Illuminary by Chawna Schroeder
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I’ve been eagerly anticipating Illuminary since it was first announced. A Little Princess is one of my favorite books of all time, so the idea of a fantasy reimagining of that classic story was immediately appealing to me. While I could absolutely see and feel that inspiration in this series opener, it never felt derivative in any way. Illuminary is a refreshingly unique tale, packed with more action and adventure and faith than I expected to find.

Our story follows Yosarai Patican, or Yosi for short. We first meet her on her twentieth birthday, preparing for the lavish party her Father has planned for her. There is instantly a whiff of India present in the setting. You can almost feel the heat and smell the spices. I loved how this harkened back to Sara Crewe’s background in A Little Princess while also giving us a wonderfully vibrant, less common setting for a fantasy novel. In this first chapter we learn much about Yosi. We see her love for her father, and the uncommon gifting that she hides, one that shows her flashes of certain truths when she touches certain objects. We see her friendship with her menial, or maidservant, and her treatment of other menials, showcasing her lack of the snobbery that so many in her station tend to assume. We see her prayerful reliance on Sustainer and her fairness in how she renders a judgment, one that reimagines a real judgment rendered by King Solomon in Scripture.

Speaking of Scripture, there are quite a few Biblical parallels woven into the story, and strong spiritual undertones throughout. While the in-world faith is not technically Christianity, it is Christianity in effect, with certain names and practices and events changed. Faith is at the core of this novel and its world, and there is a lot of paraphrased Scripture woven into the story. I love the use of in-world religion to give real-world commentary on deep truths about the Christian faith. And there are so many deep, probing questions and honest self-examination, especially in regards to one’s trust in and reliance on God. Or Sustainer, as He is named here.

In Yosi’s world, society is divided into castes or stratas, with the largest being menials (lower) and elites (upper). A lot of emphasis is placed on social graces and acting in a manner befitting your station. There are an abundance of different bows and greetings, all with different meanings and aimed at different stratas. As could be expected, these stratas result in a lot of classism, which is dealt with well in the novel. Xenophobia and racism are also rampant in this society, and are presented with blunt clarity. We have a wonderful core cast of characters who are often the targets of this type of prejudice, but who rise above such things in some really powerful ways throughout the story.

The hub around which much of the novel turns is the Quest, an intense competition rooted in religion. I loved the religious inspiration and overtones. This quest is a competition between coteries, teams of six, that must prove their superiority in the seven Sacred Arts: creativity, language, intellect, social graces, physical skills, virtue, and religion. Something about the team dynamic of Yosi’s coterie for the Quest reminded me of the core group from the Great Library series by Rachel Caine. I fell in love Yosi’s coterie, comprised of her menial, her timid cousin, a wonderfully intelligent girl of mixed heritage, and our other main perspective character alongside his bodyguard. This other perspective character is Xander, a crown prince in hiding. Assassins have been dogging him since the death of his father, so he and his bodyguard have fled to another land in hopes of keeping him alive until his coronation. These two characters are where the xenophobia comes into play. They are of a race deeply hated by many of Yosi’s people, and they are constantly having to contend with that hatred. I enjoyed both of these characters, but I especially loved Xander. He’s a deep thinker, and I loved the bond that is developing between him and Yosi.

What I did not love was the ending. The novel ends on such a note of devastation. And since I have no idea when the second installment of the trilogy is scheduled to release, it’s a note whose echo will haunt me for a while. I also struggled just a bit with the length of the chapters. There were only seven in a book that was over 330 pages. I found that fatiguing, but that’s a subjective complaint. In spite of those two drawbacks, Illuminary is absolutely worth reading. The second installment can’t come quickly enough!

You can purchase this book directly from the publisher, Enclave, or from: Bookshop.org, Blackwell’s, Amazon, Audible, or Libro.fm.

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