As I’ve said on numerous previous occasions, I am all aboard the non-Western European-based fantasy train, and the wider I get to roam, the happier I am. I recently made a stop in Korea, then hopped over to the Caribbean, though I’m making a brief detour for dragon-and-fallen-angel-murder-husband-shenanigans in Paris and Vietnam.

Before that, however, I read Roseanne A. Brown’s absolutely exquisite A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, and I cannot urge you strongly enough to do the same.

The Plot

Karina is the second daughter of the Sultana, known both affectionately – and in terrified awe – as The Kestrel. She is the daughter who was never supposed to lead… and who never wanted to. Karina can never live up to the memory of her older sister who died tragically a decade ago nor can she live up to The Kestrel’s expectations, which is why she has other plans.

Malik and his sisters are traveling to Ziran to escape a life of deprivation and sorrow, hoping to start over again in the empire’s capital city. When Nadia, the youngest, is kidnapped by what seems to be an evil demon, Malik makes a deal to save her life: he will kill Crown Princess Karina in exchange for Nadia’s life.

Using magic he’s been taught is wrong and cursed his whole life, Malik manages to get himself appointed one of the Solstasia champions. The weeklong festival, held once every 50 years, is his chance to get close enough to Karina to fulfill his mission. But Karina also has a mission, and forbidden magic, of her own and invisible enemies to keep at bay. If only she weren’t so attracted to the strange boy named Life Champion…

The Review

I absolutely plowed through A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, which is saying something these days, considering that my children are around constantly and they are loud constantly. Once I started this book, though, I wasn’t putting it down – except to sleep – until I was done. So I basically let the kids have as much screen time as they wanted the entirety of last weekend which, from me, is saying something.

I also adored the complex history upon which Ziran is built: the story of a matriarchy that shoved a patriarchy out of the way. Also adored the fact it did so by means one would typically expect a woman and a mother to reject because she is a woman and a mother. I loved that Brown took her time developing each of the characters, both primary and secondary, and allowing readers to unwrap them a little bit at a time. She invites us to trust our intuition and then, at the last moment, surprises us, giving Karina depth, Malik courage, Farid steel, and Idir a heart.

As with many of the books I’ve reviewed lately, Brown introduces a magical system different from those typically used in fantasy, which serves the dual purpose of enhancing the story and teaching readers about cultures they may not have encountered before. Even more fascinating is that A Song of Wraiths and Ruin details two different systems, one of which belongs to the ancient, Pharonic, patriarchal empire that was overthrown and one that belongs to the Sultanas but has been suppressed by those same women for a reason as yet unknown and thus relegated to myth or coincidence.

There is mystery surrounding both, and Brown reveals just enough to move the plot and pique curiosity for future entries in the series while not revealing so much that the mystique is swept away.

There is another aspect to A Song of Wraiths and Ruin that I don’t think I’ve ever seen done before… and certainly not as successfully in a fantasy novel. Brown writes not one but two characters who battle with chronic illness while they battle their respective big bads. And while both are challenged by their conditions, their illnesses don’t define them or prevent either Karina or Malik from being heroes.

Karina suffers from severe migraines and lives with a baseline level of pain that spikes with certain triggers – and sometimes for no reason at all. These episodes cause nausea, dizziness, and loss of consciousness. Malik has both social anxiety and panic disorder. When confronted with new places or strangers, he has difficulty functioning and often experiences panic attacks that render him helpless. His conditions are partly endogenous and partly exogenous – he would have them regardless, but his father’s abusive behavior and admonishments that Malik’s magic is something to be ashamed of have added to the burden.

Karina, however, still manages to do what she must to protect herself and the people she cares about. Although her migraines result in perilous situations, the moment she’s able to fight back, she does, even when she’s still in pain, even when she doesn’t think she can. In the end, she does what is needed.

Malik, despite near-paralyzing fear, meets each of the challenges presented to the Champions, fights back against injustice, stares down monsters, and faces his worst nightmare all to save his sister’s and Karina’s lives.

Are Karina and Malik broken? Broken is a loaded word and not one I particularly like, but in the common parlance, yes, I suppose they are. But one can be cracked and chipped and still be whole. Rarely has a novel shown this as clearly as A Song of Wraiths and Ruin.

We can, all of us, be heroes.

A Song of Wraths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown (Balzer+Bray) is available now. The as-yet-untitled second book in the series is scheduled for publication in summer 2021.