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A review by beautifullybookishbethany
Child of the Kaites by Beth Wangler
3.0
Child of the Kaites is an indie Christian fantasy novel that takes an allegorical approach to the story of the Exodus and other elements of Christian belief, somewhat akin to the work of C.S. Lewis. It follows a young woman named Rai as she reconnects with a childhood love and finds her purpose as a sort of prophet/leader who will guide her people out of slavery.
While I think this book has a lot going for it, it wasn't quite the sort of fantasy I prefer. A large middle portion of the book involves a group of characters traveling with adventures along the way, and traveling band fantasies are always a difficult sell for me. I know a lot of readers love them, but I find them to be a little dull. I was most interested to see the retelling of the court politics and plagues, which we did get in the last 100 pages or so, but I would have preferred less of the traveling and an expanded approach to unpacking the politics of the court and responses to plagues sent by Aia (God in this world). On the other hand, there are a lot of action sequences including battles against evil spirits known as Aivenkaites (basically demons) and magical swords, which was cool.
I found the beginning of the story to be a little bit slow to start and wish it began with more action, but eventually I became invested in the characters comprising Rai's adoptive family. (Sadly they don't appear in much of the book! I think they will be around more in book 2 though.) I loved the dynamic between Rai and her childhood sweetheart. He is supportive and they have a very sweet relationship. However, their marriage near the beginning feels a bit rushed and I think more slowly building their relationship in a leadup to marriage later on would have added great tension to the plot and maybe allowed for more development in character growth arcs. We do see Rai grow in terms of believing in herself and trusting Aia to direct her, but we get less of that development for other characters.
You will also find a lot of stories here that mirror their Biblical counterparts in Genesis, as well as more didactic scenes on issues like grief and forgiveness, which are beautiful. This is very much a story about faith and trusting in the unseen, the heart of which comes through really clearly. While this book wasn't quite my cup of tea because of the fantasy tropes used and some of the pacing, I think it's a great project that will appeal to readers wanting a fantasy story with strong elements of Christian spirituality. I was sent a copy of this book for review by the author and very much appreciate the opportunity. All opinions are my own.
While I think this book has a lot going for it, it wasn't quite the sort of fantasy I prefer. A large middle portion of the book involves a group of characters traveling with adventures along the way, and traveling band fantasies are always a difficult sell for me. I know a lot of readers love them, but I find them to be a little dull. I was most interested to see the retelling of the court politics and plagues, which we did get in the last 100 pages or so, but I would have preferred less of the traveling and an expanded approach to unpacking the politics of the court and responses to plagues sent by Aia (God in this world). On the other hand, there are a lot of action sequences including battles against evil spirits known as Aivenkaites (basically demons) and magical swords, which was cool.
I found the beginning of the story to be a little bit slow to start and wish it began with more action, but eventually I became invested in the characters comprising Rai's adoptive family. (Sadly they don't appear in much of the book! I think they will be around more in book 2 though.) I loved the dynamic between Rai and her childhood sweetheart. He is supportive and they have a very sweet relationship. However, their marriage near the beginning feels a bit rushed and I think more slowly building their relationship in a leadup to marriage later on would have added great tension to the plot and maybe allowed for more development in character growth arcs. We do see Rai grow in terms of believing in herself and trusting Aia to direct her, but we get less of that development for other characters.
You will also find a lot of stories here that mirror their Biblical counterparts in Genesis, as well as more didactic scenes on issues like grief and forgiveness, which are beautiful. This is very much a story about faith and trusting in the unseen, the heart of which comes through really clearly. While this book wasn't quite my cup of tea because of the fantasy tropes used and some of the pacing, I think it's a great project that will appeal to readers wanting a fantasy story with strong elements of Christian spirituality. I was sent a copy of this book for review by the author and very much appreciate the opportunity. All opinions are my own.