SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker: https://t.co/OBsiLha2cF
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) February 24, 2022
Short Review: 9.5 out of 10
1/3
Short Review (cont): When half British Reaper/half Japanese Shinigami Ren flees Britain for Japan in search of a home, she is given a test to join the service of the Japanese death goddess that tests just how far she is willing to go to find a home. Incredible & Devastating
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) February 24, 2022
2/3
The Keeper of Night is the debut novel by author Kylie Lee Baker and the first in a new YA Fantasy Duology. The story features leans heavily into Japanese mythology, but features a protagonist who is half-English and half-Japanese, a (grim) reaper/shinigami who finds herself an outcast in England and flees to Japan to hopefully find a place she can be at home. The story thus features a couple of elements that I've seen before and enjoyed - issues of mixed racial heritage and finding a place for oneself, shinigami/death-gods/reapers, the Japanese mythological elements - although I'm not sure I'd seen the combination together before or in a long while.
And The Keeper of Night makes a tremendous impact with them, as it follows protagonist Ren as she decides to do anything it takes in order to find a place at home with the Japanese shinigami, even as that path takes her down darker and darker places, and causes a rift between her and her beloved half-brother, the Reaper who followed her to Japan. It hits hard the feelings that come from being abused for how one is born, for not fitting in whether by being half-blooded or something else, and how that can drive one to dark places, and features a plot and world that is highly engaging and goes in some places I definitely did not expect. And it ends with an ending that left me stunned and desperate to read the sequel. So yeah, this is a winner, and I'm gonna give serious consideration to this for my Lodestar Ballot.
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Ren knows she is not a good person, and that if heaven or hell exist, she's probably going to hell. But it's not for the reason that others think: that she is unworthy because of her half-Japanese heritage. Ren was brought up by her British Reaper father to be Reaper, the followers of the British Death God who reap the souls of mortals, but has never been able to gain acceptance among the other Reapers for no reason other than her half-Shinigami heritage. The only one who cares for Ren is her half-brother Neven, whose pure Reaper heritage isn't helped by the fact that he's a kind caring boy without an interest in killing or doing harm. And so Ren can only try to fit in and endure the abuse and bullying from the other reapers, taking what pleasure she can in messing with humans as she takes their souls.
Until one day, Ren loses control of the Shinigami-side of her powers and harms the pureblooded reapers bullying her. In danger of being tortured, killed or worse, Ren flees London with Neven at her side, in hopes of reaching the land of her unknown mother, Japan, where she might better fit in.
But Japan is a land Ren only knows from stories and books, and though she's taught herself the language and some of its culture, it is far different than what she thinks. And the Japanese Goddess of Death and her Shinigami aren't so eager to welcome Ren and Neven into their ranks....not without Ren passing a test first. But that test will challenge the limits of Ren's abilities and morals, and force her to consider: how far is she willing to go to fit and find a place for herself, and will the result be worth the cost in the end?
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The Keeper of Night is the story of Ren, a girl who has grown up a shitty situation to say the least - always diminished by other Reapers of her age, as well as by the older Reapers who are just as prejudiced, just because of her being half Japanese/Shinigami. Ren is technically around 200 years old, but reapers have much longer lifespans and grow accordingly, so her maturity and actions are like those of a teenager/young adult - so not only is she seemingly barred from advancing into higher reaper society by her heritage, she's had to deal with bullying and abuse for a hundred plus years, all the while her father and stepmother refuse to anything to support her.
It should be no surprise then that Ren has grown into a prickly "young woman" as a reaper - taking pleasure in being mean to the humans she reaps and being absolutely willing to harm people for her own selfish purposes...as long as that harm won't result in pain to herself and perhaps Neven, the only person she cares for. Ren isn't completely a sociopath as she has an understanding of morals and feels bad for various people....but she has suffered so often that those things often feel secondary to her own hurts and wants. And what those wants really are is a place she can belong, a place she won't just be "half-Japanese/Shinigami" or won't be a "foreigner", but will be accepted as a valued person in her own right for who she is.
And so Ren repeatedly takes actions and makes comments which hurt those around her, especially Neven and the mysterious wannabe Shinigami Hiro who Ren encounters. Neven is Ren's half-brother, being full-blooded Reaper, but he is in his own way just as much an outsider even in London because of his kindness and caring and morals that prevent him from taking souls as a reaper should. He cares and he loves and he accompanies Ren because - while she would rather he stay behind for his own safety - he cares for her safety (and knows there's little place for him in Reaper society anyway). And when they get to Japan, Neven is now even more of an outsider than Ren is - obviously foreign, not speaking the language - and Ren just cannot understand now that what she felt before is now felt by Neven, which is painful to read but very believable. From Neven's point of view, the fact that Ren is also a Reaper, and thus is not wholly Japanese, isn't a negative trait and connects the two of them, but Ren can only see that as the part of herself that once caused her pain.
The Keeper of Night is the story of Ren, a girl who has grown up a shitty situation to say the least - always diminished by other Reapers of her age, as well as by the older Reapers who are just as prejudiced, just because of her being half Japanese/Shinigami. Ren is technically around 200 years old, but reapers have much longer lifespans and grow accordingly, so her maturity and actions are like those of a teenager/young adult - so not only is she seemingly barred from advancing into higher reaper society by her heritage, she's had to deal with bullying and abuse for a hundred plus years, all the while her father and stepmother refuse to anything to support her.
It should be no surprise then that Ren has grown into a prickly "young woman" as a reaper - taking pleasure in being mean to the humans she reaps and being absolutely willing to harm people for her own selfish purposes...as long as that harm won't result in pain to herself and perhaps Neven, the only person she cares for. Ren isn't completely a sociopath as she has an understanding of morals and feels bad for various people....but she has suffered so often that those things often feel secondary to her own hurts and wants. And what those wants really are is a place she can belong, a place she won't just be "half-Japanese/Shinigami" or won't be a "foreigner", but will be accepted as a valued person in her own right for who she is.
And so Ren repeatedly takes actions and makes comments which hurt those around her, especially Neven and the mysterious wannabe Shinigami Hiro who Ren encounters. Neven is Ren's half-brother, being full-blooded Reaper, but he is in his own way just as much an outsider even in London because of his kindness and caring and morals that prevent him from taking souls as a reaper should. He cares and he loves and he accompanies Ren because - while she would rather he stay behind for his own safety - he cares for her safety (and knows there's little place for him in Reaper society anyway). And when they get to Japan, Neven is now even more of an outsider than Ren is - obviously foreign, not speaking the language - and Ren just cannot understand now that what she felt before is now felt by Neven, which is painful to read but very believable. From Neven's point of view, the fact that Ren is also a Reaper, and thus is not wholly Japanese, isn't a negative trait and connects the two of them, but Ren can only see that as the part of herself that once caused her pain.
And then there's Hiro the strange man with powers over water who wishes to be let back into the Shinigami, but is clearly holding back secrets, who Ren finds herself trusting and feeling feelings for, even as he tries to protect her from certain acts....because well he seems the only one willing to treat her as someone who should be Shinigami. He's also possibly the weakest part of the story, as the story tries to throw in a romance between him and Ren that you'll see coming but doesn't really get any development enough to actually work, so it does feel a bit half baked. Still, he's a highly interesting complement and it's easy to see why Ren would find his attitude appealing and relatable, in him being another outcast, but one who knows this world she cares for.
These trio form our main characters as Ren winds up dealing with a quest requiring her to hunt down various Japanese Youkai in order to gain acceptance by the Death god in Japan, Izanami. I recognized most of the Youkai included, which I think is more a testament to my own reading than this book necessarily using the most well known figures from Japanese myth (but I wouldn't really be able to tell). And this plot works really well to keep throwing Ren into situations that force her to choose between her own desires of finding acceptance through any means necessary and taking actions that she knows should be wrong....and that Neven insists are wrong and that clearly causes him pain, something that hurts Ren to see.
These trio form our main characters as Ren winds up dealing with a quest requiring her to hunt down various Japanese Youkai in order to gain acceptance by the Death god in Japan, Izanami. I recognized most of the Youkai included, which I think is more a testament to my own reading than this book necessarily using the most well known figures from Japanese myth (but I wouldn't really be able to tell). And this plot works really well to keep throwing Ren into situations that force her to choose between her own desires of finding acceptance through any means necessary and taking actions that she knows should be wrong....and that Neven insists are wrong and that clearly causes him pain, something that hurts Ren to see.
The usual way these stories work is that the protagonist gets to the point where she's asked to make one final horrible choice, and she decides that that is too far, and finds another way that doesn't compromise her. Without spoiling anything.....this is NOT that story, and what happens instead will make you gasp in shock (and possible other emotions). It's just a hell of a story.
I've skipped over some of the interesting elements of the worldbuilding in my review above too, like how the British Reapers have control of Time while the Japanese Shinigami have control of fire and light, and it's only through the combination that Ren is able to succeed so often - a metaphor Ren doesn't quite recognize for what it is. But anyhow, if I haven't made it clear, this is a very very good YA Fantasy story that I will likely nominate for the Lodestar Award, and I definitely recommend it.
I've skipped over some of the interesting elements of the worldbuilding in my review above too, like how the British Reapers have control of Time while the Japanese Shinigami have control of fire and light, and it's only through the combination that Ren is able to succeed so often - a metaphor Ren doesn't quite recognize for what it is. But anyhow, if I haven't made it clear, this is a very very good YA Fantasy story that I will likely nominate for the Lodestar Award, and I definitely recommend it.
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