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Trigger warnings—genocide, work camps, death of a family member, discrimination, childhood trauma, some gore
Two warring brother gods rule over the world of Strana in Jessica Rubinkowski’s dynamic debut novel The Bright & the Pale. The Bright God is thought to bring light and warmth to the world where his brother, The Pale God, feeds on suffering. The gods have once again awakened and their champions, imbued with the powers of their patron god, will fight to secure their master’s presence in the world.
The Bright and the Pale earns a spot on my top books for the year. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for fantasy with a dash of romance and a heaping spoonful of vengeance.
Valeria belongs to a guild of thieves run by a woman (Luiza) who raised her alongside Alik. The two of them belong to a group of people, the Zladonians, who the czar has imprisoned in work camps. Should anyone see Val’s white hair, which she must dye to keep hidden, she’d be sent to a camp where she’d labor until death with the rest of her people. This, understandably, has left her with a deep-seeded hatred of the czar. When Luiza offers a chance to overthrow the brutal ruler, Val is all on board. Despite the dangers to herself, she agrees to steal a valuable ore (lovite) with magical properties that might aid the Bright Champion in his fight against the Pale God.
The scheme goes wrong and Val finds herself fleeing for her life. She doesn’t get too far before being approached by a mysterious stranger named Ivan, who tells her Alik, who she previously thought dead, is very much alive. Clinging to this fragile hope that this could be true and that the two of them could reunite, Val agrees to aid Ivan in his mission to mine more lovite.
The book keeps a consistent pace, and I enjoyed Val’s journey from being a self-described coward to a self-confident woman ready to fight for herself, her family, and her people. Her hurt and uncertainty come through as she’s forced to return to her childhood home, a place of great trauma that haunts her dreams.
The secondary cast of characters were not as interesting to me, but I enjoyed the plot and story enough that this really didn’t matter a whole lot. I thought Ivan, aside from Val, was the most compelling character in terms of his story. Like Val, he struggles with visions from his past and claims to seek to redress his wrongs. He serves as a minor villain in many regards. Though he claims to regret his role in harming others, he often acts for selfish reasons and surrenders to the same cowardice that led him down a dark path. Despite this, I often felt sorry for him.
There was a bit of queer representation. Chinua, one of the main characters in the group, confesses an attraction to women. I did like the way this was handled, and I’m really hopeful that this character will receive more love in the following books. Currently, she’s a sympathetic person—kind and helpful—but I didn’t learn much about her other than she doesn’t want to be a concubine because she doesn’t like men. I was kind of like… surely there’s another reason.
I also enjoyed the unique world the author created. There was a lot of interesting lore and mythology peppered throughout. By the end of the story, I found myself questioning the respective roles of both the Pale and the Bright God. But in a good way. I’m eager to discover more about their true goals and motivations in the next book.