A review by cozysabie
The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara

challenging dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

"How typical — The Powerful fearing Power they didn't understand."

"Giving up is still an act of courage, little bird."

"Hatred was not born, it was made."

GENRE: Political & mythology Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc

Would I recommend to others?:
Yes, The Prince Without Sorrow is a multi POV (two characters in this book) that follows along with Ashoka and Shakti and is a more character, vibes and following gut instinct rather than a fixed plan and plot. After reading through some reviews, I can see that this book would not be for everyone but I quite enjoyed the folklore in here, the view of pacifism and the way certain characters are influenced by outside factors to stick to their beliefs. I think if you enjoy a middle paced, Multi POV, character based plot, this book is for you.

Who is this book supposed to be for:
The Prince Without Sorrow is an Indian inspired Political or Epic fantasy. I did not think there was much romantic angst as mentioned in the synopsis/blurb but otherwise, I'd fully agree that this is a political fantasy book.

I did have a look through the reviews before deciding to partake in a book tour for this book and after finishing it, I am mildly surprised that a lot of people did not like it but I think it ended up in the wrong audience. This book is not for those who dont enjoy EPIC FANTASY because that's what this is: a political book with witches being prosecuted and heavily based on an Indian folklore. If you dont like Folklores or mythology AND epic fantasy, you most likely won't enjoy this book.

And again, this book has like maybe 0.5% romance and nothing more in the romance department. (I love Romantasy and enjoy them but this book is not Romantasy or Romantic Fantasy in any way.

Long Review:
Okay now, let's dive into my actual review. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and in the beginning, I was worried I wouldnt due to the reviews I have been seeing. It captured my attention quite easily, the multi-POV was done naturally in my opinion and we see character growth + development throughout the book and isn't that how reality is? How politics and killing spree done by emperors or rulers really works?

The Prince without Sorrow dives into how we have idealism and concepts we stick to but in a time of war and killing persecutions, can a whole race stick to their codes (which are pacifist in nature) while they are being killed off one by one? This book very much reflects reality in terms of the fact that if the Mayakari, who are known for having pacifism codes, decide to fight back because they can no longer tolerate the elimination of their race that has been happening. And, make no mistake, this happens in real life, we are always coming down with the fact that: If attacked, are we, the opposition and the persecuted side, not allowed to defend ourselves?

It gets even more interesting in The Prince Without Sorrow: the multi-POV that we have are dual characters who are political alliances because they HAVE to be. They are opposite in everywhere and the contradiction between them is as clear as night and day. Shakti is a Mayakari witch, who grew up with pacifism ideals from her family but has taken to violence because she cant condone standing still and allowing others to harm her and hurt her loved ones or her people. On the other hand, Prince Ashoka is the son of the Emperor who is in charge of starting the persecution against Mayakari people. He grew up with violence ideals shoved down his throat, aside from his mother, who taught him ideals belonging to Mayakari or pacifism. He refuses to hurt and kill anything.

Throughout the story, what happens is we see both of these things challenged: Shakti's tendency to violence is challenged and just how far she will go is another concept we see her deal with and grow through it. We also watch Prince Ashoka try to adapt and combine the needs to protect the persecuted and his pacifism ideals. We also see how he tries to not change and become more like his father and siblings.

This plot is very fitting with an epic fantasy, we see world building, character growth and everything set in a place to give us book two and book three (meant to be a trilogy). We watch Shakti balance both parts of her morals: Mayakari Pacifism versus the need to retaliate and seek revenge:

"She wanted to curse him. To use her abilities to gift misery to the Ran Empire's ruler. But she could not. It was not the mayakari way. They were women who used their power to maintain peace, not sow seeds of destruction, it was their code, a mark of their livelihood."

The way the contradiction in Shakti's personality exists throughout the book is one of my favourite themes of The Prince Without Sorrow and I quite enjoyed seeing this fully:

"Why did she leave her late at night to fight?
Because not fighting would have had me end up like you, aunty."

And something that is brought up quite often in The Prince Without Sorrow is how people try to hammer either Shakti or Prince Ashoka based on what they THINK they both should be. This is a continuous theme that is seen throughout the story of how Shakti should be a peaceful, do no harm female and Ashoka should be the prince who is violent, following in the step of his father. What was lovely to see was the fact that Prince Ashoka had a few of his people, who supported him no matter what and isn't that what unconditional love is about?:

"Sau's voice wasn't filled with vitriol. Like Rahil, she never teased him for his softness. He was a weed growing among sunflowers; they had long since understood that he lacked the ferocity of his siblings."

And this brings us into the next theme of the book: Prince Ashoka versus his siblings: Arusha & Aaraya. Arusha and Aaraya are both similar to their father, one more than the other. However, Prince Ashoka being the pacifist, is nothing like either of them. Even in the small things, such as dealing with their winged serpents, Ashoka has to deal with their opposing way of living:

"Arush's apathetic curiosity had hurt something and now Ashoka had to fix it. Typical."

And not only that, but in fact, the sibling who has a tendency to lean more towards violence, addresses killing Mayakari citizens the same way one would address the weather:

"Aarya talked about genocide the way Saudamini talked about the weather."

And let's end this review with one important quote, about a theme we see in many books: how humans and humanity will be the ending of nature, of the world as we know it:

"Ashoka understood then that humanity was a horror beyond anything else he could imagine, and the nature spirits suffered because of it."

Okay, now we will need to wrap up my longer than usual review but please do give this book a chance if you are into epic fantasy and folklore fantasy. You might be surprised as this lovely book one in a trilogy and explore themes we do not commonly see in other fantasy books.

Thank you to Colored Pages Book Tour, NetGalley, the author and Avon & Harper Voyager for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.