Glossolalia: or don’t scream it on the mountain is a novella written by E. Rathke, which is a little bit difficult to classify in a genre, oscillating between historical fiction (if a prehistoric novel can be called it) and fantasy. It’s a really different book, using a really special narrator style, trying to tell us about what happened to a small village of artic dwellers when a stranger (Ineluki) walked into their place.

Glossolalia is such a strange story. In the best style of Soulsborne games, the worldbuilding is made in a really fragmented way, hiding small clues in each part of the storytelling, but never giving a straightforward explanation of what is happening, letting it to the imagination of the reader. The style of narrating, being something closer to an oral transcription than a written story, contributes to this style of worldbuilding.

The plot isn’t the most important but features magic, descriptions of madness, and power plays. The characters are really mundane, being just vehicles to deliver the story, outside of Ineluki and Aukul’s; but we get to know them on such short notice, especially as the extreme situations work as catalysts to show their instincts and their most human feelings.

I expect this book to be kinda divisive among readers. The way the plot is structured is weird, and sometimes it feels irregular, especially in the length of chapters, but it has a reason. Sometimes, it’s closer to a dream experience than a story per sé, but I promise all will make sense in the end. I think E. Rathke has potential, so I can’t wait to read some of his other works.