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A review by justgeekingby
The Branded by Jo Riccioni
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Branded by Jo Riccioni is a dystopian novel where centuries ago, a Great Malady happened, and the brume virus spread, decimating most of the population. It resulted in most of the population becoming more physically weaker and vulnerable to disease and infection. The virus left a blue mark on their skin like a brand, and they became known as the Branded. A smaller part of the population became physically bigger, and stronger, and were immune to disease and infection. They became known as the Pure.
As a result of these changes, the Pure became the dominant class in society in some parts of the Continent and the role of Pure women changed, with an emphasis on their ability to breed. They have become a commodity, and in Isfalk they are kept hidden away in a citadel under the guise of it being for their protection.
Meanwhile, the Branded live in squalor in the surrounding village. They are told that they must keep the Pure wardens fed as the wardens keep everyone safe, including them, so they must give their harvests to the Pure. In actuality, it’s so that the Pure can live in luxury and have an overabundance of food. The Branded who have less visible brands are allowed to serve in the citadel. It is a crime for the Branded and the Pure to have relationships in Isfalk as the Branded have a chance to pass on their physical weaknesses to their offspring, however, that does not stop Pure males from spending time in brothels in the Branded village.
The Branded tells the story of twins Nara and Osha, two young women who grew up with their grandmother in the forests before losing her in a vicious attack. With no details about their parents, the children fled to the citadel. Once it was established that they were both Pure, they were integrated into the restrictive and religious society of the citadel. While her sister seems to fit right in, Nara hates everything the citadel stands for, especially the expectation that young women will meekly accept being paired to a male Pure and give birth to a child every year for the rest of their lives.
She longs for the freedom she and her sister had before they came to the citadel, the freedom to choose her future. Nara doesn’t want to sit at home in luxury as someone’s wife, she wants to become a warden. But Pure women, Mor, are not even allowed outside the citadel without a cadre of wardens to protect them. They’re certainly not allowed to fight.
When Nara is unexpectedly thrown out of the citadel, she gets her wish but for the first time, the sisters are separated. Alone and in danger, she has to rely on the mysterious Wrangler, a Branded that seems to know more about Nara and Osha and their past than they do. As she tries to find a way back to her sister, Nara begins to learn things about herself and revelations that will change everything they know.
I enjoyed The Branded, it has an interesting story with good pacing, well-written characters and solid world-building. Unfortunately, there are some issues with this book that I can’t overlook. As a disabled reader, I’m interested in speculative fiction that has themes of illness. While this is a main theme in The Branded, I was disappointed to learn that it isn’t mentioned as one of the book’s main themes. Instead, it is being promoted as a “speculative novel with explosive ideas around gender and class“. Additionally, Riccioni’s author bio states that this series is inspired by her desire to “see women and women’s issues at the heart of the epic fantasy canon”.
The problem is that The Branded is not a book about gender and class; it’s a book about how a pandemic caused humanity to split into two groups. The resulting society that is created is founded on eugenicist beliefs, leading to a rigid class system with strict gender roles.
Although Riccioni has written a speculative fiction novel that mirrors our society and the divide between healthy people and the disabled and neurodivergent community, I do not think this was her intention. The Branded are subject to social barriers that negatively impact their lives, something that is very similar to the social model of disability.
Rather than bringing women’s issues into epic fantasy canon, I fear that this book represents the book world’s dismissive attitude towards the inclusion of disability-related topics in the genre. Riccioni has ample opportunity to include disabled characters, instead choosing to change her narrative to avoid them. When Nara journeys outside Isfalk she meets more Branded and learns that they aren’t as weak as the Isfalki have been told. It’s not unbelievable, as it’s one of many lies she learns that the Pure have been told. This doesn’t change the fact that it’s a very convenient way to avoid having to include disabled characters.
The Branded reminded me of Burrowed by Mary Baader Kaley, another dystopian book where society is split into two groups after a worldwide pandemic; one physically strong, and one weak and vulnerable to infection. Riccioni makes the same mistake that Kaley did by not considering the long-term effects of a low immune system. Both authors make multiple references to the weaker group being more prone to infection and illness, but there is no mention of chronic illnesses developing as a result. This oversight is not surprising since like Kaley, Riccioni appears to be non-disabled.
Ironically, there is one chronic illness represented in The Branded and that is arthritis – in a Pure man. Riccioni makes the point that despite living longer and being physically stronger, the Pure have some physical limitations. While they appear to live for much longer, they still have to deal with the effects of old age, including wear and tear. I think it says a lot that the only disability representation in this book is in association with ageing.
Disabled representation is not the only representation missing in The Branded. There is hardly any diversity in the entire book. Nixim, aka, ‘the Wrangler’ is the only BIPOC character for the majority of the book, with others only appearing very briefly. His people, the Reis, are called barbarians who spin fantastical stories and exploit people with their “dark arts”. I felt like these descriptions embodied quite a few racist beliefs, including the ‘good’ white people with their acceptable religious beliefs (Isfalk) and the ‘bad’ black people with their ‘hooky’ spiritual beliefs (Reis). While it does become evident that the Isfalk are not necessarily ‘good’, an anti-racism narrative would have felt more believable if there was more than one Reis character present.
Similar to race, there is only the briefest of mentions of LGBTQIA+ representation. One of the young Mor women is accused of “unnatural liaisons” with a Branded maid that goes against the “First Mother’s Natural Order”. As mentioned relationships between the Branded and the Pure are considered abhorrent, a crime that goes against the Isfalki religious beliefs. While the rhetoric used in the accusation is from the Isfalki’s religious doctrine, it uncomfortably echoes the views held by many anti-LGBTQIA+ campaigners. If there was any genuine LGBTQIA+ representation in the book I could believe that was meant to highlight prejudice, but since there is none, it feels uncomfortably deliberate.
This book had so much potential, and instead of utilising a great setting to discuss disability issues, Riccioni has actively removed any diversity from The Branded. She wanted to write a book that brought women’s issues into fantasy, and apparently, that meant white heterosexual women. While the world she has created includes a large group of physically vulnerable people, the only health issues featured are those that would concern mothers; pregnancy issues, fertility issues, infections (especially for children), and old age.
While we do need more books in fantasy that focus on women and family, I don’t believe that The Branded did that successfully. Although the characters fight against a restrictive society where women are forced into the role of motherhood, I like the book was predominantly shaped by ideas of motherhood. As a chronically ill queer woman who is not a mother, I felt like this book was written with people like me not in mind.
Although I have added the second book in the duology to my TBR, I do not hold out much hope for any improvement when it comes to the representation in it.
As a result of these changes, the Pure became the dominant class in society in some parts of the Continent and the role of Pure women changed, with an emphasis on their ability to breed. They have become a commodity, and in Isfalk they are kept hidden away in a citadel under the guise of it being for their protection.
Meanwhile, the Branded live in squalor in the surrounding village. They are told that they must keep the Pure wardens fed as the wardens keep everyone safe, including them, so they must give their harvests to the Pure. In actuality, it’s so that the Pure can live in luxury and have an overabundance of food. The Branded who have less visible brands are allowed to serve in the citadel. It is a crime for the Branded and the Pure to have relationships in Isfalk as the Branded have a chance to pass on their physical weaknesses to their offspring, however, that does not stop Pure males from spending time in brothels in the Branded village.
The Branded tells the story of twins Nara and Osha, two young women who grew up with their grandmother in the forests before losing her in a vicious attack. With no details about their parents, the children fled to the citadel. Once it was established that they were both Pure, they were integrated into the restrictive and religious society of the citadel. While her sister seems to fit right in, Nara hates everything the citadel stands for, especially the expectation that young women will meekly accept being paired to a male Pure and give birth to a child every year for the rest of their lives.
She longs for the freedom she and her sister had before they came to the citadel, the freedom to choose her future. Nara doesn’t want to sit at home in luxury as someone’s wife, she wants to become a warden. But Pure women, Mor, are not even allowed outside the citadel without a cadre of wardens to protect them. They’re certainly not allowed to fight.
When Nara is unexpectedly thrown out of the citadel, she gets her wish but for the first time, the sisters are separated. Alone and in danger, she has to rely on the mysterious Wrangler, a Branded that seems to know more about Nara and Osha and their past than they do. As she tries to find a way back to her sister, Nara begins to learn things about herself and revelations that will change everything they know.
I enjoyed The Branded, it has an interesting story with good pacing, well-written characters and solid world-building. Unfortunately, there are some issues with this book that I can’t overlook. As a disabled reader, I’m interested in speculative fiction that has themes of illness. While this is a main theme in The Branded, I was disappointed to learn that it isn’t mentioned as one of the book’s main themes. Instead, it is being promoted as a “speculative novel with explosive ideas around gender and class“. Additionally, Riccioni’s author bio states that this series is inspired by her desire to “see women and women’s issues at the heart of the epic fantasy canon”.
The problem is that The Branded is not a book about gender and class; it’s a book about how a pandemic caused humanity to split into two groups. The resulting society that is created is founded on eugenicist beliefs, leading to a rigid class system with strict gender roles.
Although Riccioni has written a speculative fiction novel that mirrors our society and the divide between healthy people and the disabled and neurodivergent community, I do not think this was her intention. The Branded are subject to social barriers that negatively impact their lives, something that is very similar to the social model of disability.
Rather than bringing women’s issues into epic fantasy canon, I fear that this book represents the book world’s dismissive attitude towards the inclusion of disability-related topics in the genre. Riccioni has ample opportunity to include disabled characters, instead choosing to change her narrative to avoid them. When Nara journeys outside Isfalk she meets more Branded and learns that they aren’t as weak as the Isfalki have been told. It’s not unbelievable, as it’s one of many lies she learns that the Pure have been told. This doesn’t change the fact that it’s a very convenient way to avoid having to include disabled characters.
The Branded reminded me of Burrowed by Mary Baader Kaley, another dystopian book where society is split into two groups after a worldwide pandemic; one physically strong, and one weak and vulnerable to infection. Riccioni makes the same mistake that Kaley did by not considering the long-term effects of a low immune system. Both authors make multiple references to the weaker group being more prone to infection and illness, but there is no mention of chronic illnesses developing as a result. This oversight is not surprising since like Kaley, Riccioni appears to be non-disabled.
Ironically, there is one chronic illness represented in The Branded and that is arthritis – in a Pure man. Riccioni makes the point that despite living longer and being physically stronger, the Pure have some physical limitations. While they appear to live for much longer, they still have to deal with the effects of old age, including wear and tear. I think it says a lot that the only disability representation in this book is in association with ageing.
Disabled representation is not the only representation missing in The Branded. There is hardly any diversity in the entire book. Nixim, aka, ‘the Wrangler’ is the only BIPOC character for the majority of the book, with others only appearing very briefly. His people, the Reis, are called barbarians who spin fantastical stories and exploit people with their “dark arts”. I felt like these descriptions embodied quite a few racist beliefs, including the ‘good’ white people with their acceptable religious beliefs (Isfalk) and the ‘bad’ black people with their ‘hooky’ spiritual beliefs (Reis). While it does become evident that the Isfalk are not necessarily ‘good’, an anti-racism narrative would have felt more believable if there was more than one Reis character present.
Similar to race, there is only the briefest of mentions of LGBTQIA+ representation. One of the young Mor women is accused of “unnatural liaisons” with a Branded maid that goes against the “First Mother’s Natural Order”. As mentioned relationships between the Branded and the Pure are considered abhorrent, a crime that goes against the Isfalki religious beliefs. While the rhetoric used in the accusation is from the Isfalki’s religious doctrine, it uncomfortably echoes the views held by many anti-LGBTQIA+ campaigners. If there was any genuine LGBTQIA+ representation in the book I could believe that was meant to highlight prejudice, but since there is none, it feels uncomfortably deliberate.
This book had so much potential, and instead of utilising a great setting to discuss disability issues, Riccioni has actively removed any diversity from The Branded. She wanted to write a book that brought women’s issues into fantasy, and apparently, that meant white heterosexual women. While the world she has created includes a large group of physically vulnerable people, the only health issues featured are those that would concern mothers; pregnancy issues, fertility issues, infections (especially for children), and old age.
While we do need more books in fantasy that focus on women and family, I don’t believe that The Branded did that successfully. Although the characters fight against a restrictive society where women are forced into the role of motherhood, I like the book was predominantly shaped by ideas of motherhood. As a chronically ill queer woman who is not a mother, I felt like this book was written with people like me not in mind.
Although I have added the second book in the duology to my TBR, I do not hold out much hope for any improvement when it comes to the representation in it.
Content Warnings