What a strange and mesmerizing tale! Gilling has incorporated elements of folk legend, superstition, horror, The Gothic, complex mythology and epic knight quests, and made it into a completely new and unique genre of its own.
The simplest description: There is an abbey at the top of a mountain, where people visit for answers from the gods. A bunch of diviners (think: oracles) offer their interpretations of the signs they read. But then many of these diviners disappear, and the last one standing, “Number Six” (think, Brienne of Tarth) decides to find out what’s happening. Her allies are a rather insecure boy-king and his band of knights, who may or may not believe in the gods or the diviners’ great gifts.
Some parts of the story, especially early on, seem a little implausible, and you do have to suspend disbelief. But it’s a small price to pay, for a very rewarding plotline overall. The characters, all of them, are very well written, each one with a distinct voice. And that ending is something you will never see coming, and yet, it couldn’t have ended any other way.
I read it once, and then I went back and read it all over again. It’s that good. I was a huge fan of Gillig’s Shepherd King duology in 2023, and The Knight and the Moth is no different.
Recommended for fans of: The Gothic, Cozy Horror, Gargoyles, Complex mythology systems, Epic knight quests/ Arthurian adventures, Medieval fare, Dark academia, Folktales, Brienne of Tarth, Oracles/ Divination stories, Darkangel Trilogy, House of Salt & Sorrows, Naomi Novik’s work, The Familiar, etc. etc. etc.
