When one often hears of a story about a group moving from an old homeland to a new one, they often believe they can predict how the story will turn out: some minor strife between the villagers, some conflict with the natives of the new land, then cooperation and a happy ending for all.
Nothing deep, nothing intense, just some light fun. The Settlers of Catan by Rebecca Gable disproves this.
While the novel has some of the minor elements associated with a story of settlers, the deep characterization and introspective plot make this not a light story but an epic.
The tale stretches over 600 pages, and every page is used beautifully, making the story seem like an HBO miniseries in book form. The novel is a true joy to read and offers an experience rarely seen in stories today: the character-centered epic.
The book's main strength is its large cast of characters. While it can be said that the main protagonist is a man named Candamir, so many other characters are featured that it is hard to tell who is truly the star of the story.
There is Osmund, Candamir's best friend; Hacon, Candamir's brother; Olaf, Osmund's rich uncle; Siglind, Candamir's wife and Austin the Saxon, Candamir's slave.
Each of these characters is necessary to further the plot, though a multitude of characters are mentioned that the land Catan truly feels like a village teeming with life.
The deep characterizations allow for more twists and turns than one can expect. There are no unnecessary relationships here — families and friends often hang in the balance instead.
It is not enough for the slave Gunda to be upset at her master Candamir; she has to seduce Hacon, an act which gets the brother tortured by the menacing Olaf, only surviving when Candamir helps take the blows of Olaf's lash. The relationship between Candamir and Osmund are also raised to an emotional level unusual for stories.
Though they remain best friends for most of the book, a divide clearly grows between them as the book progresses, and it does not take a genius to guess that a confrontation is in order — though the outcome of that confrontation is quite unexpected and keeps with the epic tone of the novel.
The other main aspect of the book (and the novel's strongest theme) is the struggle between faiths that slowly divides the community.
While the Nordic religion is practiced by almost all the characters at first, Austin the Saxon (without a doubt the most likeable character in the entire novel) is able to divide a few to Christianity — Candamir's wife and brother included.
When the ultra-religious Osmund and his devout wife gain more power in religious affairs, they soon try to eliminate all traces of Christianity, leading to a tense finale that leads to a stunning conclusion.
The author is biased though — the book is written as to side with the Christian — supporting characters, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing: it allows for there to be a side to root for and a side to root against — something that is always fun, particularly when you have as compelling a read as this.
While the book itself is extremely long, it is perfectly paced: slowly and allowing for enough action to occur at various points so that it seems that the best part is just about to come up.
Every fifty pages or so new revelations happen in the plot, ranging from the romantic (Sigling finally decides to marry Candamir) to the disturbing (one of the villains is revealed to be a rapist, not that you didn't see that one coming).
Overall, this was an easy read to power through, and Gable makes it difficult to give negative criticism. The Settlers of Catan is a real treat to read, and anyone who chooses not to do so would be missing out on a truly wonderful experience.
