The Language of Ghosts

Noa Marchena is a princess in the Florean kingdom. No sooner do we meet her, on the day of her mother’s funeral, than her family is deposed by a rival and Noa escapes into exile with her siblings. Two years later, Noa, now 13, travels the seas on an enchanted island with her older brother Julian, the most powerful magician in the land, and her little sister Mite, who loves dirt and insects. They are recapturing the kingdom, island by island, in their fight against the evil new King Xavier. After a magical sea battle, they uncover Xavier’s plan to hunt down the powerful lost languages which would consolidate his control. Noa discovers that she can speak the lost language of death, and she uses this new power to beat Xavier at his own game.

Noa is wonderful middle grade heroine, intensely likeable and relatable. She is lively and well-rounded and not at all a stereotype. As per genre norms, she is smart and plucky, but she has a keen sense of morality, a love of detail and order, and a true devotion to family. She longs to be taken seriously and to be of use. In a common fantasy trope, she believes herself to be the only member of her magically-powerful family to have no magic skills at all. Her brother is master of all the known magic languages, making him a dark mage. Her little sister also has powers. Noa appears to be a normal girl until she discovers the mythical lost words that allow her to travel through a shadow underworld and speak to the dead. Her particular mission is to save Julian from becoming too powerful and callous. Her concerns are an extremely relevant meditation on how power corrupts and how those people with driving passions can lose sight of their humanity. Many of the characters are adults with whom Noa interacts maturely, often on equal footing. Noa’s strong voice and her personal journey are more than enough to attract and captivate readers.

In many ways, Noa fuels the plot. Though Noa is just a kid, Julian recognizes her savvy and puts her on his advisory council. She’s the practical one, and she keeps careful notes and records. She has a lot of smart ideas, like bribing Beauty, the local sea serpent, with lemon-lime cakes. Noa discovers she can speak and read the lost language of death and without her skills the family would be captured and possibly killed.

Initially, the novel contains a lot of action - assassins, battles, coups. Even as the story jumps two years into the future, it is to a shipwreck and a secret attack by way of charmed mangoes. Noa’s current reality could have been explored gradually, rebuilding her personal world and physical surroundings, but instead multiple new disasters focus attention away from what the three siblings have gone through since we last met them. The pacing is a little off at this point, but it soon settles into a satisfying flow as we learn more about Noa, meet supporting characters, like the baker’s son, and get to know Astrae, the enchanted island. The environment is richly and vividly created, with lively flora and fauna. It features many memorable animal characters, including an old dragon, the sly and sassy sea serpent, and a slew of otters. Once Noa begins traveling through the world of the dead, she finds this series of otter guides, some of the best characters, which also provide a lot of humour. There is a recurring joke about otter pride and otter flattery which needs to be read to be understood!

As well as creating a complex and intriguing world, The Language of Ghosts offers an inventive understanding of magic. Here, magic is about language, and lexicons with names like hum and squall and briar allow their speakers to control elements like wind, plants and bugs. Though magic can be studied to learn about control and execution, the knowledge of languages is innate. Dark mages, who know multiple languages, are feared by some and revered by others. Spells exist, but the mythology of this imaginary world goes far beyond typical swords and sorcery.

In some ways, The Language of Ghosts is quite adult. A lot of people get killed in the clash between Julian and Xavier. Julian has little mercy when it comes to his enemies, and Noa finds this troubling. She later learns that her mother also put down rebellions and has to confront the messy nature of politics and power. There are real questions about power and corruption and the personal affect of politics and rebellions on ordinary people’s lives, even within a fantasy kingdom. These themes are very well-integrated into the book, giving a lot of depth without ever being obvious or preachy. Seeing events through the eyes of a charming heroine allows readers to approach the book either at the simple level of a good yarn, or a more complex one of moral ambiguity.

Though this is a thoughtful novel, I wish Fawcett had interrogated the often reactionary politics of the fantasy genre. Fantasy stories are so often about kings ruling over the land which “belong” to them and over which they have dominion and where they wield power which is believed to be inherent and just. The Language of Ghosts had ample opportunity to challenge ideas of hierarchy and meritocracy, but it did not question why Noa and her family should be rulers or if they deserved the comfort and allegiance they had enjoyed. Those still loyal to their family take it for granted that Noa and her siblings are superior to other people. Hopefully these are questions which could be discussed by readers.

My only other quibble with the book is that it is a little long and a little wordy. Some sections are skimmable and could have been trimmed.

The Language of Ghosts is a lot of fun and provides innovation within the vast offerings of middle grade fantasy. It is well-structured and offers just the right balance between family dynamics, overwhelming obstacles, engaging magic and sly humour. The Language of Ghosts succeeds in creating memorable characters, a convincing fantasy universe and a vibrant tale of magic.