Monsters Born and Made

Definitely more of a 3.5.

CW (from the author): blood depiction, death [animal, parent], past description of starvation, chronic illness of a child, parental abuse, fire destruction, panic attack depiction, undiagnosed mental illness depiction, riots/police violence, social violence

Every time I see a new South Asian fantasy debut announced, my heart sings with joy because yes, this is what I'm here for. I wanna support and promote them as much as I can, which naturally also increases my expectations of the book. I guess that's what happened here because despite thinking it was a fun book, it felt a bit unsatisfactory.

I have to begin with saying this book isn't easy going into. The first few chapters take some patience from us readers to navigate this very new world, where we only get bits and pieces of information which we have to piece through to get somewhat of a coherent picture. But it also in a way reflects the fractured kind of world this is - where there is a very rigid caste structure and it's very obvious that our protagonist (whose pov is the only one we get) doesn't really know much about the intricacies of the world the Landers (the higher caste) inhabit though they literally live nearby on the same island. While the writing might have taken a while to impress, the book is pretty fast paced and the action once it starts is relentless, which was entertaining. But the best part were definitely the various kinds of sea monsters we get to meet here. The author describes them in gruesome detail and it was this combo of the way the caste system plays out and the monsters become additional tools of oppression did I feel that the book lives up to its name perfectly.

The characters themselves were not all easy to like. Koral is definitely the most developed here and it was easy to sympathize with her because of everything she has suffered and is still going through and we could understand even when she made impulsive decisions. Her anger was justified because it came from a place of extreme pain and felt visceral at many moments. Her developing bond with her maristag through the Glory Race was also a beautiful thing to watch unfold.

But the other relationships is where the book probably stumbles a bit. Her best friend Crane was fleshed out enough but their interactions always felt like a bit of a push and pull, mostly because they seemed to have different opinions about being part of a rebel group. The slight mistrust and tension seemed understandable though. However, it's her family which I don't think I liked much. They were critical of her every decision, never supportive except maybe a couple of moments, and considering as the one responsible for their doom which was so harsh considering their life and the problems they were already having.

While the Glory Race itself was very exciting to read about, full of action and chases and fight sequences with Koral's life on the line, none of her competitors felt fleshed out either. Judas really felt like he had so much potential and it was wasted. Dorian is most probably going to be the love interest which I'm not currently a fan of because despite his own personal demons, he still belongs to the oppressor class and I feel like his character needs to do a lot more before the romance between them feels comfortable. He also kind of embodies the “grumpy and behaves badly towards the girl but cares for her” trope which I hate.

Overall, I can say that I liked the book as it went on, with the action packed Glory Race in the second half and the climax being the most mind blowing parts of it. It was fascinating to see the whole thing come together in an explosive way towards the end. If you are looking for some great gruesome monsters, an intense competition for survival, and a protagonist who uses her anger and pain to try to make her family's life better, do give this debut a try.