(no subject)

[skygiants]

Intisar Khanani's Sunbolt Chronicles is an ongoing fantasy serial which currently consists of Sunbolt (novella) and Memories of Ash (novel.) It stars Hitomi, a Plucky Street Urchin with magical talents; she begins as a bit player in a revolution and subsequently bounces through a rapid succession of plot elements including but not limited to:

- an escape from a sinister dungeon!
- a bond with a life-sucking supernatural individual!
- a mentor with a mysterious past!
- a mission from a phoenix!
- a missing mother with inexplicable motivations!
- a wedding invitation in the middle of a feud in the middle of the desert!
- vampires!
- werewolves!
- tanuki!
- magic school!
- a heist!
- SURPRISE AMNESIA!!!

The series definitely has a protagonist and it definitely has a villain, but otherwise it is structured more or less as A Series Of Interesting Events; Hitomi always has a goal of one sort or another, but she's frequently thrown off-course into other adventures in a way that makes the story feel TV-episodic in a way that novels usually don't. I find it interestingly difficult to predict what's going to happen next. Part of that is because of the serial structure, and the other part of it is --

OK, you know how when you read a novel it is frequently very easy to tell who the thematically important people are going to be, especially love interests, because the author will take a moment to indicate something about their appearance or manner that's interesting, and you're like, ah! We're meant to care about THAT person, they will most likely play some sort of important role later on.

The thing is that pretty much every named character who shows up in the Sunbolt Chronicles gets this treatment. Everyone is important! It's pretty refreshing! This, and the interestingly weird weird structure, and one or two other factors (one and a half whole books in and there has as of yet been no romance!) make it stand out for me from the other present-tense first-person YA which it otherwise resembles.

Comments

[sovay]

The thing is that pretty much every named character who shows up in the Sunbolt Chronicles gets this treatment. Everyone is important! It's pretty refreshing!

That does sound nice.

[skygiants]

I spent the whole first serial being confused because all these clearly important revolutionaries who appeared in the first thirty pages never showed up again by the end of the book (one of them finally showed up again at the end of the second book, which is when I realized that Intisar Khanani is either playing a very long game or just likes having a vast cast of interesting people to throw into play any time she feels like it. I'm cool with either, really!)

[labingi]

Thanks for the review. It sounds like an interesting text. I always like to hear about works that are unconventional.

[skygiants]

Yeah, it was kind of cool to discover! I have no problems with standard narrative structure but it's neat to feel surprised by things.

[frith_in_thorns]

I loved these, especially the second one -- they're so charming! (And actually I've just realised why my brain connects these with the Invisible Library series, which is that they both have those fun meandering plots where it's really enjoyable how unpredicable they are.)

[skygiants]

They really are adorable! And so good-hearted -- the emphasis on Do No Harm in the second book does warm my cockles. I really liked the extremely ethical werewolf guard in Book 2.

(I don't know that I'm familiar with the Invisible Library series! :O)

[frith_in_thorns]

Ooh! These are really adorable books about a LIBRARIAN SPY who works for a SECRET INTERDIMENTIONAL LIBRARY and the main character is casually bi and she has an OVERWHELMINGLY HANDSOME ASSISTANT WHO'S SECRETLY A DRAGON (this isn't very secret to the reader) and she named herself after Irene Adler and also she spends lots of time in steampunk London where there are sneaky sexy Fae and also a Sherlock-Holmes analogue (Irene is quite meta and recognises him as one, while being delighted and becoming BFFs with him) and there are SECRET MISSIONS and PERIL and people walking around in other peoples' skin...

Anyway, book!

[batyatoon]

I need to read the second one! And, er, reread the first, because I've forgotten a lot.

(I've actually met Intisar -- we encountered each other two years running at Chessiecon, but alas I didn't see her this past year. Sweet lady. We bonded over headscarves.)

[skygiants]

I think it was from you that I first heard about her books in your ... last-year year-end reading roundup maybe?