Reviews

Redemptor, by Jordan Ifueko

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emily_mh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book took everything I loved about Raybearer and made it better. It was once again SO original and so refreshing. I cold never tell where it was going next, but not in a directionless plot kind of way - in a subverting the YA fantasy genre kind of way. I loved Tarisai even more in this instalment: how deeply she loved others, and the way she struggled to make sense of the world yet still tried her utmost to do right by it. This book also improved on something I didn’t like in Raybearer: the time jumps. In this there were far less, so the narrative flowed cohesively.

Redemptor as a book says so much, and I loved each and every theme it delved into. The narrative explores the evils of capitalism. It shows how justice is a marathon and not a sprint; that there must be self-care so that you can continue to contribute. It even illustrates that guilt is not an adequate motive for fighting for justice. This quote on this subject was my favourite from the book:

“Don’t confuse guilt with conviction. Guilt is self-centred, and leads only to destructive obsession. But conviction brings balance - a sense of purpose beyond oneself.”

Redemptor also examines the paradox of sacrificing your values to create a society BASED on your values. It questions what power should look like, and what must be done to achieve that. Overall, I loved that the book challenged the systems that are part-and-parcel of “traditional” (usually white and Western) YA fantasy world-building, namely monarchy and capitalism.

I was initially going to give this book 4.5 stars, not 5. This was because I thought the love triangle was unnecessary and also that I wish Dayo had had more of an active role. But after reading that ending… I knew that nothing less than 5 stars would suffice. It was so satisfying and so well suited. It made me sob MULTIPLE times. It was perfect. Needless to say I can’t wait to see what Ifueko puts out next.

Content Warnings

alindstadtcorbo's review against another edition

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5.0

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

WOW. I absolutely CANNOT BELIEVE how lush, vivid, BRILLIANT (pun intended? Haha)☺️ & teeming with folklore/mythology, brilliant relationships between the characters, whether by found family, friends, lovers (though I must say that I could've done with a little bit more romance, this is one of the very few YA fantasy series out of a very, very many that I've read where I've actually honestly endlessly enjoye this mobdk novel that had little to no main plot line love story/ stories (not that it lacked a main lover or even something of a false love triangle , or other supporting characters dalliances/ romances (def sparks notes vers, lol, but you'll understand when you read

bexwalsh's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sarasbooktalk's review against another edition

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5.0

It took me weeks to listen and pause and reflect in between chapters to comprehend this fantastic story. Raybearer was phenomenal but Redemptor is better.

I can't even put into words how magnificent this was.