Early Review – The Gilded Ones (Deathless, Book 1) by Namina Forna (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: February 9, 2021
ISBN-13 : 978-1984848697
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Deathless series
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 5/5 stars

“Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.”

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Deathless trilogy. I got an ARC of through Amazon Vine for review.

Story (5/5): Deka lives in fear of being found impure, if she bleeds gold instead of red during her purity ceremony she will be found to be part demon and prosecuted as such. The day of Deka’s purity ceremony her village is attacked by vicious monsters and Deka bleeds gold, sending Deka into a cascade of events she never could have predicted..

This was a very well crafted fantasy story. The whole culture of Deka’s world and the monsters that hunt it are very well done. I loved how the story unfolded and the secrets that were revealed about the alaki (near immortals with gold blood). There is a lot of action in here as well and it was very well done.

Characters (5/5): After reading so many epic fantasies in a row it was nice to read a fantasy where we only hear from one POV, Deka’s. She is a very well done character. She starts out pretty timid and is put through more than any character should ever have to go through, but comes out stronger on the other side. The women that surround her and the men chosen as their battle companions are all very well done; they are complex and have a lot of depth to them and were all very entertaining to read about.

Setting (5/5): This is a very well built world that is mainly founded on the mythology/history of the gods that built it. I enjoyed it a lot and am looking forward to seeing where things go in the next book.

Writing Style (5/5): This is incredibly well written; it’s easy to read, moves at a good pace, and has a wonderful blend of an amazing world, intriguing characters, and a well done plot that keeps you guessing. This is just a nice straight-forward fantasy with some interesting elements around mythology and gods. It is a bit darker in tone; the girls are abused (and die a lot) and there is torture and rape (never explicit but discussed).

My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this. I am getting spoiled with great fantasy novels so far this year!! This was an amazingly entertaining and fast-paced fantasy that I really enjoyed a ton. If you love action packed dark fantasy I would definitely give this a read, I loved it and can’t wait for the next book in the series.