Review of Ruined History by Claudie Arseneault

Sometimes you can’t shake the idea that you’ve forgotten something. In Ruined History, the sixth book of The Chronicles of Nerezia, this feeling haunts Aliyah quite literally. As they navigate the expectations placed upon them by friends and foe, they learn a lot about themselves—but there is still so much missing. Claudie Arseneault’s storytelling continues to be a fun combination of thoughtful, creative, and fulfilling. I received an eARC in exchange for a (long overdue) review.

As always, spoilers for earlier books in the series but not for this one.

Aliyah awakes to discover Horace, the Wagon, and all their friends kidnapped. What do? Harness a couple of helpful Fragments to help you navigate a ruined city, avoiding the Archivists responsible for the Wagon’s abduction, of course! Silly that you even had to ask such a simple question. Along the way, Aliyah relives memories of these two Fragments, who used to call this city home. When they finally catch up to their friends, it forces an epic showdown culminating in a desperate escape attempt.

Finally, more exposition! Arseneault has been slow-rolling us, and I’ve been polite about it because I truly believe worldbuilding is in the characterization, not the infodumping.

But the part of me raised on early 2000s space opera yearns for a good infodump.

We don’t quite get that here, but we do get incredible revelations about Aliyah’s role as the Hero, along with some insights into the internecine philosophies of Archivists Neomi and Kol. I have been itching to learn more about the deep lore of Nerezia since Awakenings, and here we are. Anyone has been reading the series since its beginning is going to feel a huge payoff here.

Similarly, I loved the evolution in the relationship between Aliyah and Horace. One of the big dangers of writing cozy fiction like this lies in the tendency for “cozy” to shade into saccharine. I enjoyed seeing some turbulence between these two. It probably also helps that this is the most we’ve seen from Aliyah’s limited third-person perspective in the series, and I felt more connected to them.

Aliyah’s sense of loss and emptiness come across clearly and painfully in this book. Until now, they have always been a cipher, and I honestly didn’t pay too much attention to them unless they were in the foreground with the Fragment stuff. Now, in Ruined History, Arseneault allows us a more potent glimpse into how unsettling Aliyah’s existence is: no past, no purpose beyond travelling towards a forest, hoping for memories, hoping for meaning. Being pursued by a cult of knowledge weirdos while playing games with a bunch of your own weirdos inside a talking wagon.

Speaking of which, if you thought I was excited about the Wagon in the previous book, just you wait for this one! This might be the most significant development of Ruined History. I won’t spoil it. Let’s just say, the Wagon better have its own page in the dramatis personae of Lost Traditions or else hands will be thrown.

Finally, as has been clear about this series from day one, Ruined History is about found family. The ending of this one made me cry, y’all. It’s truly sweet and lovely and warm … I’m kind of glad I got so busy I didn’t read this until winter got its claws into me. This book is like a cup of hot cocoa with the perfect amount of marshmallows on top.