book review for Redemptor (Raybearer) by Jordan Ifueko featuring kitties
I'm selling this book, check the bio ;)
2/5 spoilers ahead
Another book with very short chapters </3 I think a fair amount of things were repeated in short time. Told twice that Tar needed to sacrifice herself or bad things will happen, Tar asking the same question twice in one conversation, I mean almost word for word exact same question, things like that.
Now it's been a long long time since I read Raybearer, but in this book, the council (?) of 12 was so background, I started to wonder why the author chose that the councils had to be 12 specifically. I mean, with that many characters, and in such short books, it's impossible to give a flying fuck about them, however the main characters care deeply about them and each other which is understandable because they grew up together but for the reader it's hard to care. Why 12? Only Dayo, Tar, and three others (I forgor names lol) are of any import to the story. The council could've just been 5, so we could focus better on these characters, and not get told constantly of how much Tar cares for and loves her other siblings that we barely know.
I found that Tar seemed incapable of doing things herself. In the beach, she was distinctly told to ignore the mirrors. She doesn't, which almost gets her pulled into one, and her guardian-deus-ex-machina-angel needed to save her. At the end, Tar, for some unknowable reasons, believes her mother is telling the truth that she's just so remorseful of how she treated her daughter and wanted to make amends, (and when Tar's guardian angel yet again tries to stop her, she says "What could hurt me now" oh I don't know, death? Being stuck in this purgatory while all those demon things destroy the world and all the people you love in it?) and to nobodies surprise (except Tar's) attempts to kill her and Tar walks into this SCREAMINGLY obvious trap and only at the last minute does her mother pull her out of it.
Tar is literally confused the whole time like Mother? What's wrong? And is surprised when her mother is like yeah I tried to kill you but changed my mind at the last moment and Tar is just So Sad like girl… The final conflict was very easy… and none of the main characters or main side characters struggled or died. (I guess except that one king whose name I can't remember (see the problem with so many side characters as a result of making the councils need 12 members?) but I barely count him because I did not care about him and I don't think anybody else could either with how little time we get. Again, with so many side characters, the books needed to be longer to spend more time with them, or just have fewer important side characters lol.) There's also an interesting thing that happens at the end… So I recently watched a video of a book review, don't remember which, it was a mystery book I think, but I remember a point made about how the book was in first person and there were plot twists that made no sense because it involved the main character lying to the reader, which works in third or second person, but makes no sense in first person. Same happens here. Tar makes eye contact with her angel, nods, and goes to do something. Completely a mystery to the reader til she does the thing. But why? It's first person. We are in her head. Why would she keep her own plans a secret from herself so it could be kept a secret from us too? It just doesn't work like that lol
And finally… I admit I think I was pretty bored for a fat chunk of the book. All of my notes came after 50% in, before that there was kind of not a whole lot going on. (Even though I say the books should've been longer with so many important side characters, we do still need to have important things going on as well) It isn't until way past halfway, maybe even 80%, when Tar finally goes to the underworld and does all the things. Everything before that is 100% politicking, which I don't mind and enjoy in my fantasy books, but not that much, and not for that long with no breaks of other things happening in between, if that makes sense.
In conclusion, I'm a little disappointed because I remember really liking Raybearer. But it wasn't like the book was bad, it was just … boring I guess.
