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A review by justgeekingby
That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams is a historical fantasy set in Jacobean London and focuses on the life of Joan Sands, a sixteen-year-old who works with a playing troupe called the King’s Men. While women are prohibited from taking the stage, they can work behind the scenes and Joan’s job is to teach the players how to perform sword fights. It’s not always an easy task, but it is one that brings Joan great joy and lets her use her skill with weapons.
Joan would much rather be working with her father as an apprentice in his workshop, crafting metal with her hands, however, that isn’t considered acceptable work for a woman. It’s even harder for her to watch her father’s untalented apprentice make a hash of things when metal is in her blood, calling to her. Like her entire family, she’s Orisha-blessed, a human who can perform magic due to a blessing by a deity known as an Orisha. Joan has been blessed by the head Orisha, Ogun, the Orisha of Iron and as a result, she can control metal.
She is still learning how to use her powers and is constantly being reminded by her parents and mentor Baba Ben that her spiritual relationship with Ogun needs a lot of work. Joan and her mentor are the only living children of Ogun, so when he goes missing right before the Pact between humans and Fae needs to be renewed by a child of Ogun, Joan’s world is thrown into chaos – especially when neither Joan nor her twin brother James has never even heard of the Pact!
At first, the race is on to find Baba Ben to prevent the Pact from failing, and when that proves to be impossible Joan and James find themselves surrounded by Fae the like they’ve never seen before. While some are obviously foes, others seem to be offering help, but can a Fae ever be trusted?
There were so many parts of the synopsis of That Self-Same Metal that drew me in, as well as the gorgeous cover art that just begged me to learn more about the lead character, and Williams did not disappoint in the slightest. The world-building was very interesting, and it was very clear that Williams had not just done a lot of research, but that she was writing about topics that she was passionate about. I felt that this book was a passion project as much as it was an author bringing their story to life, and that enthusiasm shines through in the characters, especially Joan.
Williams has written a nuanced story that takes into account the prejudices of the time, and she gives voice to Joan’s anguish and fury as she endures racist behaviour in such a powerful way. It was also fantastic to read an openly bisexual character, and I liked the way that Williams chose to write the romance subplot (that’s all I can say without spoiling anything!). Joan is confused about how she feels about Rose and Nick, however, she’s not confused about her sexuality, which is how sexuality is so often written in young adult novels.
In between the chapters, there are small interludes that are mini-tales of what is happening around London as the Fae emerge back into the world, and these were great. Sometimes they connected with the main story, and other times they were just random stories that gave greater context.
It didn’t occur to me until I was reading the acknowledgements that Williams isn’t British. Normally I notice when a non-British author is writing British dialogue, even if there are no issues. It was very much appreciated that Williams took the time to contact a fellow author to ensure that, as she put it, her “Brits were British-ing appropriately”. That the author was Cavan Scott, one of my favourite authors, made that even better.
I enjoyed That Self-Same Metal a lot and if you’re looking for a book that approaches Fae from a new perspective then you will love this one. I can’t wait to follow the adventures of Joan and her companions in the next book!
Joan would much rather be working with her father as an apprentice in his workshop, crafting metal with her hands, however, that isn’t considered acceptable work for a woman. It’s even harder for her to watch her father’s untalented apprentice make a hash of things when metal is in her blood, calling to her. Like her entire family, she’s Orisha-blessed, a human who can perform magic due to a blessing by a deity known as an Orisha. Joan has been blessed by the head Orisha, Ogun, the Orisha of Iron and as a result, she can control metal.
She is still learning how to use her powers and is constantly being reminded by her parents and mentor Baba Ben that her spiritual relationship with Ogun needs a lot of work. Joan and her mentor are the only living children of Ogun, so when he goes missing right before the Pact between humans and Fae needs to be renewed by a child of Ogun, Joan’s world is thrown into chaos – especially when neither Joan nor her twin brother James has never even heard of the Pact!
At first, the race is on to find Baba Ben to prevent the Pact from failing, and when that proves to be impossible Joan and James find themselves surrounded by Fae the like they’ve never seen before. While some are obviously foes, others seem to be offering help, but can a Fae ever be trusted?
There were so many parts of the synopsis of That Self-Same Metal that drew me in, as well as the gorgeous cover art that just begged me to learn more about the lead character, and Williams did not disappoint in the slightest. The world-building was very interesting, and it was very clear that Williams had not just done a lot of research, but that she was writing about topics that she was passionate about. I felt that this book was a passion project as much as it was an author bringing their story to life, and that enthusiasm shines through in the characters, especially Joan.
Williams has written a nuanced story that takes into account the prejudices of the time, and she gives voice to Joan’s anguish and fury as she endures racist behaviour in such a powerful way. It was also fantastic to read an openly bisexual character, and I liked the way that Williams chose to write the romance subplot (that’s all I can say without spoiling anything!). Joan is confused about how she feels about Rose and Nick, however, she’s not confused about her sexuality, which is how sexuality is so often written in young adult novels.
In between the chapters, there are small interludes that are mini-tales of what is happening around London as the Fae emerge back into the world, and these were great. Sometimes they connected with the main story, and other times they were just random stories that gave greater context.
It didn’t occur to me until I was reading the acknowledgements that Williams isn’t British. Normally I notice when a non-British author is writing British dialogue, even if there are no issues. It was very much appreciated that Williams took the time to contact a fellow author to ensure that, as she put it, her “Brits were British-ing appropriately”. That the author was Cavan Scott, one of my favourite authors, made that even better.
I enjoyed That Self-Same Metal a lot and if you’re looking for a book that approaches Fae from a new perspective then you will love this one. I can’t wait to follow the adventures of Joan and her companions in the next book!
Content Warnings