Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani is a fast-moving tale of adventure and escape. The heroine, Hitomi, is a member of the Shadow Conspiracy, a group dedicated to overthrowing the Arch Mage Wilhelm Blackflame and bringing peace back to her home. She is also an unregistered and (officially) untrained magic-user, which is very much against the law. An attempt to help prisoners escape leads to her being captured, learning secrets, and having to find her way in a place far from home.
Khanani writes a tale full of twists and turns, bringing in multiple elements. Not only are the humans of Karolene multi-cultural, something still entirely too rare in fantasy fiction, there are non-humans in the mix as well, and they, too, have their plans in motion. Although there were a couple of moments that reminded me strongly of Robin McKinley’s Sunshine, Khanini takes Sunbolt off on its own direction. It is a gripping tale; I read it in one sitting because I wanted to know what happened next.
Karolene, the setting for much of the tale, is a multi-cultural, colorful world. Khanani has created an alternate world that leans far more heavily on India than on the more standard European medieval setting. It is a colorful land, and Khanani makes it clear why Hitomi loves it and wants so badly to see it free again.
Sunbolt is very much a first installment of The Sunbolt Chronicles. It ends before any of the many threads begin to pull together and with only one problem partially solved. I look forward to the continuation of the story in Memories of Ash. Sunbolt is recommended to fans of fast-moving fantasy adventures.
Sunbolt is available now:
Just wanted to say thank you for this fantastic review–I am so honored that you enjoyed Sunbolt so much! It was great fun to write (some of those twists took me by surprise), and I especially enjoyed developing Hitomi’s world. Thanks again!
Any ETA on the sequel? I’ll definitely be watching for it!
I’m really hoping for an August / September release, but I don’t have a definitive release date yet! If you’re interested, you can join my Early Reviewers mailing list to find out about eARCs when they’re available. 😉 The sign-up form is on my website under the “Books” tab. Thanks again!
I’ll do just that!