Book Review: The 13th Zodiac by L. Krauch
Genre(s): Fantasy
Content warning: There are scenes depicting violence, battle, attempted rape, and murder/execution.
Liya was born with the mark of Eternity, the 13th Zodiac of Fate. At a young age, her memories were taken from her, and now, at eighteen, she’s thrust into a journey meant to save her from the Titan of Time, who wants her mark of Eternity for her own purposes.
I was excited to read this book for a couple reasons. First, I’d heard it had some Final Fantasy elements to it, and I’ve long been a fan of the games. However, I didn’t come across anything relating to the games until almost half way through, when one character receives a gunblade—and that’s about where the comparison ends. So, if you’re looking for a Final Fantasy-related read, this isn’t going to be it. But it is fantasy.
The second reason I wanted to read it is I’ve been following this year’s SPFBO competition, and this book was an entrant. Based on the synopsis, I thought it would be a fun read.
Anyway, there are some interesting and unique elements to the story. The concept of the four Titans, god-like beings who created the world, was an interesting basis for the lore. I liked Time as a villain, even though her motives weren’t very clear—the concept of time as an enemy from a metaphorical standpoint was fun.
The story followed a relatively traditional story arc of a missing/lost princess who suddenly learns she had hidden powers and numerous enemies. She must learn to use her powers and rely on a few select friends to help her survive.
There are some tie-ins to the Zodiac signs as well. Many of the main characters are marked by the various symbols, which supposedly appear on one person only once per generation. And the symbols can grant them powers—the fire signs tended to be warrior types, the water signs were healers, etc. So rather than a single chosen one, there are thirteen—though Liya and Jace are predominant, for reasons I can’t mention due to spoilers.
While The 13th Zodiac had the foundation of a great book, I honestly struggled with the read. Viewpoints change extremely frequently, and not only between chapters. Sometimes, a character was given 4-5 paragraphs of story time before the perspective shifted to someone else. Those short passages weren’t sufficient for me to get into the character’s head, and as a result, I didn’t experience the emotional attachment to any of them that I usually have while reading. It’s a shame, because there were several passages that should have elicited a visceral emotional reaction, yet since I was never fully able to connect with any of the characters, it didn’t happen.
When the action sequences finally started to occur about midway through the book, the read became a bit more interesting. However, the fragmented nature of the storytelling (due to the aforementioned numerous short passages and character hopping) left me feeling frustrated more often than not. Just as an action sequence was really taking off, the story would shift to someone else and it broke my immersion in the story. (I typically have no issue with multiple point-of-view stories, but this one was definitely a struggle for me.)
I want to mention I felt the story got better toward the last 20% of the book and I liked the ending. The author was able to instill a sense of urgency through many of the later passages that helped propel the story forward—but as a reader, I had to push myself through the bulk of the story before that time came. For those who enjoy a slower build up leading to the final showdown, you’ll probably like this book.
And while it’s labeled as a “fantasy romance”, the romance is more of a subplot to the story. It’s not the main focus, which is my personal preference when it comes to fantasy, and there are no explicit scenes.
The 13th Zodiac has the building blocks of a really great story, and while I had some issues with it, others may still enjoy the read.
Author’s Twitter handle: @The13thZ
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