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secty 's review for:
The Child of Silence (The Burning Orbit Book 1)
by Joseph O. Doran
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
There are many great things to love about The Child of Silence, foremost being the intriguing concept of a main character who is unable to speak or move. Aiata, our protagonist, was starved of oxygen at birth which has left her severely disabled. Now, up until this point in my life, I have only ever read fantasy/sci-fi with able characters. I was fascinated and started reading this book with equal amounts of alacrity and apprehension.
My fears (that the concept of disability would be treated insensitively) were unfounded. Doran deals with disability with surprising care and attention. As someone with a Care Assistant background, I know first hand what it is to work with people with severe and complex disabilities, so I was glad to find how well-managed it was.
A brief synopsis: Aiata, Fifth Sovereign of Calosoa, after spending some fifteen years alone and in silence, finally learns how to speak when her beloved brother is unwittingly threatened with poison by someone he thought to be his friend. She communicates by transmitting her thoughts and vocalising them through a “conduit” - that is to say another person, often one of her carers. Finally gaining a voice, Aiata thrusts herself into court politics, preferring to be present to witness the goings on of the court rather than hear her news second hand. She is viewed by most of the world as worthless or disgusting, but she doesn’t let that stop her as she builds a network of loyal informants, whose primary purpose is to protect each other. All the while, there is a rebellion. The castèd members of Calosoa are starving and the Empress is doing nothing to rectify this. The bulk of the plot weaves in and out of Aiata’s ‘slice of life’ and this overarching menace who threatens peace in her nation.
Now onto world building. This was very strong. I had to go to the author to double check some basic information as I was getting myself confused with nomenclature, but overall the ideas are well thought through and well explained. The concept of a caste system is nothing new, but it lends itself well to this story, rather than just something that has been thrown in for the sake of it. And you are not bombarded with it all in one go, which is something that frequently happens in other books.
Characterisation. Aiata was true to herself throughout the story. I know Doran worked very hard to make Aiata’s voice believable and true to form… and he succeeded. She was a pleasure to read about. Bâchen and the vast majority of Aiata’s carers were similarly a delight to read about. Jelív and the Empress, however, we’re pieces of work. It’s not often that I can say I’m moved to hatred for characters but I found nothing redeemable about either of these two.
Now the negative. The word “retard” is thrown around in the book quite a lot. I understand why: it is supposed to emphasise the disdain with which Aiata is looked down upon as something “lesser”. It is used well, but the word still makes me vastly uncomfortable. I also found the middle of the book to slow down in pace considerably. It wasn’t that I found the book a slog to get through, far from it. But there was a lull, and a largish section where not much happened, other than a few fights which I knew weren’t the ‘final fight’ because I was nowhere near the end of the book. I don’t like reading about combat (it bores me and I can’t really process and visualise it), and there was a fair amount of combat, so I sorta skim read those bits.
Overall? This book deserves 5 stars. As a debut novel (and I believe self-published) I was pleasantly surprised by how cohesive the narrative was, as well as just how well it was written. It’s always a risk when you pick up self-published works. Despite the negatives I have listed, they were not enough to draw away from my overall enjoyment of the book. I believe this is the first in a series, and I’m genuinely not sure where Doran will go with it. The voice in the Skyway was a little confusing, but I believe it to be a hint. I guess time will tell. I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment.