Riverkeep by Martin Stewart (review)

Wulliam is preparing to follow in his father’s footsteps and become Riverkeep on his sixteenth birthday, when he will take up the work of keeping an icy stretch of river free of floating corpses and in navigable condition. Before that, though, his father is grabbed by a bohdan, a parasite that will kill him over the next several days, and Wull quickly springs into action, loading his possessed father into a small boat and heading off to find the possibly mythical beast who offers the only chance to cure his dad. Wull picks up some mysterious (and not always helpful) allies along the way in the form of a thief, a homunculus with a salacious mind, and a witch. Scottish author Stewart vividly draws the book’s world, with touches of dialect that render it distant but still legible. The cast of characters is exceptionally diverse and creatively described, and there isn’t a single forgettable person, monster, or creature in the whole adventure; it’s impossible to not be deeply invested in all of their successes. This is a rare work that feels like a sophisticated, gritty folktale, full of impossibilities and dramatic tension, and it is both hilarious and tragic in equal measure. Offer this to horror buffs, adventure fans, and readers who are drawn to the YA reinterpretations of fairy tales and mythology.