of love, a lot of wisdom there, but also remembrance of things undone and unsaid, questions Tovo had not asked. We also get to see the emperor and Kip’s other friends through Tovo's eyes, and it's beautiful. “He glanced across at Kip’s emperor, the sun of his life, who was looking at Kip as if he were the stone upon which the world turned.” Also, I am impressed. Victoria Goddard can write an amazing 1000-page book, and pack as much beauty and emotion into a 100 pages as into a “regular” full-length novel.
Alexandra 5/5
A novella from the point of view of Buru Tovo taking place during the events of the first book of the Lays of the hearth-fire, The Hands of the Emperor. I was absolutely deligthed to have the other side of the emotions of these events, and I must say I like Tovo very much. It was very interesting to see Cliopher/Kip from the perspective of his tradition and what his story means for it. Also I loved to have a few glimpses of the relationship between Cliopher and the Emperor as seen from an external (and wise) point of view.
Welgan 4/5
I like this midquel novella to author Victoria Goddard’s excellent fantasy tome The Hands of the Emperor, but I think I’m not totally impressed by it, especially after the previous short spinoff work for this series Petty Treasons seemed to up the ante on what the format could do. Unlike that title, this one feels essentially like one long deleted scene from the original novel. It’s the tale of Kip’s uncle Buru Tovo coming from their island home to see him in his exalted station at His Radiancy’s side, which means it plays out as a few interactions we’ve already seen from a different point of view, along with some looks at the older man’s travel and his personal reflections throughout. And that’s all interesting, to a degree! It provides a deeper perspective on the cultural practices of the Vangavaye-ve and helps to unlock a figure who could be somewhat enigmatic before — now with some additional queer representation — but there’s just not enough of a spark here for the story to satisfyingly stand on its own. While it wouldn’t have felt too out of place as part of the longer book and succeeds fine for readers who come at it with the context of that broader narrative, it doesn’t seem as friendly to newcomers, nor as distinctive in its emotional climax. (In other words, either you can recognize the repeated beats for what they are at a diminished value, or you’re likely too lost for their charms to wholly register.) I’m glad I checked this out, and at less than a hundred pages it certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome, but I wouldn’t call it an essential volume in the franchise by any means.
Joe K. 3/5