Story: 5/5
Worldview: 2.5/5
I spotted this novel on Instagram when I joined looking for Christian fantasy, and though Daughter of the Sun and Children of the Earth were somewhat marketed as Christian themes, I was left surprised and a bit disappointed.
The Surprise (no spoilers)
From the beginning, I liked the characters and their powers and their struggles as established in Daughter of the Sun. It wasn’t magic, per se, but their power tied to a person’s life. While one protagonist, Solyana, showed a close-knit family that communicated, Pallah’s perspective really hit the heart of how some families can be outwardly pious but rotten within. I can relate to that, and I think that’s there a good amount of the Christian themes fade out.
I do have to mention that the world building and the prose were both beautiful. The world felt alive and full of distinctive characters and politics. And I think there’s where the book started to go off the rails for me a little bit.
The characters, at least those who are good, pray to the sun, moon, and sky (the Celestials) for help. I think it was to mimic the trinity, but God himself said that people will be lost and worship nature. It felt a lot like I was seeing Romans 1:25 play out in front of me:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Romans 1:25, KJV
It’s one thing to mistakenly worship the sun and moon and stars, but when the main character calls on the sun and the sun answers? That’s a whole different thing and it was clear that that was not my God.
I did appreciate that the author made a clear distinction between the “Celestials” and satanic magic (the mother of the earth), but it didn’t serve to help much for me. It’s just making a decision between two bad choices.
My preference is that Christian fantasy should be more allegorical when it comes to including God, like Narnia or even a book I read recently, To Bind Fire. I also don’t like one character kind of being Jesus (save the world as the three in one) when it’s an imperfect character–and not Jesus.
Ratings
Story: 5/5
Worldview: 2.5/5
For story, the plot is extremely well-done. I have my qualms with the worldview biblically. It has some good morals (take care of your friends, love and sacrifice), but the negative overshadowed that for me. Also, at some point, a character is inside an animal, as if the animal has a human consciousness.
Overall Thoughts
I’m intrigued to know what happens at the end of the trilogy. I’m probably just going to look up a summary, though. If you like these books, that’s awesome, I was just expecting something else. Overall: 3.5
Note: a curse word in the novel used as a sarcastic remark (kiss my butt)
If you’re interested in reading rich fantasy with clear biblical themes, check out the Empire of Ash and Song series!
