Tuesday, November 12, 2019

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: We Set the Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia




We Set the Dark on Fire is a YA Dystopian Fantasy - the first in a Duology by Tehlor Kay Mejia.  I mention that first and foremost because it's  book without a complete ending really - it's a logical end point, but one that is clearly only the first half of a longer narrative.  So if you don't want to commit to that, you should stay away, as the sequel won't be out till early next year.  That said, if you do decide you might want to commit to that, this is a very solid book that will reward you for that commitment.

It's a story that very much follows a traditional sounding plotline but it takes it in interesting different directions, and executes it rather well.  The book is easily setup in a way that other stories might turn into a hetero romance story, but the book swerves instead into a F-F romance at its center, to go along with a plot featuring racial and class conflict and revolution.  The book is also excellent in showcasing the risks and rewards of those involved in such class conflict, and makes it clear better than most works how the actions aren't black and white, but in shades of gray.  To go along with its excellent character work, that makes We Set the Dark on Fire an excellent first half of the story, if a little brutal in its ending point.


-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary---------------------------------------------------
Legend states that the land of Medio was once watched over by two gods, the Sun God and the Salt God.  The Sun God took two wives, a human one with a great intellect, and a divine one with great beauty.  Alas, the Salt God grew jealous, and after a conflict between the Gods, the Sun God had a wall built around the inside of the Island.  Accordingly in the upper classes of Medio, those in its central and governing city, men take two wives - one trained in the art of managing his household and his business - the Primera - and one trained in the art of beauty and love - the Secunda.  Meanwhile those closest to the wall and beyond it are considered of lower class, being near the cursed land.

Or at least that's the reasoning espoused by the upper class.  But things aren't quite so peaceful and upright in reality.

Daniela "Dani" Vargas is a graduating member of the latest class at the Medio School for Girls, where she has been training to be a Primera for the last few years.  In fact, she's the top of her class, expected to be picked by one of the highest ranked boys to be his wife when she graduates.  But Dani has a secret: she's actually a member of the peasant class by the wall, having entered the School by use of false papers.  If she's ever discovered, she will face the highest penalties of treason for her crimes, which is her greatest fear.  And her secret has been discovered by the resistance/terrorist group La Voz, which wants to use it to blackmail her to act as a spy - an act that could get her killed if discovered.  But Dani just wants to survive, as her parents taught her, and to use her parents' forged papers to make a better life for herself.

Yet when Dani is given a young husband expected to rise high in Medio's governance, one with cruel intentions towards anyone not born of privilege, she can't help but emphathize with La Voz's cause, even if they are blackmailing her.  And then there's her fellow wife, the Secunda Carmen - a girl who at school seemed to absolutely enjoy torturing Dani emotionally at every possible point.  And yet, as Dani tries to figure out how to live in this new life, she can't help but stare at Carmen, beautiful as ever, and who seems a lot different personally than Dani ever thought before.

Between dealing with her secrets, her feelings, and her husband, Dani will soon find herself torn in multiple directions - and the fate of Medio, or at least some of the people she cares about in it, may soon be in her hands....
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Okay wow, that's a hell of a long plot summary - far longer than I usually give for these books.  But there's a lot of setup involved in this book, and I do feel its important to setup to explain what's going on.  It's a setup that very much may sound like many another book/story - the girl from a lower class who pretends to be from an upper class, marries a higher class and then tries to help the lower classes at great personal cost, etc.  Heck, it can kind of sound like a classic Jewish story - the story of Purim, in which a Jewish woman hides her religion to become queen to help her people.  Similarly, the relationship between Dani and her La Voz contact, a grubby boy devoted to the cause, may definitely sound familiar, and in other stories might in fact become romantic.

But the book takes very different directions in these plots, and the story and characters feel really fresh and strong as a result, despite the familiar trappings.  Dani isn't an eager spy, and even as she recognizes the injustices around her, she mainly wants to survive and to justify the risks her parents took in sending her towards what should have been a better life.  And La Voz isn't just a good guy resistance, as Dani points out - their blackmailing and tactics to try and control her aren't exactly those of good guys.  Similarly, Dani's romantic interests don't go towards men, though she's been trained not to have any romantic or sexual interests - and the relationship between her and her fellow wife isn't rivalry for a man, but something else entirely.

Which is not to say this is a book without clear bad guys - there's quite clear oppression by the upper class, and Dani's husband is an utter ass who believes in his own superiority, and his youth only leads him to be far more aggressive and active than his just as bad internally parents.  But Dani's choices whether or not to help La Voz are far more believable here - as you can see quite clearly how she's conflicted even as her choice could be said to be between ignoring evil and trying, at great cost, to help fight it.  It makes for a more interesting story - it may not be a world of total gray, but you can see how one would be just as afraid of a resistance fighting for good as the nobility, and you can see inklings that the resistance could take steps that are beyond the morals one would hope for.

And then there's the romance element of this book.  Dani's romance with Carmen (yes, minor spoiler, but it's kind of impossible to talk about the book without it) is done really damn well, especially for a world in which such relationships are beyond taboo - especially for those in the upper class marital relationship.  It feels incredibly real, as Dani struggles with what these feelings mean and who they're for, and the risks they pose to herself and her secrets.  It really really works.

And this all combines into a hell of a cliffhanger ending, which may break the reader's heart.  It's kind of brutal honestly, and while it's a satisfying stopping point in this story if any, leading to the next stage of the story - and this is a duology, so the remaining book will be the concluding stage - it will make the reader really want to get that next book as soon as possible.  It's not satisfying as a stand alone ending in any way though I must point out, which is why I led this review by making sure you know that some commitment is required.  That said, this is a pretty worthy commitment, I would think.
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