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A review by aforestofbooks
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Trying to write this review as all telecommunications and wifi access in Gaza has been shut off to allow Israel to commit war crimes and genocide without the world watching feels so wrong. But as I sit here, all I can think about is the similarities I saw in ADOFN and what has been happening in this genocide against Gaza the last few weeks and the many decades prior.
There is war. A war between many nations and the wyrms that came out of the Dreadmount. We see plague, we see mass casualties, we see lack of food and water and infrastructure. The entire time I was reading this book, all I could think about was Gaza and the genocide we're witnessing live on social media.
When everyone started to wash their hands with vinegar to prevent the plague from spreading, all I could think about was how hospitals in Gaza have resorted to using vinegar to clean wounds and disinfect instruments because they have run out of medical supplies.
When food is scarce, crops destroyed, water contaminated, all I could think about is how there is no food or water in Gaza and people are starving and dying from thirst.
When Glorian marries in order to have financial support from her husband to save her people, I'm reminded of how the world argues whether Gaza even deserves medical supplies, food, water, electricity, and fuel.
When I read the many battle scenes in this book and a side character/background character loses an arm/leg, or their bodies are mutilated, blood everywhere, all I can think about is the hundreds and thousands of Palestinians, men, women, and children who's bodies have been recovered under the rubble in pieces.
The history that Galian Berethnet created of his defeat of the Nameless One, his marriage to Cleolind and her subsequent death which resulted in him removing every figure, painting, image of her from Inysh history reminds me of the propaganda and misinformation that has been spread by western media and the terrorist zionist colonial state of Israel.
When Canthe murdered Meren to kidnap Tunuva's son and use him for her own purposes I was reminded of the thousands of Palestinian children who've been imprisoned without charges, separated from their families, and tortured.
When Glorian's parents are burnt to death by Fyredel and Wolf finds their bodies on the beach in Hroth, all I could think about were the 3rd and 4th degree burns caused by white phosphorus and who knows what other chemical weapons Israel is testing on Palestinians in Gaza.
When Wolf runs off with baby Sabran to protect the future of Inysh, all I can think about is the hundreds of nameless babies and children, and the premature babies in incubators in hospitals in Gaza, who are the future of Palestine. And how that that future is cut short because unlike a comet to stop the wyrms, the world is actively supporting a genocide and ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinians.
When I think about the Kuposa and the War Lord, and how he took advantage of chaos and destruction to take over Seikii, I think about how Israeli settlers are killing Palestinians in the West Bank, destroying their homes, attacking their funerals, and arresting hundreds because the world is focused on Gaza and can't see how this is a bigger, broader issue of settler colonialism and apartheid.
When I think about Dumai dying alone on the sands of Seikii, I think about the hundreds and thousands of Palestinians dying alone under rubble in pain, thirsty, and with no one to help them.
I don't know what else to say about this book. It mirrors real life, as so many fantasy and dystopian books have in the past. And yet we still have to fight for our voices to be heard because people would rather support the oppressed in some fictional world, than support the oppressed in real life. When we speak up we're censored. We lose our jobs. We're called terrorist sympathizers. We can't protest or wave a flag. We can't even use terminologies like "concentration camp" and "genocide" because zionists have decided to co-opt those words for only their suffering. Many of us don't have the power to do anything except use our words. And those in power either fully support genocide, or do nothing despite having the resources to stop this. It's sickening. If you read a book like this one, and can't figure out if genocide irl is bad or not, you honestly don't deserve to read anything, let alone deserve any joy in this life.
There is war. A war between many nations and the wyrms that came out of the Dreadmount. We see plague, we see mass casualties, we see lack of food and water and infrastructure. The entire time I was reading this book, all I could think about was Gaza and the genocide we're witnessing live on social media.
When everyone started to wash their hands with vinegar to prevent the plague from spreading, all I could think about was how hospitals in Gaza have resorted to using vinegar to clean wounds and disinfect instruments because they have run out of medical supplies.
When food is scarce, crops destroyed, water contaminated, all I could think about is how there is no food or water in Gaza and people are starving and dying from thirst.
When Glorian marries in order to have financial support from her husband to save her people, I'm reminded of how the world argues whether Gaza even deserves medical supplies, food, water, electricity, and fuel.
When I read the many battle scenes in this book and a side character/background character loses an arm/leg, or their bodies are mutilated, blood everywhere, all I can think about is the hundreds and thousands of Palestinians, men, women, and children who's bodies have been recovered under the rubble in pieces.
The history that Galian Berethnet created of his defeat of the Nameless One, his marriage to Cleolind and her subsequent death which resulted in him removing every figure, painting, image of her from Inysh history reminds me of the propaganda and misinformation that has been spread by western media and the terrorist zionist colonial state of Israel.
When Canthe murdered Meren to kidnap Tunuva's son and use him for her own purposes I was reminded of the thousands of Palestinian children who've been imprisoned without charges, separated from their families, and tortured.
When Glorian's parents are burnt to death by Fyredel and Wolf finds their bodies on the beach in Hroth, all I could think about were the 3rd and 4th degree burns caused by white phosphorus and who knows what other chemical weapons Israel is testing on Palestinians in Gaza.
When Wolf runs off with baby Sabran to protect the future of Inysh, all I can think about is the hundreds of nameless babies and children, and the premature babies in incubators in hospitals in Gaza, who are the future of Palestine. And how that that future is cut short because unlike a comet to stop the wyrms, the world is actively supporting a genocide and ethnic cleansing of millions of Palestinians.
When I think about the Kuposa and the War Lord, and how he took advantage of chaos and destruction to take over Seikii, I think about how Israeli settlers are killing Palestinians in the West Bank, destroying their homes, attacking their funerals, and arresting hundreds because the world is focused on Gaza and can't see how this is a bigger, broader issue of settler colonialism and apartheid.
When I think about Dumai dying alone on the sands of Seikii, I think about the hundreds and thousands of Palestinians dying alone under rubble in pain, thirsty, and with no one to help them.
I don't know what else to say about this book. It mirrors real life, as so many fantasy and dystopian books have in the past. And yet we still have to fight for our voices to be heard because people would rather support the oppressed in some fictional world, than support the oppressed in real life. When we speak up we're censored. We lose our jobs. We're called terrorist sympathizers. We can't protest or wave a flag. We can't even use terminologies like "concentration camp" and "genocide" because zionists have decided to co-opt those words for only their suffering. Many of us don't have the power to do anything except use our words. And those in power either fully support genocide, or do nothing despite having the resources to stop this. It's sickening. If you read a book like this one, and can't figure out if genocide irl is bad or not, you honestly don't deserve to read anything, let alone deserve any joy in this life.