My review of this beautifully written novela by Miles Watson

On a journey to the edge of empire, to the outermost boundaries of what he knows and understands, Crowning slowly sees stripped from him everything he takes for granted. Eventually, only the incomprehensible, alien wilderness of forest and ice remains. This is the very edge of human experience. Everything familiar is gone and the sounds of the wilderness gather in intensity. He is alone to face a land where creatures, animal, half-human, not human are masters and the rules he has learned to live by hold no sway. Only duty remains. The scenes depicted so real you can see the landscape, feel the cold, experience the isolation and share the fear. Strangely, you also feel the hypnotic appeal of this strange land, where the values of civilised life have been stripped away, to be replaced by…what? There are echoes of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ here and the writing is simply superb. This is a powerful, imaginative novela. Five stars all the way.  

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6P2PXBG