The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver is an epic fantasy novel written by Rafael Torrubia and published by Gollancz. A story of epic scope, similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, portraying a vast, magical world full of lore and a deliciously layered cast of characters that will engulf you into its pages, all with a prose that remembers epic poems, creating a debut that will be talked about years from.

No one remembers the calamity that stole the names of their people; now most are known by their professions, among them Shipwright, a master of magical shipbuilding, and Shroudweaver, a maker of the gilded gods that fuel their sails. They've been fighting for three years to keep Crowkisser confined in the South, assuming losses; but when a chance to save the world appears, they embark on a race against time to beat Crowkisser to reach the mountain near the Republic, a place of legends, infested of power, before she unleashes the evil they entombed twenty years ago, a threat that could destroy this world, revealing many secrets about their past in the process.

Torrubia gifts the reader with a marvelously complex cast of characters that become pivotal to this story, steering away from the classical black/white archetypes that are so common in classical fantasy. All of them are captured as people with their own story, a past, which is influencing their current actions.
As you might have imagined from the title, Shipwright and Shroudweaver are two of the most prominent characters; a pair with a strong bond, who are trying to restore the world after a calamity, trying to stop Crowkisser. A task that is especially important for Shroudweaver, especially as we get to know more about his past; a weight he's been holding for twenty years. Despite being really powerful, we also get to see their human side, their struggles and how they care about others.
At the other extreme, we have a Crowkisser who acts as the antagonist; a powerful sorceress whose actions are responsible for the calamity that changed this world. Grief moves her, and as readers, we will slowly learn more about her motivations; at the end, we have a well-fleshed character that lands on the greyer side of the spectrum.
The rest of the cast doesn't have as much narrative weight as our leading characters, but Torrubia still puts the effort in rounding them; their acts play a crucial role in the plot's development, and all of them have a backstory that we eventually learn about.

Outside of the cast, the worldbuilding is another of the aspects where this novel excels; not only there's a vast history behind most of the places, introduced to the reader in a really organic way, but also the post-cataclysm aspects that are shaping this world. Each location is alive; there are some details that are left undefined, especially regarding the scope of magic and gods, but it suits quite well with this book.
The scope of the plot resembles big epic stories, with a prose that is a bit on the lyrical side, with a certain rhythm that carries you through the pages. Being this novel a long one, it actually felt short, as you are drawn into the story from the start, with a good pacing, devoid of dull moments.

The Shipwright and the Shroudweaver is a candidate to be my favourite novel of the year: an excellent Epic fantasy novel that stays with you even after finishing, a delightful read that traps you in a magical, vast world and a compelling cast as part of the plot. What a debut!