Scan barcode
A review by the_ya_assassin
Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
5.0
*4.5 stars*
"I suppose you can't help being a saint, any more than I can help being a viper."
WOW! That's all I can say is wow! Somehow, this sequel was even better than the first book. Tarisai has partnered up with Dayo to rule the Aritsar empire. She made a new treaty with the abiku, the dead, to journey to the Underworld and save thousands of sacrificial Redemptor lives. However, she must first anoint a Council of her own, so she is invincible to all 13 deaths and become a full Raybearer. As she starts convincing the other rulers in Aritsar to love her (or the idea of her, as the case may be), she begins to hear and see dead Redemptor children who never returned from the Underworld, demanding her help - the first few months of ruling Aritsar are hard as Tarisai strives to gain the love and support of her realm. Assassination attempts are made on her life as well as a rebellion led by the Crocodile.
With the lives of her family, friends, and citizens at stake, Tarisai fears the pressure and weight of the Raybearer and Empress power she has - and she must figure how to brave it and learn to ask for help from her loved ones before it's too late for her to understand.
In this sequel, Tarisai learns that power is a strange thing - you can make many good things come to pass, but you also have to learn to live with the consequences and backfire from those who disagree with how you are changing things. I saw good improvement in Tarisai's conviction and determination. On the other hand, the side characters (Tarisai's family and council) could've used a little more work though. The worldbuilding was as impeccable as in [b:Raybearer|50158128|Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)|Jordan Ifueko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567330635l/50158128._SX50_SY75_.jpg|70180082] and I deeply enjoyed the story. I hated putting this book down to go do something because it was fully immersive. It's the first fictional world I've been able to read and not think about everything I have to do in this world since May. My one issue with Redemptor was that Tarisai was only in the Underworld for about three chapters.
However, I am deeply grateful to [a:Jordan Ifueko|19119306|Jordan Ifueko|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1567263108p2/19119306.jpg] for writing this duology and I can't recommend it enough. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when/if you decide to pick it up.
"I suppose you can't help being a saint, any more than I can help being a viper."
WOW! That's all I can say is wow! Somehow, this sequel was even better than the first book. Tarisai has partnered up with Dayo to rule the Aritsar empire. She made a new treaty with the abiku, the dead, to journey to the Underworld and save thousands of sacrificial Redemptor lives. However, she must first anoint a Council of her own, so she is invincible to all 13 deaths and become a full Raybearer. As she starts convincing the other rulers in Aritsar to love her (or the idea of her, as the case may be), she begins to hear and see dead Redemptor children who never returned from the Underworld, demanding her help - the first few months of ruling Aritsar are hard as Tarisai strives to gain the love and support of her realm. Assassination attempts are made on her life as well as a rebellion led by the Crocodile.
With the lives of her family, friends, and citizens at stake, Tarisai fears the pressure and weight of the Raybearer and Empress power she has - and she must figure how to brave it and learn to ask for help from her loved ones before it's too late for her to understand.
In this sequel, Tarisai learns that power is a strange thing - you can make many good things come to pass, but you also have to learn to live with the consequences and backfire from those who disagree with how you are changing things. I saw good improvement in Tarisai's conviction and determination. On the other hand, the side characters (Tarisai's family and council) could've used a little more work though. The worldbuilding was as impeccable as in [b:Raybearer|50158128|Raybearer (Raybearer, #1)|Jordan Ifueko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567330635l/50158128._SX50_SY75_.jpg|70180082] and I deeply enjoyed the story. I hated putting this book down to go do something because it was fully immersive. It's the first fictional world I've been able to read and not think about everything I have to do in this world since May. My one issue with Redemptor was that Tarisai was only in the Underworld for about three chapters.
However, I am deeply grateful to [a:Jordan Ifueko|19119306|Jordan Ifueko|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1567263108p2/19119306.jpg] for writing this duology and I can't recommend it enough. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when/if you decide to pick it up.