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A review by morgandhu
Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani
4.0
Intisar Khanani has a gift for creating strong and interesting female protagonists - as it was with the main character of her novel Thorn, I was immediately captivated by the young, courageous and resourceful heroine of her novella Sunbolt, which is the opening chapter in a series.
Hitomi, an orphan struggling to survive as a thief and as a jack-of-all-trades (often passing as a young boy), lives in Karolene - a city with a strong Asian feel to it, from the tropical fruits in the market and the fishing dhows in the harbour to the occasional mentions of a sultan who seems removed from his people and possibly under the thumb of a powerful and cruel mage named Blackflame. Hitomi is also part of a revolutionary cadre known as the Shadow League, led by a charismatic young man known as Ghost.
Hitomi is also, unknown to anyone, a mostly untrained mage, in a land where anyone with the Promise, as such gifts are called, who is not formally trained as a child is doomed to consent to being a "source" for other trained mages, or have her magic taken from her. What training she has was given secretly by her parents, both mages themselves, before they died.
The novella is somewhat of an "origin story" - a fast-paced and absorbing introduction to Hitomi, the world she lives in, and the people - friends, comrades, foes, and others with more ambiguous roles - who will presumably play significant parts in her story as it unfolds in future chapters. Conspiracies, secrets and mysteries are revealed, or at least suggested, as the events of this first installment point toward exciting developments to come. I'm quite eager to read more of Hitomi's story.
Hitomi, an orphan struggling to survive as a thief and as a jack-of-all-trades (often passing as a young boy), lives in Karolene - a city with a strong Asian feel to it, from the tropical fruits in the market and the fishing dhows in the harbour to the occasional mentions of a sultan who seems removed from his people and possibly under the thumb of a powerful and cruel mage named Blackflame. Hitomi is also part of a revolutionary cadre known as the Shadow League, led by a charismatic young man known as Ghost.
Hitomi is also, unknown to anyone, a mostly untrained mage, in a land where anyone with the Promise, as such gifts are called, who is not formally trained as a child is doomed to consent to being a "source" for other trained mages, or have her magic taken from her. What training she has was given secretly by her parents, both mages themselves, before they died.
The novella is somewhat of an "origin story" - a fast-paced and absorbing introduction to Hitomi, the world she lives in, and the people - friends, comrades, foes, and others with more ambiguous roles - who will presumably play significant parts in her story as it unfolds in future chapters. Conspiracies, secrets and mysteries are revealed, or at least suggested, as the events of this first installment point toward exciting developments to come. I'm quite eager to read more of Hitomi's story.