This alt-history fantasy scene wrecks the good vs evil narrative
The alt-history fantasy scene in Tarja Titan that exposes the elite, shatters tropes, and delivers a story libertarians will actually want to read.
Tarja Titan is the first full-length novel in the Terrian Chronicles. While in hindsight, I felt the book had way too much telling, it is arguably my favorite book in Phase I of the Renegades Epic. Mainly because of its Harry Potter, Windhaven Witches, and World of the Gateway influences – besides Cursed Mage. But it has one other major influence, too.
Below, I want to outline the scene that, while being vague as vague can be, explains why I love it so much. Often, I’ve read through my works so many times that, I’ll be honest, I get tired of looking at them. But there are always one or two scenes per book that never get old. This is that scene.
A lesson that drives home Tarja Titan’s alt-history fantasy narrative
So I’ll be up front with you: If you don’t like complex backstories in your novel that require thought-provoking, critical thinking skills as opposed to an entertaining read, you’re reading the wrong book if you pick up Tarja Titan. If you aren’t comfortable with an alternative timeline where conspiracies exist, then once again, you’re reading the wrong book.
Tarja Titan is one of those books that takes what we’ve learned in school and turns it upside down. But if you like the plot points listed above, you may love this alternative version of world history where a small group of Elemental elitists dubbed the Machiavellian, or simply, the Machis, influence major global events.
Oh, and if you love books that don’t contain the worn-out good versus evil trope, then you’re also in the right place. Anyway, onto the scene.
Tarja gets this crazy rundown of world history in the World of Terra, basically our world. But again, it’s our world where alternate history exists. Kind of. Here, Tarja catches a hint of the major global events the Machis influenced behind the scenes.
The conversation switches over to an ancient prophecy. Yes, there’s a prophecy, but it’s not your cliche chosen-one plot. It’s morally gray and laden with layers of ancient agendas. And of course, this prophecy pertains to, you guessed it, Tarja herself. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but Tarja’s presence might have something to do with stopping the bad guys. Or, one of the bad guy factions.
As mentioned, this IS NOT a boring, old good versus evil trope. This is multiple shades of gray-to-dark forces going at it type of trope with a tiny number of people embracing the light side of the Force.
Why I Love the Scene
The scene sets the tone for what Tarja Titan and the Terrian Chronicles are. It opens up to the fact that in this alternative timeline, someone is pulling the strings and profiting time and again off of global crises. It expands the plot 1,000%, from just a young girl trying to discover who she is to her seeing a much bigger picture here.
The scene and the book may not be for you, and that’s okay. Every book has its own target audience. But if you like complex plots that span across not just the World of Terra, but multiple worlds, you will fall in love with Tarja Titan and the rest of the Terrian Chronicles.
No matter what genre you read, there are always several scenes that serve as series turning points. In Spirit Legacy, when Jess Ballard discovers the Durupinen, she’s treated to a long, drawn-out, yet interesting history lesson regarding who she is and this sisterhood’s history. In Spirit Prophecy, she learns she and her sister are part of, well, a prophecy, and one that can change the entire Durupinen society as they know it.
Other Turning Points?
Ohhhh yes. While I don’t have much to offer in terms of series turning points in Liza Fury: Catch 22, the sequel to Tarja Titan, there is one scene in Tarja Titan: Sophomore Year that will just blow this series out of the water. Instead of taking things to a global scale, however, Tarja finds out a strange truth. One that she even refuses to believe until, well, we can wait until a later date before we have that discussion.
Let’s just say that it’s a turning point scene I’ve never personally come across in any book I’ve ever read. I’m sure it’s one you may not have seen either, and I cannot wait to share it with the world.
