Reviewed by Ian Lipke
Rachael King presents a YA novel that is both mysterious and horrifying. The story centres around a creature called the Glimm, a being that demands child sacrifices from the people of Brack. Why this is so and when the practice began are unknown. Eight years before the time of the story Lotta was offered for sacrifice, but the creature refused her and took her horse in her place. Since then, the people have offered up their horses to ensure the Glimm keeps the crops plentiful. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Lotta is haunted by a song and a mystical connection to the land itself.
Lotta trains horses for the head of the all-powerful Council whose word is never to be denied. The Council is a villainous institution, twisting as it does ancient practices that once kept a balance between people and nature. YA readers would find this totally unacceptable and rife with guilt. Attempts made by the Council to reconcile their actions with the picture of the world that Lotta represents are never likely to succeed.
The other character, who plays a leading role in this story, is Moss. Being a ‘hideling’, he lives in exile with those children whose families have chosen to avoid the sacrificial ritual. They live out a close to starvation existence, sharing nothing of the Council’s riches and nothing of the Glimm’s bounty. A feature of the gap between the classes is its starkness – in that the villagers follow a puritanical religion that offers unqualified support to the Council. The story begins to take shape when Lotta rescues Moss’s horse from a bog. Initially, hostile towards Moss because of his social status, Lotta warms to him when he shows the strength of his character and, like her, questions the very foundation of their society, especially after the Council decrees that they will return to sacrificing children.
This book becomes a very worthwhile read. The author has a sure voice, well suited to this type of writing. Any sign of doubt or hesitation is fatal to acceptance by the reader. She creates an atmosphere that is vital to this type of story, one that describes truthfully an isolated island, made up of bogs, moors, and salt marshes.
The author adopts a tone, in the beginning of the book, that is reminiscent of folklore. This depiction is rarely lost even when the tale weakens into modern themes.
Few novels as thematically rich as this tale rarely find their way into the literature. The book is a combination of so many positive things, most of which this reviewer has mentioned. Have I mentioned that the writing is lyrical and evocative, floating along, carrying a sense of unease?
The plot paces itself against a backdrop of sweeping, dramatic landscapes, aligned with small details that build up the world around the characters. Lotta and Moss eventually fall in love (who wouldn’t as their circumstances are?). They make a fine duo, with an intimate friendship and shared values.
A superb novel indeed.
Song of the Saltings
(2026)
by Rachael King
Allen & Unwin
ISBN:978-1-991006-65-3
$24.99;351pp