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A review by maija
The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg
3.5
The Unbalancing by R. B. Lemberg is a lyrical fantasy novel featuring a sleeping star, magical names, an island community, and a ghost in a quince grove. The book is set in the same Birdverse universe that the 2020 novella The Four Profound Weaves was set in. You don't have to read the novella before reading this, as they take place in different locations and feature different characters.
In The Unbalancing, our two main characters try to find a way to save their island home with the help of their magic and their community. Beneath the waters of the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps, its wellbeing tied to the wellbeing of the island. But the star's sleep has grown restless, causing tremors on the island, and a new starkeeper, basically the leader of the community whose job it is to take care of the star, needs to figure out a solution.
Lilún is a poet who leads a solitary life. Every morning they tend a quince grove up on a hilltop and are visited by the spirit of their ancestor, Semberi, the first starkeeper, who wants Lilún to take over the role. Lilún is not interested; all they want is a quiet life and aren't comfortable with lots of people around. Our second point-of-view character is Ranra, the newly elected starkeeper. The previous starkeeper neglected his job, and now things have become more urgent. Ranra is a more loud and impatient person than Lilún, and I often found myself agreeing with Lilún that she needs to take things slower and think everything through before acting. The two meet and sparks fly, but their new relationship and attempts to learn about each other are hindered by the danger the island faces.
The magic system of deepnames that I was introduced to in The Four Profound Weaves is perhaps even more so present in this book. It is a fascinating system, where how many deepnames people have and how many syllables are in the names correspond to magical power. This novel delves more into how these names can be used and changed, with new revelations for the characters, as well.
Lemberg is so skillful in building different cultures that feel real and lived-in, their approaches to magic and gender all very different. In the two stories I've read set in this universe, I was introduced to the Surun' with their weaving magic, the Khana with their stricter gender roles, the city of Iyar where women are forbidden to have deepnames, and now the people of the islands of Gelle-Geu with variations of gender identity, some indicated by hair tokens shaped like different animals. Wherever I am in the Birdverse, I always believe in the setting, I believe in the people. It feels like everything has deep history and tradition behind it, and I love that. It's not just the main characters, all the side characters in The Unbalancing were fully developed people.
My favourite part in The Unbalancing was Semberi. This ancestral spirit, the first starkeeper, haunting a quince grove and trying to pester their chosen successor to fill the role. They really want Lilún to just go and do what they tell them to do! Whenever Lilún visited the grove, I was waiting to see Semberi and hear what they had to say. In bits and pieces, they tell the story of the star and the island, which features the goddess Bird.
Out of the two Birdverse books I've read, The Four Profound Weaves remains my favourite. There was just something about the weaving magic that I found very interesting. I read a review copy of The Unbalancing and give it 3.5 stars, just under the 4 stars I gave The Four Profound Weaves. The Unbalancing comes out from Tachyon Publications September 20th.
In The Unbalancing, our two main characters try to find a way to save their island home with the help of their magic and their community. Beneath the waters of the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps, its wellbeing tied to the wellbeing of the island. But the star's sleep has grown restless, causing tremors on the island, and a new starkeeper, basically the leader of the community whose job it is to take care of the star, needs to figure out a solution.
Lilún is a poet who leads a solitary life. Every morning they tend a quince grove up on a hilltop and are visited by the spirit of their ancestor, Semberi, the first starkeeper, who wants Lilún to take over the role. Lilún is not interested; all they want is a quiet life and aren't comfortable with lots of people around. Our second point-of-view character is Ranra, the newly elected starkeeper. The previous starkeeper neglected his job, and now things have become more urgent. Ranra is a more loud and impatient person than Lilún, and I often found myself agreeing with Lilún that she needs to take things slower and think everything through before acting. The two meet and sparks fly, but their new relationship and attempts to learn about each other are hindered by the danger the island faces.
The magic system of deepnames that I was introduced to in The Four Profound Weaves is perhaps even more so present in this book. It is a fascinating system, where how many deepnames people have and how many syllables are in the names correspond to magical power. This novel delves more into how these names can be used and changed, with new revelations for the characters, as well.
Lemberg is so skillful in building different cultures that feel real and lived-in, their approaches to magic and gender all very different. In the two stories I've read set in this universe, I was introduced to the Surun' with their weaving magic, the Khana with their stricter gender roles, the city of Iyar where women are forbidden to have deepnames, and now the people of the islands of Gelle-Geu with variations of gender identity, some indicated by hair tokens shaped like different animals. Wherever I am in the Birdverse, I always believe in the setting, I believe in the people. It feels like everything has deep history and tradition behind it, and I love that. It's not just the main characters, all the side characters in The Unbalancing were fully developed people.
My favourite part in The Unbalancing was Semberi. This ancestral spirit, the first starkeeper, haunting a quince grove and trying to pester their chosen successor to fill the role. They really want Lilún to just go and do what they tell them to do! Whenever Lilún visited the grove, I was waiting to see Semberi and hear what they had to say. In bits and pieces, they tell the story of the star and the island, which features the goddess Bird.
Out of the two Birdverse books I've read, The Four Profound Weaves remains my favourite. There was just something about the weaving magic that I found very interesting. I read a review copy of The Unbalancing and give it 3.5 stars, just under the 4 stars I gave The Four Profound Weaves. The Unbalancing comes out from Tachyon Publications September 20th.