I truly appreciate novellas. They seem to fit well with my attention span, especially when life gets a bit stressful. I can sink into a great story without the time commitment of a novel. As a lover of Fantasy, especially Historical Fantasy, I jumped at the chance to read, and review, this new novella by E.C. Ambrose.
The King of Next Week (2020)
Written by: E.C. Ambrose
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Pages: 83 (ebook)
Publisher: Guardbridge Books
The Premise:
When a captain trades his cargo of ice to bring home a djinn bride, his life in coastal Maine will never be the same.
Full Disclosure: I am friends with E.C. Ambrose. I would not publicly review a book by a friend if I could not give an honest review.
Slight but not major spoilers ahead.
Discussion: Set in 1866 and 1867, The King of Next Week features the ever-optimistic ship captain Matt Percy. His crewmen call him the King of Next Week because of his belief in a better future and the next opportunity to make enough money to own his own schooner.
Hailing from Phippsburg, Maine, a veteran of the Civil War, Matt and his ship’s crew set sail for Africa with a cargo-hold of ice to sell. Such an innovative idea isn’t the only thing that sets Matt apart from his Maine counterparts. Matt’s crew is also comprised of several men who had once been slaves and had fought for the Union, alongside Matt, in the Civil War.
On their way to Africa, a storm arises, sending Matt off course. They end up on a strange island. One that is uncharted. One of his men recognizes it as a land inhabited by Demons. By Djinn. Matt does not believe it until he encounters a beautiful, exotic woman named Janiri.
Janiri embodies an internal heat like fire. When she walks on the beach her inner fire alters the sand and she leaves delicate glass footprints behind. Matt realizes then that she is Djinn. Matt is smitten and wishes to marry Janiri. Her father assents and purchases the ice from Matt.
The transaction isn’t quite that clean. One of Matt’s men is disrespectful and Janiri’s people kill him, melting him into the ice they have just purchased. Matt is horrified by what Janiri and her people can do, but he is too in love to leave Janiri behind.
Janiri returns to Phippsburg with Matt but she has to hide her magic. The townspeople already don’t like her because of her darker skin and would believe she is a demon if they witnessed her magic. Hiding her magic becomes more difficult by the day, especially after she becomes pregnant, and the baby growing inside weakens Janiri’s ability to control her magic.
The King of Next Week is a study of the intersectionality of worlds and asks the question whether people from different worlds can ever truly work and live together.
Ever the optimist, Matt epitomizes the belief that we have more similarities than differences and that we should be able to coexist. However, his expectation is that we melt into his world. He employs former slaves and is aware of the horrors of slavery. His best friend is a former slave. Matt doesn’t think there should be prejudice against the black population. Yet in doing so, he ignores or dismisses their life experiences, to the detriment of the very friendships he values so much.
Matt also brings Janiri, a Djinn, to live in Maine. Fire resides in Janiri, and he brings her home to ice. He has seen the beauty and terror of her people and he believes she can fit into his world, as long as she hides who and what she is.
In Conclusion: The King of Next Week is a beautifully written historical fantasy. It details life in Maine in 1866-67, immersing the reader in the world of a sailor merchant and his wife as they seek to make a living. The magic is light and powerful yet not enough to overtake the story. In fact, the magic and its use is as much a part of the conversation over the intersectionality of worlds. It is a great story, and leaves the question to be answered by the reader: Can people from two worlds truly work and live together?
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