sumayyah_t's review against another edition
4.0
Students and followers of the Abrahamic traditions will find this story, in turns, familiar, disturbing, historical, and prophetic.
Begins as a simple love story between Loic and his chosen bride, Satha, but quickly turns into a theological and racial discussion. 4 tribes fight, make peace, and enslave each other, with 1 tribe believing that they have been called to rule over all. The tribal spirits sow war and confusion amongst the people while The Creator tries, almost in vain, to be heard by a lonely few.
Warnings include rape, violence, and child death.
Begins as a simple love story between Loic and his chosen bride, Satha, but quickly turns into a theological and racial discussion. 4 tribes fight, make peace, and enslave each other, with 1 tribe believing that they have been called to rule over all. The tribal spirits sow war and confusion amongst the people while The Creator tries, almost in vain, to be heard by a lonely few.
Warnings include rape, violence, and child death.
apatter7's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this story, I couldn't put the book down. I don't usually read books with religious themes but because I didn't really catch on until the end but the story was really well written and I love the character descriptions and world building.
hi_im_tate's review against another edition
Getting to the part of the book I was excited for took a lot longer than I expected. I did enjoy all of the marriage and wedding parts, but it started to feel like it was being purposely dragged out to have good character development later on. That simply wasn't my cup of tea as a non-romance reader.
indalauryn's review against another edition
5.0
I picked up Wind Follower from the bookstore the last time I was able to go on a book binge. The beautiful cover art is just a taste of the awesome storytelling McDonnell offers here. With her protagonist Satha, she offers a type of heroine we don't often get in fantasy: a dark-skinned, fat Black woman fully aware of her how others see her and experiencing vulnerabilities because of those perceptions.
Due to customs, Satha must marry a wealthy heir, Loic, she does not know and doubts has true feelings for her. However, Loic, who is also the protagonist of the story, falls for her at first sight and despite being younger than her, asks his father to arrange the marriage. They buck custom and enter a full marriage after one week even though they were supposed to wait a year.
Of course, not all is well in the household and enemies conspire to end the happiness Satha and Loic build with each other. However, this is not simply a love story. McDonnell draws from many experiences including the slave trade to build a rich world of gods, demons and humans to tell the story of Satha and Loic.
McDonnell has the flair of Sofia Samatar when it comes to creating a world that draws on traditions and customs from POC and gives the story a very non-Western feel. She also has the talents of N.K. Jemisin when it comes to world building. I wish I had found this in 2007 when it was released but with the surge of Black women writers in fantasy and scifi, hopefully this one is rediscovered.
Due to customs, Satha must marry a wealthy heir, Loic, she does not know and doubts has true feelings for her. However, Loic, who is also the protagonist of the story, falls for her at first sight and despite being younger than her, asks his father to arrange the marriage. They buck custom and enter a full marriage after one week even though they were supposed to wait a year.
Of course, not all is well in the household and enemies conspire to end the happiness Satha and Loic build with each other. However, this is not simply a love story. McDonnell draws from many experiences including the slave trade to build a rich world of gods, demons and humans to tell the story of Satha and Loic.
McDonnell has the flair of Sofia Samatar when it comes to creating a world that draws on traditions and customs from POC and gives the story a very non-Western feel. She also has the talents of N.K. Jemisin when it comes to world building. I wish I had found this in 2007 when it was released but with the surge of Black women writers in fantasy and scifi, hopefully this one is rediscovered.
readermonica's review against another edition
4.0
I'm very happy to say that the beautiful cover that attracted me to this one didn't lead me astray. This was a really good fantasy story with plenty of conflict of human nature, politics, and self discovery. Satha and Loic are characters that I enjoyed seeing come together despite their differences. I think this is one that I may read again. I almost feel as though I read it too quickly. But the ending-well, it wasn't exactly what I expected and it left me a little thrown.
readermonica's review
4.0
I'm very happy to say that the beautiful cover that attracted me to this one didn't lead me astray. This was a really good fantasy story with plenty of conflict of human nature, politics, and self discovery. Satha and Loic are characters that I enjoyed seeing come together despite their differences. I think this is one that I may read again. I almost feel as though I read it too quickly. But the ending-well, it wasn't exactly what I expected and it left me a little thrown.
brownbetty's review
2.0
I chose this book from the library on the basis of I liked the cover: a heuristic which has certainly resulted in many books being read that might not have been otherwise. I like that she's naked, but the impression given isn't one of powerlessness, or sexification.
First off, this book is essentially an examination of the effects of colonialism, and how colonialism also promoted the spread of Christianity-- written by a Black, Christian woman. I was completely unaware of this. Once again, my horizons have been broadened by the book-cover method!
As a story, I think the book works, but I'm not really able to evaluate it purely as a story, because I spent so much time boggling at the theological underpinnings.
"Wind Follower," Ganti said, "if you think the Angleni Good Book is truly the Lost Book, what will you do? [...] And yet, that such a lying and cruel people should have such a loving and near god."
Kaynu pointed to a boat floating toward the river. "Perhaps it is because their god is so near, so giving, and so forgiving that the Angleni are so selfish. Like spoiled children who know their parents love them, they know all things are theirs. They take without asking."
I mean, it would never have occurred to me that white peoples' entitlement complex comes literally from being god's chosen people. I'm trying to be open-minded to this interpretation, but my mind sort of shrinks from it.
Okay, so, putting that aside for a moment, I think the book did suffer somewhat, on a theological level, from trying to tie too many strands together. The story is that of Satha, a poor girl, and her rich but sickly husband, Loic. Satha, when kidnapped, becomes involved in a story where she is clearly cast as Hagar, to her captors' Abraham and Sarah.
Loic, while wandering the wilderness, seems to wander into and out of the role of John the Baptist, Elija, um, Naomi, (I'm not reading too much into this, I swear: when someone says "Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people, and your god, my God," to him, I think I'm justified in making that connection,) Jesus, (he goes around putting peoples' ears back on!) and probably more I've lost track of. (I could make a somewhat sketchier case for St. Peter, too.) The result is a rather mixed metaphor.
First off, this book is essentially an examination of the effects of colonialism, and how colonialism also promoted the spread of Christianity-- written by a Black, Christian woman. I was completely unaware of this. Once again, my horizons have been broadened by the book-cover method!
As a story, I think the book works, but I'm not really able to evaluate it purely as a story, because I spent so much time boggling at the theological underpinnings.
"Wind Follower," Ganti said, "if you think the Angleni Good Book is truly the Lost Book, what will you do? [...] And yet, that such a lying and cruel people should have such a loving and near god."
Kaynu pointed to a boat floating toward the river. "Perhaps it is because their god is so near, so giving, and so forgiving that the Angleni are so selfish. Like spoiled children who know their parents love them, they know all things are theirs. They take without asking."
I mean, it would never have occurred to me that white peoples' entitlement complex comes literally from being god's chosen people. I'm trying to be open-minded to this interpretation, but my mind sort of shrinks from it.
Okay, so, putting that aside for a moment, I think the book did suffer somewhat, on a theological level, from trying to tie too many strands together. The story is that of Satha, a poor girl, and her rich but sickly husband, Loic. Satha, when kidnapped, becomes involved in a story where she is clearly cast as Hagar, to her captors' Abraham and Sarah.
Loic, while wandering the wilderness, seems to wander into and out of the role of John the Baptist, Elija, um, Naomi, (I'm not reading too much into this, I swear: when someone says "Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people, and your god, my God," to him, I think I'm justified in making that connection,) Jesus, (he goes around putting peoples' ears back on!) and probably more I've lost track of. (I could make a somewhat sketchier case for St. Peter, too.) The result is a rather mixed metaphor.
ishmael's review
2.0
While the world-building was interesting, and the core story had great ideas, the blatant Christian allegory didn't capture my interest and felt preachy many times.
But I will never get over how badass that cover is.
But I will never get over how badass that cover is.
More...