Fiction Reviews
The Sun Blessed Prince
(2025) Lindsey Byrd, Tor, £22, hrdbk, 421pp, ISBN 978-1-035-04690-4
In two kingdoms engaged in a centuries old war for which neither has any record of the origins, the opposing kingdoms both have two unique weapons. There are men and women able to heal by touch, even to the point of ability to resurrect the dead. They are called givers.
There are also the Takers, who can kill by mere touch.
Prince Elician is a giver, while the man sent to assassinate him, nicknamed Cat (his true identity is revealed later but mentioning it HERE would be a plot spoiler), is a Taker, unaware that his target is giver-healer and immune to his touch. The men bond in trying to solve the mystery of why a killer was set on a royal who cannot die. They uncover a conspiracy that could tear both kingdoms apart.
The world building and complexities of how the life and death bearers operate is very well realized but the overall plot has many weakening flaws.
The back cover blurb seems to promise the two gifted figures will end up falling in love, creating a gay relationship between life and death. Though they do briefly share a night together, the characters are then quickly separated until near the end of the book. Elician is captured and imprisoned by the enemy, kept in a cell facing torture and tests of his gifts for much of the narrative. Cat gets a stronger story arc. Though officially a prisoner of war following his assassination attempt, he is allowed to move around freely and interact with other takers and givers, as he tries to work out where Elician is being held, who is behind the over-complex conspiracy and develops a friendship with trainee giver, Fen.
There are frequent warning reminders that the super-powered beings must use their gifts discreetly or there will be a terrible price to pay from Death herself (who Cat briefly sees). Given that Elician keeps resurrecting his best friend, Lio, who dies more often than Kenny in the South Park cartoons, this promised threat never materialises. Lio has little to do in the story beyond needing constant posthumous rescue.
Elician falls foul of a psychotic young prince who behaves much like Joffrey in the George R. R. Martin Song Of Ice and Fire saga. Much is teased but never happens. There are also times when events seem missed out. I read back thinking I’d missed something a few times. Elician seems to be mesmerised by Cat and falling in love with him. The next thing is they are waking up in each other’s arms, life and death, prisoner and escort. There is no indication of the roots or intensity of the passion and love or first kiss and embrace shared.
Cat proves uniquely capable among his kind of killing just by thought, not necessarily by touch. Later, out of nowhere, Elician proves able to do likewise in finding and regenerating the deceased.
There are lot of impressive set ups that never get closure or delivery. Given the serious drama and war going on, everything moves at a very pedestrian pace.
Arthur Chappell
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