The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi
Wednesday Books | Hardcover | January 15, 2019
If Ocean's Eleven and The Night Circus had a child, and that child was opted for a movie, and that movie was directed by Chris Nolan, it still wouldn't be nearly as cool as The Gilded Wolves.
In the first installment of Roshani Chokshi’s fantasy adventure series, we follow wealthy hotelier and treasure-hunter, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie, in his quest to reclaim his place as the patriarch of House Vanth—one of the four houses tasked with protecting the fabled Western Babel Fragments. However, he cannot do it alone. To obtain his birthright Séverin will need his team of expert “acquirers” to help him. Tristan is a landscape designer, spider-whisperer, and Séverin’s brother in every way but blood. Laila is an Indian dancer, spy, and baking extraordinaire, who is on a mission to free herself of the cursed magic that Frankensteined her to life. Zofia is a Polish-Jewish engineer who adores playing with fire (literally) and is desperate to pay off her debts. Enrique is a suave and snarky historian Spanish, Filipino historian who wishes to become a recognized intellectual.
The novel opens with the team acquiring—stealing—a map, which they believe will lead them to an artifact they can use to bribe the all-powerful Order of Babel. But when a member of the Order approaches Séverin and his team for help to track down a Horus Eye—an artifact capable of finding the West’s Babel Fragment—before it falls into the wrong hands, the team has no choice but to alter their original plans. In exchange for their services Séverin, Tristan, Laila, Zofia, and Enrique are promised what they desire most. And so begins their race against time, the odds, and—unbeknownst to them—a group of revolutionaries bent on stealing the Babel Fragment for themselves… It is an adventure that will take the gang on one of its hardest—and most dangerous—acquisitions yet.
The world and its characters are rich and complex. The history of the Babel Fragments. The politics between the four houses. The magical artifacts and security systems. The gizmos and gadgets the gang engineers. It’s all intricately woven with a distinct, descriptive style. So rather than building her plot’s momentum slowly, so that readers can become acclimated to the world and its workings, she steps on the gas and doesn’t let up—even on the last page. In doing so, she crafts a plot that is so much fun you just want to hermit in your favorite reading nook for a day and devour it.
I do wish we got to see more of were the cultural divides at play in this world. Chokshi does an incredible job of highlighting how Séverin and his crew are forced toward the perimeters of society and denied what is rightfully theirs because of their heritage. Of course, this is only the first book, so I am hoping Chokshi continues to dive deeper into these issues as the series progresses. In doing so she would create space for a larger discussion regarding about how the barriers repressing and silencing these brilliant characters with so much to offer mirrors our own.
I also hope to learn more about the magic system. It wasn't entirely clear as to why people had an affinity for certain Forging abilities. While I love how Chokshi drops us right into the action, not having a firm grasp on the magic system left me disoriented. Having a better understanding about the source of these Forging abilities may be the key to curing this. While, I assume that the power to Forge comes from the Babel Fragments, I am not entirely sure how power is siphoned from them.
