I need to give a very big thank you to The Nerd Fam for helping me get an ARC of This Safe Darkness by Alexis Maragold. The moment I read the description, I knew I wanted this one. More and more lately, I’ve been seeking out female main characters with more years of backstory and more nuanced baggage. I was eager to read about an older character with disabilities who had been through divorce. On top of that, I’d heard others getting excited about its unique magic system and worldbuilding. I submitted my name right away, and I’m very glad that I did.

This Safe Darkness officially releases tomorrow, February 17th. It will be available everywhere books are sold, including on Bookshop.org

Summary:

Orelle has spent the entire thirty years of her life underground, where humanity is safe from the sun’s mutating rays. Life in the city is far from perfect, but she’s learned that life is safer if she plays along as a cog in the machine. She still believes that a decade after her divorce, when she’s relegated to the lowest class of society. With her physical limitations, she’s unlikely to survive without a social safety net, whether it comes from loved ones or local government. However, she’ll risk almost anything if it means avoiding the annual Hunt.

Each year, the city drafts ten childless and unwed women to brave the surface. Once above, the women try to fight off the sun-poisoned monsters they know as Sols. Though they name these women Huntresses, everyone knows they’re more like sacrifices. Orelle is more likely to hear her name called with every year that passes, but it’s the fear of hearing her closest friends called that compels her to plan their escape. Unfortunately, that plan goes entirely sideways, beginning the moment that unfiltered sunlight touches Orelle’s exposed skin.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one a lot. It delivered on every front that it promised on. We’ve got an older FMC who makes decisions from that place of greater maturity. She also has trauma in her past that grants the character nuance and gives her a lot of conflicting feelings. Part of her journey is reconciling the person she has become with who she once hoped to be. I love getting to see that in a fantasy setting. I especially love seeing it when it’s something the character is dealing with while also facing an urgent crisis. It increases the relatability, I feel.

Likewise, the disability representation was beautifully done. As a sufferer of chronic migraines myself, it was incredible to watch a fantasy protagonist build in the same kinds of supports I need. It was incredible to see such apt descriptions of the fear around having flare-ups at the worst possible moment. Similarly well portrayed were the complicated emotions that arise when others try to help. The author describes the internal war of resentment and guilt succinctly yet flawlessly. Maragold is very open about her personal experiences with disability. Therefore, I’m not surprised by her ability to capture it, but I am certainly impressed.

During the first third, I was beginning to worry that the story was setting up to have a male savior swoop in on behalf of all the women who had been fighting. If you recognize that same pattern, don’t let similar concerns prevent you from finishing the story. To avoid spoilers, I’ll only say that I’m relieved it went in a different and unforeseen direction.

There are some fun likenesses to The Hunger Games, most notably the highlighted classism, the televised bloodshed, and the resultant voyeurism. The books definitely agree on these fronts. However, this one aims for an older audience and has its own unique and well-developed world. The underground cities and their take on the surface above are fascinating. I’ve also never encountered a solar-powered magic system like this one with such brutal potential consequences. While this novel is capable of standing on its own as a complete story, it is the first installment of a planned series called Sols and Shades. I have no idea what’s coming next for these characters, but I am very excited to find out. This is an extremely promising debut novel. I’ll be looking forward to whatever Alexis Maragold writes next.

Content Warnings: Divorce, SA, Misogyny, Infertility, Disability & Chronic Illness, Gaslighting, Toxic Relationship, Gore, Graphic Depictions of Violence & Injuries, Abandonment, Classism, Human Sacrifice

After I Finished This Safe Darkness

When I finished reading This Safe Darkness, I had a few weeks left before publication of the next ARC on my list. Since my personal TBR pile has grown so enormous (not complaining!) I decided to grab a book from there. I felt like I needed a nonfiction read because it had been a little while. The one I reached for was small, but not light. It’s a compilation of rather brief essays from several remarkable and radical thinkers covering a large and complex topic.

My next review will be for Essays on Civil Disobedience, a collection edited by Bob Blaisdell for Dover Thrift Editions.