Demons and more!

The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna         

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Exciting premise to the story—one that I both loved and hated when I really thought about the society’s racial biases. Only pure bloods are allowed to continue their lives within their villages (even if for women thats along strictly traditional patriarchal lines) The others, those whose blood runs a different colour (gold) when tested are deemed to be descended from so called demons.  This is the Ritual of Purity that happens all over the land of Otera when a girl turns sixteen. If other they are used, abused and killed over and over for the economic value of their golden blood secretions.

This idea of the ‘other’ being sorted out and disposed of raises of course the specter of Gladiators and Roman arena ordeals, the slave markets. I kept thinking Hunger Games, but in Otera the rejects, the racially impure must fight to save the pure. So battle slaves are essentially being trained to save the Chosen ones. You’re being selected out and trained to fight in the arena of life, to save the pure bloods from annihilation, but not enough to be given freedom. The yoke of the powerful and righteous remains on the neck of the impure. Training is brutal.

Several tropes are occurring, the training sequences that produces friendships, the fight against monsters, secrets withheld from the main protagonist, unlooked for abilities springing to the fore, the evil within and without, acceptance, racism, parochialism. Despite all this as I continued to read, I became less engaged.

Naming Forna is an exciting new voice. Reading her introduction gives shape to that.

I am sure The Guilded Ones will be well received by many. I became somewhat disconnected as the tale developed and I’m not sure why.

I do love the cover BTW.

A Random House Children’s ARC via NetGalley 

(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)