Book Title: The Elf Tangent
Author’s Name: Lindsay Buroker
Book Series: None – yet

Spoilers Ahead!

The Elf Tangent is a new novel by one of my favourite authors, Lindsay Buroker. Set in a new world, princess Aldari’s passions lay in studying in the very un-princess-like pursuits of mathematics and writing papers on economic theory. Writing under a pen-name to circumvent her father’s wishes, Aldari still understands her duty as princess of a small and largely defenseless kingdom. So, when an alliance with a stronger kingdom of Orath requires her to marry the foreign prince, Aldari sets off across the mountains. After all, she cares for her people and knows the threat of invasion from the aggressive Taldar Empire is real. Without an alliance Aldari’s home of Delantria is doomed. 

Aldari is accompanied by her personal guard and best friend, Thali, and a host of elf mercenaries. Only the elves are not there to protect Aldari on her journey, but rather kidnap her instead. After centuries of fighting their own internal conflict, the elves believe Aldari may be the key they need to end the fighting. 

Of course it helps that Hawk is considerate despite kidnapping princess Aldari. Then there are the puzzles that they set before her. Nothing like a good math problem to win the heart of this princess! And that is one of the things I love about this new cast of characters. Aldari is not a fighter, but she is good with numbers! It is always nice to find a smart capable character that doesn’t need to kill someone else to prove their competence. That said, I didn’t feel like they contributed that much to the final climax of the plot. Or perhaps I was not following their contribution properly. Still it appeared that others would have solved the riddles without her and would have brought fewer threats to the final destination. 

Hawk was a fun character. He and Andari have some great conversations. I do love the banter! He also serves as a way to explain the world of the elves. I was not surprised to discover he was a prince – it was hardly a twist, but well set up in advance. 

The elves pose an interesting problem. I like that they bring magic to the world. But their magic seems unconstrained – as though they can wave a hand and have the magic fix all their problems. At least once they solve their biggest problem. I did like the way they had to subsist on different types of moss! It was fun to have them so dependent on few resources. As a community they also had some internal politics at play, which did make the story more interesting. 

The Elf Tangent is a fun romp. I like the character developments. I like the new world being explored. I was left with some questions, like: why did Orath contract a marriage alliance with Delantria? And did they have anything to do with the attack on her caravan in the mountains? If Thali is a great bodyguard, why does she seem to fail all her fights? I liked Thali, but she didn’t seem overly good – or was that just because elves are so much better at fighting? 

Still, I liked The Elf Tangent and would give it 4 out of 5 stars. I particularly like that it is not part of a series. It is nice to find some stand-alone books!