This was a beautiful little novella. It’s an impressive feat to tell a story this rich in only 160 pages.
This book is set in a world where there are both humans and intelligent (“knowledgeable”) animals. Physically, the knowledgeable animals are indistinguishable from their natural counterparts, but they are sentient and able to speak human languages. They are, as far as I can tell, treated as having the same rights and same dignity as humans.
The protagonist of this story, Quintus, is unique in two ways. One is that he is a fox; no one had ever heard of a knowledgeable fox before he showed up, and even he doesn’t know how he came to be.
The other unique thing about Quintus is that he alone can find and navigate the Silver Roads, mysterious paths criss-crossing the continent that allow one to cover vast distances very quickly. Quintus doesn’t know how he does this either.
This novella spins out two stories simultaneously. One is Quintus remembering a past expedition he had led along the Silver Roads, where everyone but he was lost. The other is an expedition he is currently leading, at the command of a priest who promises to tell Quintus about his origins in exchange.
As a novella, this is short. But in that space, Rowe crafts a remarkably deep world and remarkably compelling story. Strongly recommended for something one can finish in a couple of hours.