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Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated Beasts Made of Night in Books

Jan 13, 2018

Beasts Made of Night

Tochi Onyebuchi | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

5.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received a free ARC of this book from FirstToRead.com for an unbiased opinion.

Tochi Onyebuchi's debut novel definitely shows a balance of light and dark in all it's themes.

The story is of a city ruled by a royal family, their top advisers called Mages. The Mages use children called "aki" to literally eat the sins of others, the sins branding their skin like tattoos after they've consumed them. The main character, Taj, is a cocky teenage aki who is desperate to provide for the family he was forced to leave behind. After defeating a sin-beast of the King's, he finds himself in the employment of the royal family. Unlike most aki, his tattoos never fade and almost all of his skin is branded from one sin or the next.

I felt like the story was very interesting. The different classes within the city, as well as the different characters within each class were well developed. Around half way through the book, the ability to put it down went out the window...I had to see how things ended...

And then they didn't.

I'm not sure if Onyebuchi's plan is to write a second book, or if we, as readers, are meant to decide for ourselves what the future of Kos is. What still lies ahead for the city, the palace, the aki, Taj. I suppose either is an option. But I, personally, like a strong ending, and leaving off where it did left me feeling wronged as a reader. I really enjoyed the book until that.