Synopsis: Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood.
That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?
Review: Raybearer hooked me from the first page. Jordan did a great job of showing how much Tarisai craved her mother’s attention and would do anything for it. That being said, I wish we got more interaction between Tar and her fellow council members. Council members talk about how close they are, but I didn’t really believe that because we don’t see them spend much time together. Or we only see Tar interacting with Kirah and Sanjeet, but there are supposed to be 11 council members total. That’s the one thing I didn’t like about Raybearer. If the council was only 3 or 4 people, then it would have been more manageable. For what Jordan was trying to do, I don’t think a council of 11 people works. I am hoping we get to know more of the council members later, as there will be more books. Still, I’m super invested in Tar’s story and I want to see where she goes.
Raybearer focuses heavily on the idea of identity. From the start, Tar is referred to as “Made-of-me” by her mother. This gives Tarisai a challenging upbringing where she always feels like she needs to make her mother proud. Then she gets taken to the Children’s Palace where she is supposed to become a council member for the prince. Again, Tar is stripped of any identity she has and becomes part of a larger group. Tar does wrestle with these things and I appreciate how Jordan handled it.
Jordan also did a great job bringing colonialism into the story, and showing how harmful it is to erase, not just an individual’s identity, but an entire culture. We see how people are affected as their people are taken away and changed. This isn’t anything new. If you open your eyes to the world, then you can see this in your day-to-day life. But it never stops being heartbreaking, and Jordan beautifully weaves this into her fantasy world. Jordan also takes the time to incorporate conversations where characters struggle with the gender expectations put upon them, like reproduction. It feels like a lot of this story hinges on the male/female binary, but it’s still nice to see characters in power say that they don’t want children even though it’s expected of them. Or for Tar to say that she doesn’t want to be with the prince, even though other characters try to push them together.
I could say a lot more about Raybearer, but this review is already longer than most of my reviews. I enjoyed Raybearer a lot, and I’m eagerly looking forward to more books in this world.
4 howls
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