Elancia Chronicles: Symphony of Shifting Tides by Leilani Wilson and Emma Carruthers
- shilohskyewriter
- Oct 26
- 4 min read
You might like this book if you enjoy:
-Fantasy and Action/Adventure
-Queer themes—especially transgender themes
-A large cast of characters, all in desperate need of therapy
-Anime and manga tropes
-Exploding eyeballs (it’s not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice)
Elancia Chronicles: Symphony of Shifting Tides is the first book in this revised edition of a series originally published in 2019. I haven’t read that original version. In fact, I only found out this was a new edition when I was halfway through reading the book. So, I’m starting this series as a new reader, and I’m happy to say that diving into this story blind has been an awesome experience. Symphony of Shifting Tides is a remarkably unique epic, with a crazed cast of complex characters in a world fit to burst with action and adventure.
Symphony of Shifting Tides follows Verse, who in the book’s description is aptly described as “aggressively apathetic”. In the waking world, he’s a morally dubious former pirate struggling to make his way in the world. But when he dreams, he’s a beautiful vixen who’s able to let her guard down and speak with a sister who she believes to be a figment of her imagination.
Meanwhile, the world around Verse is in peril, crippled by wars between both gods and mortals. When the ocean itself dies (long story), Verse and his partner-in-crime, a rabbit named Xan, become stranded on a continent that’s ravaged by holy wars they want no part in. Of course, they also believe they have no connection to those wars, but it soon becomes apparent that may not be entirely true, as there’s more to Verse than meets the eye…
Writing that two-paragraph description for this story was tough, because there’s so much going on in Elancia. The elevator pitch for this series would have to take place in a skyscraper. It doesn’t include the diverse cast of characters, the magic system, the nature of dying oceans, the god wars, the sky ring, the curses… it’s a lot. Luckily, this book is a near 600-page monster with small font, so there’s plenty of time and space for the reader to get a grasp on everything. Plus, the prose sets a steady pace that keeps it all from moving too fast or too slow, so readers won’t have to worry about getting overwhelmed.
As Verse and Xan move throughout the continent they’re stranded on, they encounter a large cast of friends and foes alike. Those characters are a huge highlight of this book. Each of the main cast is a walking disaster in desperate need of therapy. Cecilia is a loud, naïve bat child who won’t take no for an answer. Basil is a bumbling drunken bat who nevertheless can fight like a hero. And Karina is a super-serious giant, stalwart dog warrior who’s averse to shenanigans. Readers who enjoy a big cast of deep yet zany characters like these will feel right at home. It could be argued that the main cast is an unconventional 5 man band, with 2 or 3 members subverting the trope’s traditional roles, so there are a lot of unique dynamics to enjoy between them.
These characters do remind me of those found in an anime or manga, as the style of the cover art foreshadows. They’re all a bit over the top, as if they dropped straight out of Tri-Gun or Hunter x Hunter. It’s not my personal cup of tea, whether that be because I find these types of characters more effective in visual mediums, or because it feels derivative. Regardless of what I think though, this will doubtlessly be a perk for fans of anime and manga, who will additionally appreciate the artwork throughout the novel. It’s also the reason I think an audiobook with all that character voicework would be absolute gold.
Our 5 man band becomes embroiled in a holy war that exposes a whole lot of worldbuilding. Elancia is a unique world. There’s a ring of “star junk” around it that occasionally falls from the sky. Magic has certain elements and polarities. Oceans can just kinda stop working. And it all has something to do with gods being at war. It was an interesting setting that I really enjoyed, and I’m eager to learn more about it in the upcoming sequels, as this book reveals surprisingly little about why things are the way they are.
As the war rages on and we get a deeper look at the world, we also get a deeper look at Verse. As mentioned before, Verse is transgender and still very much in her egg. Her inner turmoil over that fact sort of parallels the turmoil the world itself is going through. Just like Elancia at large, Verse is going through an identity crisis. On top of her gender dysphoria, she struggles to discover who she is in pretty much every aspect, as her memory is “shot full of holes” as the book summary puts it. Her personality seems split between her dreams and the waking world, too. It’s a fascinating character study, making Verse the most complex character I’ve read about this year, and one that I think readers will find fascinating.
There is one gripe I have with this story that I think is worth mentioning: This is a tale that relies on characters not knowing things a bit too much. The narrative goes out of its way to make sure characters are really, really, really bad at communicating with one another. They constantly keep secrets that could solve huge problems just for the sake of plot and suspense. The writer does give character-driven reasons for most of the omissions when they happen, but since they happen so often and the plot hinges on them, they still feel contrived. It can make for a frustrating read, at times, and I hope it doesn’t happen as much as the story progresses and there are fewer reasons to keep such secrets.
All of this builds to a climax that, without spoiling anything, makes me very curious about what’s going to happen next. As I said, very few answers are given in this book, and it feels like the next one is being set up for a whole lot of revelations. I’m looking forward to seeing how things come together. I have a feeling it’s gonna be big.
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