Children of the Sun and Moon
Skyfall, Book #1
By Matt Larkin
ISBN #2940014080163
Author’s website: http://mattlarkin.net/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
I must warn you. If you are a fan of mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves, this is not a book for you, yet you can give it a try. If you are a fan of books like Little Sister or Goa by Kara Dalkey, then you’ll definitely find Children of the Sun and Moon attractive.
The story starts off introducing the readers to two of the key characters of the book. Two girls, Chandi and Ratna, waiting for the ships that are coming back from war, with great anticipation especially if in one of them comes your fiancée. We soon find out that these two girls belong to the Lunars, whom have been in war with the Solars for years. Chandi is happy to know that Anusapati returned well from the war and they can finally get married, but she finds out that her fiancée has been using too much of the Moon Blessings and now is turning into a lunatic.
Chandi, with all the pain of her heat, is ordered by her uncle, the War King, to eliminate him, to later find out that Anusapati killed the Solar Emperor and now her cousin, Ratna, has to marry the new emperor to bring the nations peace. The wedding takes place and Chandi has to stay with her cousin to protect her and spy for the Lunars, while she hides who she really is.
I really liked the title of this book; it caught my attention immediately and I had to find out what the story was about. The first chapter is very detailed letting the reader know where the story is heading to, who our main characters are and what their abilities let them do. But then words start to pop up and I’m stuck wondering what they mean and from what language they’re from. I have to admit that I googled some and found very interesting facts, now I have a little more knowledge. Thankfully, I was glad to hear that the author was planning on adding a glossary to help the readers better understand some of the words they have never come across before. And just like the glossary, the author also includes a map that lets you know the location of the Skyfall Isles.
The author had a great imagination describing the fight scenes; they were detailed to the point where I could see it all happen inside my mind, just like a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon scene, except that it was Chandi vs every guy she cared for. And you could also get different characters’ perspectives, since the book wasn’t just focusing on Chandi. One of the things that bothered me was that the story was just going at a calm pace, I had no rush in getting to the next chapter soon yet they were easy enough to keep reading.
When it was time to calmly tell the story, it was rushed so that I didn’t notice that four days had passed. I would have liked a better description of the Ignis rebellion. At the end of the story it looked like everyone was going to rebel; the weretigers are thinking of it, the Ignis, Lunars and Solars. It makes it sound like the inevitable is coming, a confusion of mixed battle feelings, everyone trying to kill everyone.
One thing I really liked was the characters being true to themselves, they rarely denied anything they had to say or their feelings. It had been a while since I had seen that sincerity in a character. They usually are like “no, that wasn’t me, what are you talking about?”, that it gets monotonous in a story, but not in Children of the Sun and Moon. Direct questions got direct answers and the characters even fought against honor to be with the ones they loved.
The end leaves a door opened to different possibilities for a sequel. I would really like to see or learn more about characters like Ratna, the Stranger, Mahesa, Anusapati, Revati (who I would ask for an interesting turn in the plot). This book was definitely a good read, if you’re interested in this kind of fantasy or for those who really like mythology. And you’ll be glad to know that here is a second on its way, Legacy of Moon and Fire.
