The Puppet Master is a novella that was meant to begin the Daradda cycle, but as of today it has remained the only one in it, which is why it is available online under the title Daradda. The Puppet Master. The author, Danil Nesterenko, is not a professional writer; he works in game development, with particular attention to narrative.
And the love of narrative can be felt in the text. Daniil clearly thought through his world and wanted to make it alive and rich. However, the novella contains far too much that the narrator immediately pours onto the reader. You don’t have time to immerse yourself in the world and understand its rules, because right from the start you are almost buried under a huge mass of unfamiliar names, titles, geographic locations, and races. Moreover, as the story unfolds, you realize that the described world is not the only one in this universe — and this realization doesn’t make things any easier. Because you simply cannot grasp the entire layer of information that you are asked to hold in your head. Because of this, it is also not so easy to empathize with the hero’s actions, since the rules of the game in this world, filled also with magic, remain unknown and unclear to you.
At the same time, the novella is written in very beautiful and vivid language. That cannot be taken away from the author. And the book cover is simply excellent (though judging a book by its cover illustration is not the best idea).
However, the story did not turn out coherent. It is a kind of investigative tale, where the main character must figure out what happened to his liege lord’s son. And then it suddenly turns out that this hero is not even human. To the abundance of terminology and races is added a large number of secondary characters. It is clear that the author wants to introduce us to the world, but all these “guns” never fire and only distract. And much about the main character is unclear. Other than the fact that he is a demon and can do all sorts of things… where did he come from? Why? Why does he serve humans? What exactly are his abilities? Why was the assassination attempt plotted? Why did his friend and patron so easily dismiss him after the case was solved? Who are all these people and groups weaving intrigues? There are more questions than answers.
It is clear that this was meant as groundwork for a larger cycle or a novel, but it came out far too concentrated. And on top of that, there is an inexplicable reference to the Witchers, as if there weren’t already enough questions.
You can feel that a vast world with its own rules lives in the author’s mind, but introducing an unprepared reader into it should have been done in smaller portions. And although I cannot say that I really liked the novella, after reading it I realized that I would like to learn more about the hero. Perhaps Danil Nesterenko will eventually finish and rework the cycle so that it becomes easier for the reader to follow the twists and turns. Time will tell.
My rating: 3/5
The book can be read online (in Russian only): Daradda. The Puppet Master
