Turning Darkness Into Light

Turning Darkness Into Light (2019) Marie Brennan

Audrey Camherst, grand-daughter of the famous Lady Trent, is a scholar in her own right.

But it’s so hard when I can feel everyone looking at me, waiting to see what I’ll do. Not my family, of course; if I decided I wanted to retire to a country cottage and spend my life growing roses— not even award-winning roses; mediocre, aphid-chewed ones— they would hug me and wish me well. It’s the rest of the world that expects me to do something spectacular, because Papa did, and Mama, and Grandpapa, and above all Grandmama. When am I going to prove my right to stand with them?

When she is offered the chance to translate some Draconic tablets, she leaps at the opportunity.

Draconean writing is really quite irrational, when you get down to it. But it was the first time anyone had invented writing, anywhere in the world, and we can’t really fault them for not doing a very good job on the first try.

But things don’t seem quite right, although she can’t put her finger on precisely what is wrong.

The story is told in a series of letters, newspaper articles, journal excerpts, and the translations of the tablets.

Like Lady Trent’s memoirs, the story is about science and research and hard work, but also luck and friendship and a bit of adventure.

It’s fun and lovely and as long as you’re okay with epistolary stories (some people aren’t) I highly recommend it.

Publisher: Tor Books
Rating: 9/10

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