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A review by anna_hepworth
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Highly recommended. Takes a number of fantasy tropes, mixes them around, and does some fascinating things. Technically, I guess this counts as YA because of the age of the protagonist, and it was marketed to me as YA. It is definitely one of those books doing fascinating things at the cutting edge of fantasy.
Many of my thoughts are spoilers, so I’m going to omit them here. On things that come up early enough that I feel okay commenting on them - the child as deliberately bred weapon is one I’ve seen before, but while it was the hook the story is hung on, it doesn’t limit the story, and there were aspects that I don’t think that I’ve seen before. Also, the way that The Lady, and the why of their story — particularly some of the early details that come out — are very chilling.
Many of my thoughts are spoilers, so I’m going to omit them here. On things that come up early enough that I feel okay commenting on them - the child as deliberately bred weapon is one I’ve seen before, but while it was the hook the story is hung on, it doesn’t limit the story, and there were aspects that I don’t think that I’ve seen before. Also, the way that The Lady, and the why of their story — particularly some of the early details that come out — are very chilling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Murder
Minor: Gaslighting