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Fires of the Faithful, by Naomi Kritzer
Aug. 15th, 2011 09:46 pmA rare example of a quest fantasy with a lesbian protagonist, with regrettably wooden prose and uninteresting characters. Eliana, a talented but unworldly music student, gets a new roommate named Mira, whose wounded, secretive brilliance fascinates her. Though her conservatory is sheltered from the outside world, sporadic letters from home and the steadily declining quality of their food warn the students that things outside are falling apart. Their country is trapped in a poorly-understood and never-ending war, crops no longer grow, the cities are clotted with starving refugees, and religious fanaticism is on the rise.
When one of Eliana's friends is executed for apostasy, and Mira is taken away, she leaves to find out for herself what's happening to her country. She finds herself in the middle of a revolution, in a position of responsibility over thousands of people.
Eliana's society is logically put together enough, answering most of the questions you might still be asking at the end of a sloppier book. But that's it; it's sensible rather than tactile, and more a stage than a place. Eliana herself feels like a blank slate of a characte. This is forgivable at first - that's what most people in her position are. But later, events require that we believe that there's something of substance to her, something that other people might admire, and it's not clear what that's supposed to be. Nothing's changed. Strong supporting characters can salvage this sort of situation - I mean, that's basically all Neil Gaiman ever does - but we don't have them here. Mira, the intense girl who keeps secrets, became the most interesting character purely by virture of disappearing before explaining herself.
I can't really recommend the book on its own merits, but it might be interesting as a foil to similar books - whatever that genre is that's just bildungsromans in which the protagonist's coming-of-age is enmeshed in his or her ability to successfully bring about political change.* The dynamics of Eliana's relationships aren't quite what they usually are for this sort of protagonist. However, it so far (it's the first book in a duology) hasn't given any indication that it will diverge radically from the pattern in any other way. If Eliana and Mira don't join forces and save the day with the power of love in book two, it'll be because Eliana had to make do with the power of revenge-for-dead-girlfriend instead.
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* And you know, I worry that the ubiquity of this genre this gives kids unrealistic ideas about political engagement. I promise, you guys, you'll still be genuine and worthy grown-ups if your candidate loses this time around. Puberty isn't arrested or anything.
When one of Eliana's friends is executed for apostasy, and Mira is taken away, she leaves to find out for herself what's happening to her country. She finds herself in the middle of a revolution, in a position of responsibility over thousands of people.
Eliana's society is logically put together enough, answering most of the questions you might still be asking at the end of a sloppier book. But that's it; it's sensible rather than tactile, and more a stage than a place. Eliana herself feels like a blank slate of a characte. This is forgivable at first - that's what most people in her position are. But later, events require that we believe that there's something of substance to her, something that other people might admire, and it's not clear what that's supposed to be. Nothing's changed. Strong supporting characters can salvage this sort of situation - I mean, that's basically all Neil Gaiman ever does - but we don't have them here. Mira, the intense girl who keeps secrets, became the most interesting character purely by virture of disappearing before explaining herself.
I can't really recommend the book on its own merits, but it might be interesting as a foil to similar books - whatever that genre is that's just bildungsromans in which the protagonist's coming-of-age is enmeshed in his or her ability to successfully bring about political change.* The dynamics of Eliana's relationships aren't quite what they usually are for this sort of protagonist. However, it so far (it's the first book in a duology) hasn't given any indication that it will diverge radically from the pattern in any other way. If Eliana and Mira don't join forces and save the day with the power of love in book two, it'll be because Eliana had to make do with the power of revenge-for-dead-girlfriend instead.
-
* And you know, I worry that the ubiquity of this genre this gives kids unrealistic ideas about political engagement. I promise, you guys, you'll still be genuine and worthy grown-ups if your candidate loses this time around. Puberty isn't arrested or anything.
