Echoes of the Fourth Magic is the first book in the Chronicles of Ynis Aielle by R. A. Salvatore and is a little different than his other work. It tells the story of a ship that ends up in a storm in the Bermuda triangle. Next thing the sailors know they seem to be trapped in a cave filled with all kinds of other ships that should be old and falling apart but are instead practically pristine with the bodies freshly dead. Once they escape the cave they quickly discover that they appear to be in an extremely weird world filled with just as unusual people, many of whom only vaguely appear humanoid. After a rather violent run in resulting in only four sailors, one being the captain, left alive they are rescued by someone who tells them where they are. An earth far in the future after a nuclear war where humanity has evolved into a few different subspecies. Each sailor must now adapt to a world where everything follows different rules that they must quickly learn. Some of them adapt faster than others to this new natural and magical world.
I found this story interesting because it involved time travel but not in the traditional sense. It also threw in the Bermuda triangle even if only tangentially so that was rather interesting as well. The title was what threw me at first as it didn’t make sense until way late in the book. What I really liked though was how it played with the idea of nuclear war and the after effects while also keeping the fantasy so typical of Salvatore and his work. It created this rather odd dichotomy within the story, this huge conflict between the fantasy and the former existence of technology. This was also exemplified within the characters as the sailors each went different ways. Some wished to reclaim technology in some way and use it to potentially ruin this new world while others were perfectly willing to accept the lack of technology and push back against it. I rather liked how these layers were interconnected and reflected each other in many ways. The interplay was complex and extremely subtle so I rather enjoyed watching how it all fit together. On top of that the characters were also rather interesting as each was distinctly different as well. The main character Del dove wholeheartedly into the new world and greatly enjoyed the feel and philosophy of the new people he was meeting while his friend Billy calmly accepted it all with some considerable equanimity. The other two sailors, Mitchell and Reinheiser, both go the opposite route and wanted to reintroduce certain levels of technology and violence in the process. It reflects the conflict created by introducing them to this new peaceful but in a microcosm. An incredible read with so many subtle layers. I definitely enjoyed it though and am looking forward to the rest of the series. It gets four out five stars from me.
A great example of a fantasy novel so if you happen to enjoy that genre or are a fan of Salvatore than I hope you consider this one. While it is predominantly aimed at adults it could be read by slightly younger readers. However, there is some mild violence and some adult references so I would recommend only readers older than about sixteen should read it. A pretty good book overall and one that should hold appeal for fantasy readers. If you do decide to try it feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.