Starborn

It’s a kind of magic

Release Date: OUT NOW!

400 pages | Hardback/ ebook Author: Lucy Hounsom Publisher: Tor

With paranormal

romance and urban fantasy often dominating the shelves, it’s good to have a solid, traditional fantasy to settle down to. And one with a female protagonist is already setting itself up ahead of the curve.

Kyndra is an average girl living an average life in her small town, awaiting the day when she will become an adult and receive her inheritance – the knowledge of her true name and destiny – along with all the young people in her homeland. But a day that should have been full of hope goes tragically wrong and her neighbours turn on her, leaving her to be rescued by two passing strangers, wielders of magic who insist she leaves with them. As Kyndra travels closer to their home of Naris, she learns more of the day/ night magic of the sun and the moon, while flashbacks to a past she never knew keep filling her mind. She’s also being followed by a man her saviours insist is dangerous, but who passes her stories of the third, rarer type of magic – that used by the powerful Starborn.

It’s a solid take on a classic genre, while never quite leaving the zone of comfortable fantasy. Derivative at times and slow to start, Starborn nonetheless develops into a solid, enjoyable tale that probably won’t end quite where you expect. And though you may want to shake Kyndra for her lack of selfawareness about her memories and her powers, she’s still a well- drawn, rounded character you’ll find it easy to root for. Rhian Drinkwater Hounsom researched many subjects, and pored over pictures of burns injuries so she could accurately describe them.