The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna | Book Review

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The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Series: Deathless #1
Published by Delacorta Press on May 1, 2020
Genres: YA Fantasy, LGBT, BIPOC
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Content Warnings: Sexism, Misogyny, Body Horror, Racism, Death, Disownment, Torture, Mutilation, Starvation, Trauma, Sexual Violence, Death of Parent
Rating:

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

The Gilded Ones is the first in the Deathless Trilogy by Namina Forna. Unfortunately, you can also tell this is Forna's debut, as the writing, characters, and pacing seem slightly off. That isn't to say the book is bad (I rated it 3.75 stars), just don't go in expecting a masterpiece.

The story opens with Deka fearing her upcoming blood ceremony, where girls are tested to see if their blood runs red or gold. Red means you are "normal" and can continue living, but gold means you are a demon and must be sentenced to death immediately. Girls are tested once they reach puberty because by that point, their demon blood begins to manifest. Of course, Deka's blood runs gold. I wouldn't say this magic system is particularly new, because special blood exists in multiple fantasy realms, but the execution of it is different.

This gold blood gives the girls greater strength, healing abilities, etc, which makes them a threat to the patriarchy. The commentary on patriarchal systems and the harm it does to everyone is part of the reason I rated The Gilded Ones as high as I did. Women, whether they have red or gold blood, are treated as secondary citizens, with even the men facing retribution if they show any signs of weakness. This is exactly how patriarchy hurts everyone, and Forna does a fantastic job setting this premise up in The Gilded Ones.

On top of this, there is an excellent, complex, and diverse cast from a wide range of ethnicities. Forna flawlessly integrates multiple cultures into one story with her world-building. Furthermore, there is ample queer representation, which isn't uncommon in girl-power type books. Each character was fleshed out, creating a dynamic cast I very quickly connected with. I absolutely loved Britta, a joyful redhead with a great sense of humor, who quickly becomes Deka's best friend. She had me laughing more often than not. 

Furthermore, it's through Britta that menstruation is actually mentioned in the story, more than once, mind you! I don't know about you, but something that always bothers me about books and movies is that menstruation is very rarely ever addressed. This is a real "issue" people with a uterus deal with, and one that should play a role in their story. Unless we are dealing with pre-menstrual children or people with a uterus who have undergone so much trauma, stress, and malnourishment, they no longer menstruate, bleeding once a month is going to pose problems while you try to save the world. Most people with a uterus experience cramps, heavy bleeding, fatigue, moodiness, and increased appetite. Some even run fevers and cramp so badly they have difficulty moving. This is going to affect their ability to save the world! It should be included in the narrative! Forna does just that, without making it something revolting or disturbing. Instead, she normalizes it.

Apart from the demon blood plaguing our main character, we are also dealing with deities and monsters, both good and bad. The Deathshrikes are a consistent threat to our main characters and the main villain in The Gilded Ones. However, the book ends on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader questioning everything they thought they knew.

So why did I say this wasn't a masterpiece? As mentioned previously, there are some pacing issues. It is certainly fast-paced, and I devoured the book in 2 or 3 days, but sometimes the story stuttered in fits and starts. This uneven pacing was jarring at times and even pulled me out of the story.

Furthermore, Deka isn't that lovable of a main character. Sometimes I liked her, and other times she fell into the "chosen one" trope a little too hard. She is selfish and downright dumb at times. I was fairly frustrated with her overall, but her friends made things more bearable. I also have to keep in mind that this is a 16-year-old girl with limited knowledge and experience due to the environment in which she was raised.

The love story also felt out of place. All of a sudden, Deka and Keita were in love, and Keita would do anything to protect her. Yeah, okay, great, but you just met, and you have literally had no interaction with each other. Why are you suddenly deeply in love?

Despite these flaws, I really enjoyed The Gilded Ones and quickly jumped into the sequels, desperate to see where the story was taking us.