I must admit, this is one of those novels that will just blow your mind. No phrase describes this book better. Your mind will simply be blown away by this masterpiece of a novel. Based on the fictitious world of Orisha, Children of Blood and Bone is one of the best Scifi novels to every grace the eyes of any reader out there- and this is no exaggeration. Written by 26-year-old African-American writer Tomi Adeyemi, this novel takes you on a rollercoaster of the beautiful and rich culture of Africa condensed into a Scifi novel of only 525 pages. Children of Blood and Bones was published on the 6th of March 2018 and immediately went down into history as one of the best novels to ever be written. So, what makes this Scifi novel such a brilliant piece of art and why does it resonate so much with readers from all over the world?
Beautiful Story
There is no doubt about the beauty of this fabulous story. Set in a fantasy where magic and evil rulers exist, one would be quick to judge this as another fairy tale novel. But as you get deeper; you go through a journey with Zélie, a girl, born into an otherwise forgotten culture of Maji, a magic-wielding lineage. Her family and friends were killed when she was still young leaving her to grow up in absolute fear of their physique and life-long mantle of using their magic for the good of Orisha. As the story progresses, we are introduced to an unlikely alliance between Zélie and Amari, who is the daughter to the king who killed Zélie’s parents. This alliance must be able to help restore the magic to the Maji and consequently bring order, equality, and balance back to the people. So, will these two achieve what they set out to do or will they be ultimately brought down by Inan- Amari’s brother who is hot on their trail and eager to prove himself to his father?
Powerful undertones and high relatability
This is not just an ordinary fantasy adult novel that is telling a beautiful story. This book draws a lot of its inspiration from all the evil going on in the world, sometimes disguised as supremacy and correctness. With a lot of inspiration drawn from the ‘Black Lives Matter Movement’, this book speaks volumes on the need to treat everyone equally despite where they are from, what they look like, what family they were born into, and what the colour of their hair is. In simple terms, just like the world we live in today, the Maji were treated differently purely based on their appearance. This was a hard hit to racism.
Almost Perfect Story Arc
We cannot deny that this story is almost perfect. The arc of both the antagonist and protagonist are so neatly woven together in perfect harmony without the need for unnecessary convenience in the story. Simply put, the plot of this story is so well-structured in a seamless manner that it appeals both to the experienced novelist and a greenhorn just looking for an exciting story.
This is a good story that I would recommend for anyone interested in not only a good, captivating, and exciting story, but also for someone who appreciated writing as a form of art. Tomi Adeyemi does not just pull you into her world, she keeps you there, glued to the very end. The last sentence of this book will leave you yearning for the sequel in the trilogy, ‘Children of Virtue and Vengeance’. It is no wonder that the book already has a film adaptation in the waterworks.