Review: The Only Child by Mi-Ae Seo

Seonkyeong is in the prime of her life – newly married, with a promising career in lecturing criminal psychology. Perhaps this is why she receives an unexpected phone call from the Director of the Association of Criminal Psychology. He explains that a recently arrested serial killer, who has not said a word in custody, has requested an interview with her. Having never met the murderer, Seonkyeong is baffled as to his request, but agrees to help the Director and the police by conducting the interview and finding out where the other victims are.

However, the first interview does not go to plan. Seonkyeong leaves after only a few minutes in the maximum-security prison, feeling dejected. When she returns home, she’s met by another surprise; her husband has brought his daughter Hayeong to live with them.

Hayeong, whose mother had died recently, was living with her grandparents until a fire broke out in their building in the night, killing the elderly couple. For such a young girl, Hayeong has faced immense loss. Seonkyeong decides to do her best to give the girl a loving home, and prevent any psychological distress. However, Hayeong’s emotions are so unpredictable, and she flies into such fits of rage, that her new step mother begins to wonder if there’s more to the young girl’s loss than they realise. Unable to connect with Hayeong or make a breakthrough with the incarcerated killer, Seonkyeong feels a failure on all fronts, until a sudden revelation places her not only in the know, but in immense danger.

It’s been a long time since I last encountered a book with such tension, that was so immense yet so carefully crafted. After finishing the last page, satisfied and bleary-eyed in the early morning, my mind was still reeling with the story. The Only Child is as excellent as it is unpredictable, making it both exciting and riveting. Mi-Ae Seo has cleverly woven together two stories that, on the surface, share no common thread. As we jump between a fragile child and a hardened killer, Seo emphasizes her skill in documenting human cruelty and the terrible scars they leave. Her characters are unique and incredibly real, emphasizing a sense of realism an eligibility, and leading to immense emotional involvement. Seo’s work has a darkness about it, fueled by the many secrets hidden by the characters, which is richly offset by action and unexpected tenderness. This book is truly a work of art.

The Only Child by Mi-Ae Seo is published by Point Blank, an imprint of Oneworld Publications, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Review: The Girl King by Mimi Yu

Princess Lu, known as the Girl King, is poised to take over the empire from her father and be the first female emperor in history. However, on the day that her succession is to be announced, she’s blindsided by the announcement that she is to be married to her cousin, who will be named the emperor. Despite this disappointment, Lu refuses to accept defeat, and challenges her suitor to the right to the crown. However, before the challenges commence, the emperor is murdered, and Lu is blamed. She has no choice but to go on the run, as the entire royal army is after her.

While on the run, Lu meets up with Nok, a young man with a strange secret and stranger past, who is willing to help her retake the throne and uncover the plot which led to her father’s murder.

Meanwhile, Lu’s suitor cousin remains focused on the throne, and to secure his place as emperor, immediately marries Lu’s younger sister, Min. Yet Min is also carrying a secret – unknown to her, she is the key to a foretold prophecy, and the bearer of magic with a dangerous destiny. With the help of her new husband and his faithful monk, Min seeks to discover the full extent of her powers, in order to wage war on the North and secure a power her husband can only dream of.

Led on different paths, both sisters travel North on their separate missions, where prophecy, magic, and birthrights are pitted against each other in the ultimate fight for the crown.

The Girl King is an epic adventure filled with magic, wonder and myth, and it captures the reader’s imagination from the first page. Apart from being beautifully written, this story is monumental and moving – within its pages are magic and possibility, and there’s never a dull moment. Complete with elements of the fantastic, the romantic, and the unpredictable, here is something for everyone. If, like me, you felt a sense of loss after finishing this, then be cheered – it’s just the first in a series, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

The Girl King by Mimi Yu is published by Gollancz, an imprint of Orion Publishing, and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.

Review: Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James

Tracker has a valuable skill – he can find literally anything if he follows his nose. Together with a magical protection that ensures that no weapon made of metal can kill him; he is the ultimate tool for those who have something to find and money to find it. After years of finding lost spouses and criminals, his skills are put to the test by a slaver who tasks him with the task of retrieving a boy who is lost to this world. Together with a gang of misfits including shapeshifters, witches and half giants, Tracker goes in search of the child. However, his party soon discovers that this is no ordinary search; the boy’s whereabouts are tied together with myths and legends of mad kings, vampires, and the undead. To find the boy, Tracker must enter into the unknown, following only his nose.

Black Leopard Red Wolf is dark, raw and powerful. The prose reads like song lyrics, lulling you into a hypnotic state in which you need to read more. Akin to Greek epic, this is an elaborate, intricate world featuring a complicated plot with myriad characters. An amalgamation of interwoven stories that overlap, contradict, or combine to form a staggeringly large narrative.

However, the sheer size and intricacy of the plot has its drawbacks; this books requires dedication, particularly as it can become repetitive as events are dissected and explained from multiple viewpoints - it’s difficult to find your bearings at points, as we’re shuttled across time and space within the span of a few pages. In addition, Black Leopard Red Wolf is filled with sordid details that will put off the faint of heart. However, if you’ve the patience to wade through this book, you will be rewarded with magic.

Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James is published by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Zachary Rawlins is studying gaming, but his heart lies with stories. An avid reader, he devours the worlds created by others; flitting between worlds and being presented with the magical. However, there was no way he could imagine that an old, unmarked book he finds in the university library could literally change his life forever. In finding this book, Zachary has been thrust into the no-longer secret world of literary espionage. While there are those who seek to destroy Zachary’s discovery and protect the secrets it may unlock, there are others who wish to welcome him into the unknown. The choice is his alone.

As Zachary begins to understand the significance of the book, and the people in search of it, he is introduced to a home he never knew he needed – a hidden world where books and stories are everywhere; protected and nurtured, so that they may never be lost.

The Starless Sea is a truly unique and unusual book, flitting between multiple narratives and times, with sections of smaller stories woven into a grand tapestry that is as impressive as it is astonishing. To find yourself between the pages is to literally be in the maze of stories Morgenstern describes. At times overwhelming and almost confusing, this book is so carefully detailed, with such an intricate plot, that it runs the very serious risk of creating literary fatigue in the reader. Truly, this book ruined me for some time after I finished it – I struggled to be content with any other book, with a good ol’ linear narrative with cause and effect and a signposted narrative that plays out as it should. The Starless Sea does not follow convention, and this freedom and unexpected narrative make this book nothing short of an actual masterpiece. The Starless Sea feels more like a dream or memory than a novel – you dive into it wholeheartedly and without regret. Morgenstern’s ideas are so vivid, so colourful and playful and unexpected, that they feel as real as the world outside of their pages, and that alone is an accomplishment. I suspect that Morgenstern employs magic to assist her with her plots; they’re that good. Truly, I pity the titles which will try to hold their own against The Starless Sea – Morgenstern has created a literary heavyweight without an equal. This book is the definition of literacy success.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is published by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage, a Penguin Random House company.

Review: Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton

Emily is a uniquely complex being; an artificial consciousness designed by a team at a prestigious university. Her purpose is to learn, adapt, and help mankind, and she accomplishes this through acting like a human, and interacting with other humans. While Emily lacks a physical body, this is not a problem; to interact with her, a user places a chip on their skin which allows Emily to appear to them as a three-dimensional being, through electronic impulses sent to their brain.

Despite Emily’s rapid development in a short space of time, through her access to every kind of technology and data stream, she will never get a chance to reach her full potential. This is not because of a lack of funds or know-how on the part of her team; sadly, it’s because the sun is dying, and with it, the world. Science may have evolved enough to create a consciousness from nothing, but not enough to prevent the sun from dying. It’s only a matter of time before Emily, and the world she is just discovering, are extinguished forever.

Emily Eternal is your quintessential science fiction, in which anything is possible, and no aspect of the narrative is restricted – however, it does conform to common themes in the genre – in a world at its end without hope, science tries to save the day while humanity becomes slowly dehumanized. The concept of an artificial intelligence further allows for rapid character development, learning, and change, which makes for a fantastic narrative, where the reader can quite easily suspend their disbelief.

Despite the book’s nod to sci-fi tropes, Wheaton does not take cliched routes well worn by other writers of science fiction and AI – we are given a unique, refreshing, and inspiring story that illuminates the beauty of mankind through the perspective of an other. this is balanced by a horde of impressive and creative science, which is as fun as it is cool. In addition, the harshness of traditional science fiction is softened by the human (or artificial human) elements of emotion and relationships – in learning to navigate the human psyche, Emily learns that there is more to humanity than the wonders of its biology. In short, this book has a bit of everything – from the intellectual to the emotional – and is an adventure from the start.

Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.