Released on Amazon on November 16th, 2016, this book is a beautiful addition to the Yarnsworld series by Benedict Patrick. It’s just simply and truly fantastic!

resized-bpWhen gods and monsters battle, her music will not protect her…

The Crescent Atoll is a remote string of tropical islands, connected by long canoe journeys and a love of stories.

When Kaimana, a young ocarina player, discovers the lair of a taniwha – a legendary monster – she finds herself inspired. The song she is composing about their encounter will be her masterpiece, but her disturbance of the beast attracts the ruining gaze of the god of war. She must convince the taniwha to trust her if they are both to survive.

Where the Waters Turn Black is a standalone novel from Benedict Patrick’s Yarnsworld series. Inspired by the myths and legends of South Pacific island cultures, this book is perfect for those seeking fantasy stories with a hint of the unfamiliar.

Imagine a baby blue clear ocean, lots of sunshine, golden sandy beaches, canoes… coconut trees and colorful fish. People who live a simple life, believe, fear and celebrate gods. The Crescent Atoll is a laid back paradise of breathtaking sights… and yet… gods are not the only ones the people of the Atoll feel weary about, there are also the taniwhas. The monsters. 

Like many Atoll villages, Pukotala was a small collection of wooden huts thatched with dried palm leaves. It was a fishing settlement, built on the edge of the tree line, to give easy access to the water these people needed for their livelyhoods….

Our main character is Kaimana. A young lady whose Knack for music took her away from her home island, Pukotala, to travel with a musical troupe across the Atoll islands to perfom songs about the gods. She is now back on Pukotala, preparing to perform to the people she grew up with and to her parents, to prove to them that her Knack for music is what she should pursue not the simple life as a wife to a fisherman.

“There’s a monster in the village.”

Kaimana raised her eyebrows at the toddler’s words. “No, don’t worry. There’s no taniwha here.”

The young girl was not convinced. She stuck out her bottom lip, kicked up some of the sand at her feet and stared at Kaimana. “No, there is. In the cave in the hills where the stream comes to life. My uncle went to catch it, and he never came back.”

Having a Knack is all well and good, but Kaimana needs the Spark. She needs something to spark the Spark, to compose the musical piece that would make her known across the islands. That is her goal. The search for inspiration is what makes Kaimana act, against everyone’s wiches and warnings, and she can’t help herself but go check out that cave where the alleged taniwha now lives. And for me, this is where the truly magical part of the story gets its beginning.

The taniwha Kaimana finds looks like a log… a tree stump… but huge! Gray-ish in colour, but covered with moss here and there, and has some destructive limbs… No one knows where taniwha come from, how long they live or if they have families… But it is a long known truth that the taniwha are dangerous, very dangerous in fact and no one can be sure if they can be trusted.

Due to some unfortunate events, Kaimana finds out the taniwha of her island is after her. Is Rakau following Kaimana to kill her and her travelling troupe? How will the troupe act and feel when they find out the taniwha is after them… Is it all Kaimana’s fault for waking the monster?

It was a clear night, the moon was full, and the crystal water of the reef was undisturbed by any nearby rivers. The moonlight painted the rocks and coral of the reef a pale blue, and this was strongly contrasted by the powerful green of Rakau’s eyes, which illuminated the sea bed and even tinted the water in front of him.

As if the situation doesn’t seem odd and scary enough, Nakau the pig-headed War God doesn’t take lightly to the fact that his temple now has a gaping hole in its wall! And Kaimana’s troupe isn’t happy either… the performance for the pig god was their biggest event yet, in years! So, who’s to blame? The inner dynamics of the troupe members also come into play and it’s weaved into the story perfectly!

The pig god had chosen to build his temple in the middle of the area of the Atoll that gave him most opportunity to practice his art of war. Most Atoll islanders who ate human flesh were civilised enough to only do so to people who had angered them, but one always heard stories…

A chase for revenge by Nakau and his army across the seas surrounding the Atoll Islands starts, throughout the story of Kaimana’s survival, myth and folk tales mix with current events. The Birdmen of the Broken Island, the gods of volcanoes and farming and song, the Lava Racer and many more legendary tales strategically placed n between scenes of Kaimana’s journey. And it is a journey to capture her Knack’s Spark and finish the Song, to stay alive, to find shelter for her friend. ‘Where Waters Turn Black’ is fantastically imaginative and beautifully fluous, taking me on a journey unlike any other.

Personally I loved ‘They Mostly Come Out at Night’, the first book in the Yarnsworld series by Benedict Patrick, and I absolutely, if possible, loved ‘Where the Waters Turn Black‘ even more! I simply cannot wait for the next book in this collection. The books in this series are standalone novels so you do not need to read ‘TMCOaN’ to enjoy ‘WtWTB’… however, I do suggest reading both of the books.. they’re ah-mazing! A very satisfied bookworm, I am slapping a very grateful 5 stars on this book! ‘Nuff said! 😉

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