Darker by Four by June C.L. Tan

FantasyParanormal

Jul 16

Darker by Four by June CL Tan Book Cover with Publication Information and Star Rating

Synopsis

A vengeful girl. A hollow boy. A missing god.

Rui (POV character) has one goal in mind—honing her magic to avenge her mother’s death. Yiran (POV character) is the black sheep of an illustrious family. The world would be at his feet—had he been born with magic. Nikai (POV character) is a Reaper, serving the Fourth King of Hell. When his master disappears, the underworld begins to crumble…and the human world will be next if the King is not found.

When an accident causes Rui’s power to transfer to Yiran, everything turns upside down. Without her magic, Rui has no tool for vengeance. With it, Yiran finally feels like he belongs. That is, until Rui discovers she might hold the key to the missing death god and strikes a dangerous bargain with another King.

As darkness takes over, three paths intersect in the shadows. And three lives bound by fate must rise against destiny before the barrier between worlds falls and all Hell breaks loose—literally.

*Blurb taken from Goodreads

Review

Characters: Get ready to fall for our three main POV characters! Though the novel has some spotlight POVs thrown in, Rui and Yiran are our prominent FMC and MMC, along with scattered chapters by Nikai. Rui has a fierce drive that comes from a sense of survival. After witnessing the death of her mother, Rui looks out for herself first. She’s loyal to her friends (Zizi and Ada) but will always choose her own life and aspirations first. While this certainly gives her selfish tendencies, Rui has a complexity to her character that softens this individualistic trait. I found her backstory to be ingratiated into her mentality in a manner that became authentic to her growth, as opposed to being primarily used as a plot device. The blossoming intimacy between Zizi and Rui had my heart, and I think it’s a beautiful depiction of a friends-to-lovers trope in a YA novel. It took no time at all to become invested in Rui’s journey.

Our MMC, Yiran, subverts from the typical prep-school (pardon my American comparison) boy and delves into a deeper wound of abandonment and scorn. He undergoes an immense identity crisis due to his black-sheep status, and I rooted for him throughout the novel as he started to come into his own, only to have his future stripped away from him. The kindness in his heart, mixed with his search for companionship and his bitter outlook on the world, makes him incredibly identifiable. By the end of this novel, I truly think Yiran will have the most intriguing path and cannot wait to find out what his story holds. The developing romance between him and Yuki sucked me in while simultaneously driving the plot forward, which is brilliant on behalf of the author. I want all the happiness for him.

Nikai’s chapters are far fewer, but we get another endearing character built on a haunted past and a desire to find his friend. A lot of mystery surrounds Nikai and his forgotten mortal life. I believe his tale throughout the series will be one of friendship and sacrifice. Having his POV did give readers access to Hell, and the alternate view of this story from the side of the afterlife was absolutely fascinating.

So far as secondary characters go, Zizi was brilliant. I adored him and his mischief. It makes complete and total sense that his animal counterpart is a cat, because he’s quite feline himself. Yuki made an appearance halfway through the novel and I need more. Not just because I’m already shipping him and Yiran, but because I can tell he has so much story to give. Even Ash, Ada, Teshin, and Tesha, who aren’t as fleshed out, provide complimentary personalities to our FMC and MMC, and I would like to know more about them.

Craft: Tan has a dynamic way of crafting her prose that drew me in and brought her tale to life. After reading so many books that lacked basic edits, this certainly felt like a novel that had been combed through by editors, and that showcased the author’s talent in her profession. The imagery was visceral, and I could clearly picture all of the characters, including the Revenants and the 10 kings. The rhythm of the reading was aided by the writing, and it was easy to get sucked into the world. These weren’t lyrical prose (think Rebecca Ross or Madeline Miller), but rather an elevated vernacular with imagery-based language that I think will attract teens audiences, and that also makes for a smooth ride for adults.

Plot: What a whirlwind! This is fantasy done RIGHT. We get a main plot (Four has disappeared and the Nothing threatens the world) supplemented by subplots important to each character. Each of the paths explored within this novel are crucial to: 1. The development of the character, 2. The furthering of the main plot, or 3. Both. Between the search for Four, the magical mishap between Rui and Yiran, the existence of hybrids, and more, at no point did this feel overwhelming, redundant, or far-fetched, because it was all built into a spectacular web of storytelling. When I tell you I’m thrilled at the execution here, I’m THRILLED! Were there moments that made me scratch my head (like when Yiran hit a person who had previously been flying, and no one seemed to consider the thing they crashed into might be non-human)? Yes, on a few occasions. I especially wanted to shake Yuri when she wasn’t as concerned as I felt she should be by Zizi’s sudden lack of communication, despite the fact that mages were going missing. But those moments weren’t enough to take away from the threads that Tan wove into her novel. And it makes me certain the rest of the series has a plethora of developed plotlines to follow.

World Build/Magic System: The implementation of Exorcist magic (yangqi) into an urban setting that relies upon the Guild to protect civilians from revenants creates a unique setup. The more I learn about eastern (and in this case specifically, Chinese) magic through novels, the more I can appreciate the various ways qui gets harnessed through storytelling. Tan crafted a fascinating system in which non-normies enroll as cadets at a school that trains those with high levels of yangqi to become Exorcists and combat the revenants. The catch? Revenants are drawn to their power. Which means that a growing discourse on exterminating Exorcists to protect non-magical human populations has become a rising belief amongst normies. Of course, not all magical beings are fans of the Guild, and there exists a separate community that resents them. Beyond this, the 10 ruling kings of Hell combat the invasion of the Nothing as it begins to consume the underworld, furthering the Blight on the mortal realm that creates the Revenants. The circular pattern of conflict derived through the chaos of magic has been so well developed here that I can only applaud Tan’s craft.

Audio: Emily Woo Zeller does a good job of narrating this novel. Her voices for the characters are distinctive and she evokes a good range of emotions in high intensity scenes. However, the choice of a female presenting narrator was an interesting one considering we get far more male presenting characters being portrayed in this story. I do understand that our central character is Rui. But her chapters are equivalent to Yiran’s, and when you add Nikai, it puts the narration into a male-centric zone. (NOT that the storyline is male-centric or overwhelms Rui’s voice). We also have more male secondary characters, and this all took a toll on the execution of the narration.