Spera vol I

Spera vol I, Josh Tierney, 175 pages

Shy Princess Lono and adventuresome Princess Pira, childhood friends from neighboring kingdoms, flee their countries together after Pira’s mother, a powerful sorcerer, assassinates Lono’s father.  Accompanied by a shape-shifting fire spirit named Yonder, they travel together through the mountains on their way to a new life. Each chapter is illustrated by a different artist with wildly varying styles (most of which were astonishingly beautiful, one of which I did not like at all), giving this the feeling of a serially published graphic novel compiled into one book.

Most of the loose plot focuses not on the geopolitical power struggle or palace intrigue, but on the two princesses and their journey together. Personally, I generally favor small-scale, intimate plotlines rather than vast, epic tales, so that was perfect for me. I would love to see more fleshed-out, richer worldbuilding in future volumes – Tierney gives a general impression of the standard lily-white European high fantasy setting, but doesn’t do much to make it unique.