A review by peculiarb
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

adventurous emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 

When Teo is chosen to compete in the trials he can barely believe it, but once Xio is chosen, he makes it his mission to protect the 13yo semidiós and he carries this intensity through everything he does during the trials and it even bleeds into his personal life. Teo was an interesting character; as the son of the Diosa of Birds he was raised by her mortal attendants, which has given him a healthy respect for the mortals that sustain his world unlike other characters. He is also quintessentially a teenager and this comes through both with his introduction (he's in the middle of convinced a couple bird friends to help him pull a prank) and the way he talks throughout the story. His friendships with Niya and Xio only drive this point home, as does how he treats the other contestants. 

Niya was another wonderful character who brought a certain lightness to most scenes she was in. As the daughter of the Earth Dios, she's a strong, solid presence both physically and mentally. Her inside jokes and reminiscing with Teo, and stories of her life outside that friendship gave her character a lot of depth, while her antics made her my favourite of the bunch. 

As for the rest of the contestants, I really admired the way Thomas brought them together as a group. Despite the looming tragedy of the trials, the time they spend together brings them closer until each of them realises that they don't want to sacrifice anyone in this budding friendship group. Though the story focuses more on some characters, it's clear that this dynamic affects everyone, even Ocelo (though they were loath to admit it). Towards the end of the book, Thomas does a wonderful job emphasising this change within the characters, both in the way they behave towards each other and towards the concept in general. 

I also thought the cast of adult characters were supportive and, more importantly, present in a significant way in the kids' lives. both the parental figures and those organising the trials had distinct personalities, and I especially liked when those personalities were reflected either in the kids or the cities around them. 

With The Sunbearer Trials, Thomas built an expansive world steeped in Mexican myths and folklore. Here the deities are alive and present in their domains and their children's lives. Through each Trial, we get to see aspects of each deity's realm; how different they are from each other, the architecture each city has, even how they interacts with their mortal populations. I was blown away by the details Thomas put in his world, and how well they brought it to life in this first book. The opening creation myth sets the wider stage, while each city shows how vibrant and diverse that stage is. 

However, what I found most surprising was that the tech here was roughly equivalent to our tech today, if not more advanced. rather than being set in a time before modern technology, so to speak, Thomas gives his characters smartphones, he has reporters acting like modern day paparazzis out for a story, one of the contestants even watches baking videos to pass the time while another has a binder full of trading cards. It was another rarity for a high fantasy series that made it all the more enjoyable. 

Overall as a writer, Aiden Thomas crafted an engaging book that kept me on my toes throughout. The plot revolves around ten competitors going through five trials in order to crown a winner and a sacrifice to refuel the protection Sol grants the world, but those trials varied to widely. The first one was a dangerous race that had me on the edge of my seat and served to show off each characters strengths, while another was a higher stakes game of tag. That first one definitely set the tone for the story overall, while the "lighter" trials reflected the lightheartedness of the characters despite the looming tragedy. 

Thomas also uses this book to bring up themes of child abuse, trauma, gender identity and dysphoria, growing out of a friendship and a general feeling of not belonging with the grace and gravity they deserve though there is the occasional sprinkling of humour when the teenage characters use it to cope with the stress they're living with. 

Another wonderful aspect of the book was the sheer amount of representation of all kinds in the story. In terms of gender identity, this is a world that fully accepts the diversity of gender expression. The creator deity, Sol, is non binary, as is one of the competitors, Ocelo, while three others, Teo, Xio and Xochi, are trans. But Thomas doesn't make this their definining trait. For Teo it's central to his story as he has yet to fully accept parts of him, but it's less so for Xio who is still unsure how he wants to express himself, and it's a blink and you miss it moment for Xochi. Really this is a world that's bathed in rainbows and the token characters are the cis-het ones. 

My single complaint about the book was the villains of the story being fairly obvious, if not from the beginning but definitely from the first trial. Thomas followed a well known format, but I can't hold it against them as the way they got to the reveal did actually surprise me. I could've never predicted that ending if I'd tried, and the plot twist really came out of nowhere with this one. 

Finally, I thought The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas was a very memorable first book to a series. I keep thinking of parts of it over the last few weeks, while I was blown away by the intricacies of the world Thomas created. I'm still delighted by characters, (yes, even the morally questionable ones), and I look forward to the next book, particularly since it looks like we'll get to see more of the world's deities in action!