Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is the start of an excellent West African inspired YA fantasy. With rich characters, world building and a plot that twists and turns, this is a gripping read for all of its almost five hundred pages.
We follow Tarisai from a naive child as she grows into a young woman and becomes a member of the Ray - Crown Prince Dayo's Council of Eleven - who all share a bond deeper than the ties of family. When explored, the relationship between the members of the Council were developed well, and we saw relationships grow organically over the course of the novel. The only negative was that we only really understood the nature of the relationship between a few of the council, the others were often left too far in the background. There was also a plot thread where two characters who would logically have nothing to do with each other suddenly appeared travelling together, and while that was convenient for the plot it didn't make much sense to me. Perhaps more side character development is something that will be expanded on in the sequels.
The setting was wonderful, and Ifueko crafted a world filled with so many places and cultures that truly felt unique from one another. I'm hopeful that the sequels will solidify and expand our understanding of the world even more, as this was definitely a highlight for me. The writing was solid, and although I wanted a bit more 'oomph' in places and for the author to really explore the darker themes that arose, I understand that this book is more rooted in YA and not dark fantasy.
Overall, this is a creative and well written debut that has all the markings to be a great YA fantasy series. I will definitely be checking out more from Jordan Ifueko in the future.
We follow Tarisai from a naive child as she grows into a young woman and becomes a member of the Ray - Crown Prince Dayo's Council of Eleven - who all share a bond deeper than the ties of family. When explored, the relationship between the members of the Council were developed well, and we saw relationships grow organically over the course of the novel. The only negative was that we only really understood the nature of the relationship between a few of the council, the others were often left too far in the background. There was also a plot thread where two characters who would logically have nothing to do with each other suddenly appeared travelling together, and while that was convenient for the plot it didn't make much sense to me. Perhaps more side character development is something that will be expanded on in the sequels.
The setting was wonderful, and Ifueko crafted a world filled with so many places and cultures that truly felt unique from one another. I'm hopeful that the sequels will solidify and expand our understanding of the world even more, as this was definitely a highlight for me. The writing was solid, and although I wanted a bit more 'oomph' in places and for the author to really explore the darker themes that arose, I understand that this book is more rooted in YA and not dark fantasy.
Overall, this is a creative and well written debut that has all the markings to be a great YA fantasy series. I will definitely be checking out more from Jordan Ifueko in the future.