4.0 out of 5 stars
A book that makes you pause and think, and raises issues worthy of deeper discussions.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 7, 2021
The book follows the story of Touraine, a Qazāl Sand, kidnapped as a child and turned into a soldier, now returning to her homeland as one of the vanquishers, out to tame the 'uncivilized' of Qazāl. The second main lead is Luca, Queen-in-waiting, out to prove that she is fit to be a ruler by quelling the unrest amongst the citizens of Qazāl.
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As a soldier of the Balladairan army, with the culture and memories of her homeland erased by years of brutal training, Touraine finds herself between a rock and a hard place - the Balladairan's will never accept one of the Sands as their own, and the Qazāl see her as less Sands and more a Balladairan betrayer. She tries hard convince herself and others that she is a true Balladairan with no alleigance with the people of Qazāl, however events from the past soon begin to haunt her. When Touraine is framed for a murder she didn't commit, she is offered a Hobson's choice - the gallows, or working as an undercover agent for Luca, trying to find a way to negotiate with the Qazāli rebels.
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Touraine is constantly torn between her loyalty to her soldiers that used to serve under her, to Luca and to the people of her homeland - and along the way she makes several questionable choices, and not ones that might necessarily endear her to readers. I quiet liked the complexity of her character, and the choice she makes at the end partially redeems some of her earlier misjudgement.
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Luca on the other hand, is perhaps slightly too naive and optimistic at the start, believing that the rebels would prefer surrender over their independence. A lot of Luca's early training for her role has come from reading, and she has very little practical experience on the filed. When she first arrives in Qazāl, she starts hunting for old healing magic, one that has been buried and suppressed by the colonists, in the hope access to this magic will allow her to bring peace to this troubled region. When her closest ally, and direct route to this magic is killed, she has no choice but to recruit Touraine - however, what starts off as an employee-employer relationship (in the loosest sense) soon turns into something different, complex and a little bit messy with power dynamics at play, and loyalties tested to the extreme.
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This book is the first of a trilogy - it has some resolution at the end, but also leaves other avenues unexplored and open for resolution in future books. It also takes a deep dive into colonialism, internalised racism, slavery and all the politics that come with it, sometimes a bit too well - this aspect is particularly heavy at the start, which made it difficult to get into the book. However, once Touraine and Luca's roles are clarified, the story flows more smoothly, and the last few chapters have really good pacing. Both main leads, and even some of the secondary characters, are multi-dimensional, and have very clear voices that remain consistent throughout the book.
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There are two things worth mentioning about the book - Luca has a disability, and I felt this aspect was very realistically and thoughtfully conveyed - we see how she doesn't let it stop her as she goes about her day-to-day business, but we also see the pain and fatigue when the lights are dimmed and the curtains are drawn. I often find this aspect missing in books that have disabled characters, often we don't see the flip side. Second, there is no stigma attached to sexuality and choice of a partner, and no gender inequality - in a world heavy with so many other burdens, that was refreshing.
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This book is fantasy in that it is set in another world, but not fantasy that lets you escape into another world - many of the issues highlighted in the book resonate closely with our world, and could be the subjects of deep discussion. If you want an intense, emotional book that is rich in world-building, drawing you in and makes you think about bigger issues outside the book, then absolutely read the book - just don't go into it expecting any fluff or romance. I am excited and curious to see where Touraine and Luca's journey will lead them, and will definitely be picking up book 2.
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Fun Fact: One of the things that drew me to this book was the cover - turns out the cover illustrator is Tommy Arnold - the same illustrator who drew the covers of the Gideon trilogy!
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