Sands of Eppla: Defining Love and Independence Using A Blind Protagonist

I was enticed by the cover of Sands of Eppla, an epic fantasy by Janeal Falor.  It made me want to explore the book further. It depicts a blind woman with a monkey on her shoulder.  I have an interest in the depiction of characters with disabilities in fantasy and science fiction.  Most recently, I mentioned a young woman who is blind that appeared in the Oremere trilogy by Helen Scheuerer when I reviewed Heart of Mist here.  I was intrigued by an epic fantasy novel that centers on a blind protagonist.  This is why I accepted a review copy of Sands of Eppla from Story Origin.

                          

Other reviewers on Goodreads have commented on the Egyptian flavoring in this novel. It isn't actually ancient Egypt.  It's an original creation of a fantasy realm by the author with a few similarities to ancient Egypt.  There is a pyramid mentioned and a sphinx plays a role in the plot. This particular sphinx flies.  The most famous Egyptian sphinx in our world has no wings.  To show readers that there are depictions of winged sphinxes, I tracked down a public domain image of a pair of winged sphinxes which is shown below.

                           

 

Actually,   I considered Egyptian influence a minor aspect of Sands of Eppla.  I would like to devote more space to the themes of this book.

 Imagine a society where your status is determined by whether you have or haven't experienced love at first sight.   In our world, those few people who have found their partners that way are champions of the phenomenon. The rest of us are skeptical.  I tend to think that love is usually not a lightning strike.  It happens slowly as a relationship develops. Love is a human need.  There are different types of love.  There is love between friends and family members as well as romantic love. In Falor's rather dystopian kingdom, romantic love can only be achieved at first sight, and it's privileged beyond  any other type of love.  The Amant, who have found love at first sight, are the aristocracy.  They are also the only ones who are allowed to marry and have children.  Amant is derived from the Latin word for love which is similar in related languages. The majority who haven't experienced love at first sight are called the Odiosom.  I see this word as being derived from odious.  The Odiosom are treated by the Amant as if they were odious.  They are persecuted, and given the tasks that Amant won't do.

As a feminist, it didn't escape my attention that the only women in this society who lived on their own are Odiosom.   Yet men who lived on their own were also regarded as odious in this fantasy realm.  Independence wasn't admired.  It was seen as socially and politically disqualifying.

Now the truth is that no one is ever completely independent.  Even the most independent woman I know has a support network of friends who she can call on for advice.  Her friends recognize that they are providing input, and that she makes her own decisions.  I saw such a support network operating in the Odiosom community in this novel.

Since Cassandra couldn't see, she would never experience love at first sight and would always be an Odiosom.  As the story opened, she had been suddenly deserted by her caretaker and was living by herself without contact with other Odiosom. She had needed to become self-reliant quickly.  There was no societal expectation that Cassandra would be able to do this. Falor describes the techniques that Cassandra used to survive on her own, and I found them realistic. Her monkey companion was also crucial for Cassandra at that point in her life.  With a foundation of skills that enabled her to live without a human support network, she would be more valuable to the Odiosom community when she eventually found them.

 The concepts I've discussed are wrapped in a suspenseful plot in which Cassandra and other Odiosom are in conflict with the Amant authorities.  I consider this a five star novel which exceeded my expectations.