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merricats_cuppa_tea's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For a Prequel starting off a new series this packed a lot. It gave you just enough of a taste of these characters and this world to leave you wanting and begging for more. This is the first book I’ve had a chance to read from this author and with this upcoming series I can promise you it will not be my last. I am hooked on these characters and can’t wait to see where this series goes!
michellehogmire's review
4.0
Review originally published here at Reedsy Discovery: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/land-of-perpetual-night-miri-golden?fbclid=IwAR0gWN8G_roRbUQHap6xS2mZyyW-vip-weIt3bZ2-LJ6hPfKOxww5Fyvvak
First-Tracker Troa Travay must choose between the law and what's right in this epic fantasy prequel about close friends and corrupt rulers.
To obey the law or not to obey the law? In Miri Golden's Land of Perpetual Night, main character First-Tracker Troa Travay takes a stab at answering this tough question--sometimes literally. Troa is from the Shinador Region, a poor area of the Sideerian Empire, full of wilderness and working-class folks called LowCastes; her heritage is Erridian, a LowCaste lineage identified by a lack of ear piercings, shoulder spots, and--at least, in Troa's case--deadly retractable claws. Not to be outdone by her nature-worshipping grandmother who sabotaged industrial mines or her powerful mother, Captain Shekyvah Travay, Troa aspires to be the best ranger and cadet leader she can be. She spends virtually all her free time studying law, to the point that she can cite codes from memory by number and paragraph.
Flanked by a lawless land called The Bales to the South and wealthier provinces of Second and HighCastes to the North, Shinador is a region plagued by traveling mercenaries and traffickers. This is where units (like Troa's Cedar Squad) come in handy. Cedar Squad--Troa, plus sensitive Benn, tempestuous Sera, and determined Omi--has an excellent track record when it comes to competence, including an impressive capture of smugglers attempting to bring the dangerously addictive drug malilio across the border. Unfortunately for Troa and her friends, the line between right and wrong is about to become much more difficult to parse.
Troa's mother, Shekyvah, has always been everyone's law-enforcement role model; so when Troa overhears her mother organizing an assassination attempt on Shinador's Governor Kienu, her entire life is upended. Especially because Troa just fooled around with a guy who turned out to be the very same Governor Kienu, in disguise. Embroiled in this absolute mess from all sides, what's an aggressively law-abiding ranger to do? Luckily for the reader, this book is a prequel to an upcoming trilogy, so we'll have more time to find out.
Author Miri Golden deftly constructs an intricate epic fantasy world, with the rest of the novel moving everywhere from the majestic capital city Aukgar, to the tiny forgotten villages Forlivo and Uzzar--not to mention the magic, conspiracy, corruption, and shocking revelations her characters encounter and uncover along the way. It's easy to root for these well-crafted characters, whose delightful witty banter of made-up words reminded me of the cast of Firefly (my favorite term definitely being "shrike," an alternative for a certain familiar four-letter word). The book is also an intelligent exploration of class. Troa (and her friends and family) struggle at the bottom and face discrimination, while the Radiant HighCaste rulers get it all. And above everything looms the Divine Order of magical Consortium Magi and the Olbra--the immortal regents of the Makers (gods). Miri Golden ends this prequel with her characters on the precipice of a seemingly impossible journey; I have no doubt that they'll surmount the challenge, but I can't wait to see how.
I'd be remiss if I didn't end this review by thanking both Reedsy and the author, for allowing me extended time to finish this piece due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In retrospect, I'm grateful that I got to spend the beginning of my quarantine in the Land of Perpetual Night with Troa. Fiercely strong, resilient, adaptable, and able to stand up to leaders when they prove to be failures--I'd say she's exactly the hero we need right now.
First-Tracker Troa Travay must choose between the law and what's right in this epic fantasy prequel about close friends and corrupt rulers.
To obey the law or not to obey the law? In Miri Golden's Land of Perpetual Night, main character First-Tracker Troa Travay takes a stab at answering this tough question--sometimes literally. Troa is from the Shinador Region, a poor area of the Sideerian Empire, full of wilderness and working-class folks called LowCastes; her heritage is Erridian, a LowCaste lineage identified by a lack of ear piercings, shoulder spots, and--at least, in Troa's case--deadly retractable claws. Not to be outdone by her nature-worshipping grandmother who sabotaged industrial mines or her powerful mother, Captain Shekyvah Travay, Troa aspires to be the best ranger and cadet leader she can be. She spends virtually all her free time studying law, to the point that she can cite codes from memory by number and paragraph.
Flanked by a lawless land called The Bales to the South and wealthier provinces of Second and HighCastes to the North, Shinador is a region plagued by traveling mercenaries and traffickers. This is where units (like Troa's Cedar Squad) come in handy. Cedar Squad--Troa, plus sensitive Benn, tempestuous Sera, and determined Omi--has an excellent track record when it comes to competence, including an impressive capture of smugglers attempting to bring the dangerously addictive drug malilio across the border. Unfortunately for Troa and her friends, the line between right and wrong is about to become much more difficult to parse.
Troa's mother, Shekyvah, has always been everyone's law-enforcement role model; so when Troa overhears her mother organizing an assassination attempt on Shinador's Governor Kienu, her entire life is upended. Especially because Troa just fooled around with a guy who turned out to be the very same Governor Kienu, in disguise. Embroiled in this absolute mess from all sides, what's an aggressively law-abiding ranger to do? Luckily for the reader, this book is a prequel to an upcoming trilogy, so we'll have more time to find out.
Author Miri Golden deftly constructs an intricate epic fantasy world, with the rest of the novel moving everywhere from the majestic capital city Aukgar, to the tiny forgotten villages Forlivo and Uzzar--not to mention the magic, conspiracy, corruption, and shocking revelations her characters encounter and uncover along the way. It's easy to root for these well-crafted characters, whose delightful witty banter of made-up words reminded me of the cast of Firefly (my favorite term definitely being "shrike," an alternative for a certain familiar four-letter word). The book is also an intelligent exploration of class. Troa (and her friends and family) struggle at the bottom and face discrimination, while the Radiant HighCaste rulers get it all. And above everything looms the Divine Order of magical Consortium Magi and the Olbra--the immortal regents of the Makers (gods). Miri Golden ends this prequel with her characters on the precipice of a seemingly impossible journey; I have no doubt that they'll surmount the challenge, but I can't wait to see how.
I'd be remiss if I didn't end this review by thanking both Reedsy and the author, for allowing me extended time to finish this piece due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In retrospect, I'm grateful that I got to spend the beginning of my quarantine in the Land of Perpetual Night with Troa. Fiercely strong, resilient, adaptable, and able to stand up to leaders when they prove to be failures--I'd say she's exactly the hero we need right now.
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