Heir
by Sabaa Tahir
High School    Putnam    512 pp.
10/24    9780593616949    $21.99
e-book ed.  9780593616956    $10.99

This epic-length fantasy novel (the start of a new duology set in the world of An Ember in the Ashes and sequels) follows three disparate characters: Aiz, who fails to assassinate her oppressor and is taken to prison along with fellow religious devotees of Mother Div; Quil, heir to the throne, whose empire is falling to invaders and who has been sent to fetch a secret weapon; and Sirsha, a magical tracker who takes a job to find a killer. Sirsha and Quil’s paths intersect first; they flee a besieged city together, and a blood oath that binds them magically to each other becomes the only thing protecting Sirsha from execution. Meanwhile, Aiz (whom Quil loved in the past but now believes to be dead) has a connection with Mother Div that drives the rest of the story in ways the author judiciously pieces out. The sweep of the narrative is vast and sustains its tension well even over multiple shifts in point of view, greatly aided by the luscious sexual tension between Quil and Sirsha. Aiz’s journey from scrappy underdog hero to portentously tyrannical antihero will take readers on quite a ride. This impressively constructed novel ends with its characters in a predicament, setting up a challenge for a sequel to resolve.

From the ">January/February 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.