Unfortunate, by Ayrton Silva
2 Sept 2024The Book
Synopsis:
Wealth, power, and an easy life. Vaz had it all, but nothing could satisfy him. He always wanted more.
When one of his plans makes his boss finally decide he is a threat, Vaz finds himself with only two options: to roll over and die, or to roll the dice. Literally. Due to an ancient pact between his people and a god of chaos, Vaz, like all citizens of his country, has a special die that grants wishes... if you get a 20. Anything else results in a grisly death.
Vaz knew there would be a price to pay, but he didn't expect that, instead of getting his wish right away, he'd have to work for his own safety. Worse: that he'd have to work for the sake of another person.
Now a fugitive forced to prevent a young woman's death, Vaz is confronted not just by the ugliness of his world, but by his own part in it.
My Review
Unfortunate is a fast-paced dark urban fantasy novella, written by Ayrton Silva, which has really interesting ideas, and that manages to pack a great adventure into such a short length. A disturbing story with great ideas featuring an unlikeable main character who has space to grow, while having a thinly veiled reflection about the current economic system.
Vaz had power, wealth and a good position, but his ambition made him to be recognized as a threat by his boss. Persecuted by a hired assassin, he's forced to use the special dice that all the citizens there have due to a pact with a god of chaos: getting a 20 means getting the wish granted but with a price, and the rest of results end with a painful death. If he wants his safety, he will have to do an incredible task for him: helping another person, a young woman, to avoid her death.
If something can be inferred from the task given, is that the god has a curious sense of humour, pairing Vaz with one of the victims of his financial ideas, having to help her survive the consequences of a system that he has helped to create; don't get yourself wrong, Vaz is quite unlikeable, a person who is thirsty for escalating the social ladder at any prize. However, as long as the plot advances, we can appreciate how Vaz starts to understand how poisonous the abusive system is for the rest of people, and finally, we see him developing empathy for the rest of people.
But not only the plot is quite captivating, but I found the implementation of a magic system based on luck and coin-tosses to be quite unique; a simple choice can either give you the best outcome or create an unfortunate series of catastrophes. Worldbuilding is introduced in a smooth way, giving us the necessary information to understand the world, but keeping in mind, we are only seeing a slice of the world.
The pacing is really adequate in the format, fast but giving us some moments to breathe. My recommendation is to read it in one seat, as Unfortunate is a great and thrilling story; there's so much potential in this world, and I hope that, eventually, Ayrton returns to other places here.
The Author/s
Ayrton Silva
Ayrton Silva is a software developer, who cracks his head writing fantasy stories whenever said head isn't being walloped by bugs (or Souls-like video games). Brazilian, when not sitting in front of his computer he can usually be found walking his dog, or riding his bicycle on some highway.