A Spark of White Fire: Book One of the Celestial Trilogy (Celestial Trilogy, #1)

by Sangu Mandanna

Named one of the best 25 space opera books by BookRiot!

The first book in a scifi retelling of the Mahabrahata. When Esmae wins a contest of skill, she sets off events that trigger an inevitable and unwinnable war that pits her against the family she would give anything to return to.

In a universe of capricious gods, dark moons, and kingdoms built on the backs of spaceships, a cursed queen sends her infant daughter away, a jealous uncle steals the throne of Kali from his nephew, and an exiled prince vows to take his crown back.

Raised alone and far away from her home on Kali, Esmae longs to return to her family. When the King of Wychstar offers to gift the unbeatable, sentient warship Titania to a warrior that can win his competition, she sees her way home: she’ll enter the competition, reveal her true identity to the world, and help her famous brother win back the crown of Kali.

It’s a great plan. Until it falls apart.

Inspired by the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian stories, A Spark of White Fire is a lush, sweeping space opera about family, curses, and the endless battle between jealousy and love.

• ISBN10: 1510733787
• ISBN13: 9781510733787
• Publish Date: 27 September 2018 (first published 11 September 2018)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
• Imprint: Sky Pony Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Veronica 🦦]

B | A solid science fiction/fantasy. The worldbuilding was far more compelling than the characters themselves. The romance was unnecessary and just felt forced. Worldbuilding and the ending are what saved this book for me.

So I was browsing through Edelweiss+ to see which books to add to my “to read” list and I stumbled upon A House of Rage and Sorrow which is the yet to be released sequel. After reading the synopsis, I thought it was super interesting so I wanted to give this series a shot. How could I not? A science fiction novel with fantasy elements mixed in? I had to get my hands on the books.

Let me talk about the things I adored first before I go anywhere else.

I am a sucker for good worldbuilding. I admire authors who are able to craft universes with paragraphs because it’s only those kinds of books that I’m really able to escape into. If a book’s worldbuilding is lacking, it means it’s harder for me to be consumed by a book, especially if the characters don’t really compel me.

The worldbuilding in this novel is stunning. It’s beautifully crafted. It was easier to visualize this world - this universe of gods and technology. It was easy to fall into this world and I enjoyed the book for this worldbuilding.

However, I wish I could say the same for the characters. I couldn’t connect with any of them. Although the characters felt like they had weight to them and were well written, I just could not find that click. Yeah, sure, I felt stuff because of the character’s actions, but connect? Not so much.

Still, I can’t deny that I loved how morally grey everything felt. At first, you think it’s an easy black and white story, but as you progress, the lines blur. What is the truth and what is the lie? Are Esmae’s brothers working with her or are they just using her because they see a willing pawn?

Admittedly, I spent 90% of the book annoyed with Esmae. Quite frankly, I dislike characters whose entire existence is about returning to their REAL family. I get it. It’s human to long for family, but if a person’s entire motive is driven by the idea of reuniting with their real family while simultaneously ignoring the people around them who do treat them like family, then I just can’t stand by that.

Esmae wants to help her twin - a twin who doesn’t even know of her existence - win back “his crown”. Help him win back the crown and then she’ll have a family and a home.

Maybe it’s because I couldn’t make a good connection with her, but it just made my eyes roll up skyward that she was so determined to help this stranger - her twin sure, but a stranger nonetheless - win this crown. What has he done that deserves this loyalty?

And what about the family she has with Rama? Is he not family? Or was he just something to pass time and loneliness? From the way she was acting for the majority of the book, it felt like the latter rather than the former and that made me weep.

What saved her for me was the ending. That ending wrecked me in a good way, but I was glad it happened because Esmae needed a wake-up call. She needed to have those rose-tinted glasses of hers ripped from her face.

But don’t take my annoyance with Esmae as me thinking she’s a bad character. No. In fact? I thought she was a fantastic character. I might not have been able to make a connection with her and spent 90% of the book annoyed with her, but she was a well-written character.

I would have given this book a higher rating if it wasn’t for the fact that the romance was just so bad.

It was totally unnecessary and felt forced. It was almost as if it was inserted last minute. I didn’t like it and honestly, this book would have been better without it.

[Jo]

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna is a book I've been excited to read since I first heard of it. An #OwnVoices retelling of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, with complicated family drama, set on kingdoms on ships? Who can resist that?! And it was a very quick, enjoyable read!

Esmae is the forgotten daughter of the former queen of Kali. Sent away moments after her birth due to a curse, Esmae has lived the past 17 years in a foster home. Beloved by the gods, she's not been complete alone; Amba, goddess of war, has taken a shine to her, and visits her regularly. It's because of her she knows who she really is. The twin sister of the exiled Prince Alexi, who had his kingdom taken from him by their jealous uncle. Desperate to rejoin her family, and to see her brother back on his throne, Esmae enters the King of Wychstar's competition to win the indestructible, sentient warship Titania. With Titania, she can reveal who she is, and can help her brother retake his throne. But things aren't quite as black and white as they seem, and the gods have seen a vision of the future; when Esmae enters the competition, she becomes a spark that ignites a fire that burn the world to the ground.

I have to be honest and I was a little put off by the fact that A Spark of White Fire is set in space because, for the most part, I do not like books set in space. It's one of the things that will really put me off a book. However, A Spark of White Fire is sci-fi light; yes, it's set in space, on kingdoms on the back of spaceships, but once on those kingdoms, the story becomes more high fantasy than sci-fi. The world building is fantastic; whole kingdoms on the backs of humongous space ships. Gods who actually make themselves known, who take sides and have visions of the future, who help where they can, but are restricted from actively getting involved because they would become mortal. They have their own myths and legends - ones that are actually true. It's a fully rounded universe that is wonderful to get lost in.

The story itself is full of intrigue and politics that had me hook, line and sinker, with such complicated family dynamics. When Esmae wins the Titania, she decides to return to Kali, her brother's kingdom, and pretend to be on the side of King Elvar, their uncle. There, she can find out her uncle's plans and his weak points, and tell Alexi. She hates him and his son, Prince Max, for what they did to her brother four years ago, when her father died, and stole the throne from him. But things are a lot more complicated than she realises. And these people aren't the bad guys she's expected. King Elvar and Queen Guinne, along with Prince Max, welcome her with open arms, and are genuinely fond of her. She has family for once, she belongs. And it's not quite so simple as King Elvar stealing the throne from her brother - there's history she doesn't know about. But King Elvar is a very frightened and anxious king, and with Lord Selwyn - Queen Guinne's scheming brother who has ambitions of his own - whispering in the king's ear, he is terrified of what Alexi might do, and is always on the verge of committing terrible atrocities. It's only Prince Max who seems to be able to reason with his father - a father who keeps unintentionally reminding him that he's not actually his son, but adopted; isn't his blood and isn't a Rey, so isn't quite good enough.

A Spark of White Fire is a very quick read; it's just over 300 pages, but the font is quite big, so I flew through it. And though important things happen, especially at the end, it felt more like a book to set things up; to get to know the characters, the relationships, the histories, all the family drama, and for certain moves to be made that will lead to the second book where things will really get going. I didn't mind this so much, as I really liked the characters. However, because it's such a quick read, there were elements I felt were underdeveloped. As I've said, a number of important things happen, but they're so brief, it almost feels like, on the whole, nothing much does happen. All of these smaller, important things were needed for thatending, but I just wish they were longer - battles, moments of danger, plots and schemes, I wish they were all described in more depth.

But it was still a really enjoyable read, and that ending was explosive! It turned everything on it's head! This whole book was written for that specific ending, so things can really get moving in the second book. However, I do not understand the reasoning that led to that ending. It's not a plot or writing problem, I just don't understand the actions of a specific character. From what we've seen, it's just so out of character. I just don't get it. I kind of want a short story from the perspective of this character of the last few chapters, to understand why. But, well, with gods and their visions, does the why really matter? Yes, things are in flux, actions and choices made by certain people can lead to other possible futures, but those fixed points, eh? You can't avoid them. They are what they are.

A Spark of White Fire was a really enjoyable first book full of family drama, politics, and the promise of war! The second book in the series is going to be epic, I just know it! You need to get reading A Spark of White Fire, because the Celestial Trilogy is not going to be one to miss!

[kalventure]

Re-read in August 2019: I absolutely loved it more the second time, even though I knew it was going to break me and I am a blubbering mess.

"Your arrow was a spark. A spark of fire so hot and white that no one will be able to put it out. And even a spark of fire can consume an entire forest if it can jump from tree to tree...Watch as one act leads to another and then to another after that. Watch the trees pass white flames on. Watch the forest burn."

If you enjoy political intrigue, space operas, complex characters, and amazing worldbuilding A Spark of White Fire is for you! This is one of my most anticipated releases in a year with a large number of young adult releases focused on the politics of rule, and I am happy to say that this book did not disappoint! This is a genre-bending retelling of the Mahabharata that is easily accessible to YA fantasy readers and I cannot wait for you to fall in love with Esmae, Rama, and the rest of these characters!

"Do you like to read?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
This seemed a very foolish question. "Why not?"

This book is told from our heroine Esmae's perspective and is an action packed and fast-paced read that I absolutely devoured. The synopsis of the book is an excellent primer to this story's plot and Esmae's backstory, and in the interest of spoilers I will not be delving deeper into the characters as I typically do; just know that they are each wonderful in their own way and complex.

The kingdom doesn't look like it's built on top of a space station. It looks no different from the kingdoms on planets, which was a deliberate choice to make the first citizens' transition to life on a ship that much easier.

While A Spark of White Fire is set in space, I would classify this book more as fantasy than science fiction. The setting merely sets the stage and adds an interesting dimension to the worldbuilding.

This a world where the gods can form relationships with humans and boons are offered for great feats made. One such boon resulted in the building of a near unstoppable and sentient spaceship named Titania, which will be gifted to the warrior who bests the challenge. Esmae's plan is to win Titania, but when she does she sets down a path the gods have warned her about.

"Mortals make their own choices, and we can't control them, but they inevitably lead themselves to their own fates - their own fixed points. And those points, in time, will happen. One way or another, they will happen. They already have happened."

A running theme of this tale is how much control do we have over our own destiny and being the pawn in a cosmic game in which you (seemingly) have no control. In a world where words uttered by mortals favored by the gods turn into curses, characters are forced to lived with the consequences of another's actions. These are themes that are common in YA fantasy but done so well here as these themes are prevalent in Indian mythology as well; this story reads true to the Indian myths that helped inspire the story.

Excellent worldbuilding that is done throughout the book without ever feeling like an infodump. The world is vast, as are the characters within it, and I absolutely cherished this tale! We all know that I love complex characters, especially villains that are not strictly evil. This is definitely a tale where Esmae's perceptions of people are constantly being challenged by her interactions with those she has villified in her head, and she cares so much for her family and the people of Kali that her feelings come off the page and wiggle their way into my heart. There is also lgbt rep with a side character that I hope we see more of in the rest of the trilogy!

This book is not without its faults. Some readers may be bothered by Esmae's portrayal as "The Chosen One," but in this case for me it didn't bother me since it is common in Indian mythology. I found King Elvar's childlike behavior annoying to the point that it at times ruined my enjoyment of the book. I understand that being a usurper king that is blind and reliant on others would be stressful, particularly when you have a power-hungry ally that uses fear to control the throne and opposition that is beloved by the people; however, throwing tantrums when you are a full-on old man is just uncomfortable.

While I have read the Mahabharata and countless other Indian myths as part of my undergraduate education, this story is not one that requires knowledge of the original myths as the themes fit so well into the young adult sff genre: kingdoms, betrayal, ascension to rule, family politics. Free will versus destiny and every action you take leading you unwittingly toward prophesy. The story is accessible and enjoyable for all, but will be especially enjoyable to those familiar with the source material. As a note, I did struggle a bit with having a main character with the name of Rama because my first association always is with The Ramayana - and considering most of the character names weren't mythology inspired, I found it a little distracting.

Overall I really enjoyed this book: you will find a vast fantasy world inspired by Indian myths with strong and complex characters that are not as they seem, devotion, sacrifice, betrayal. I love when my characters are put through the ringer and come out stronger and I cannot wait for what is in store for them. I am happy to say that the book does not end with a giant cliffhanger. It wraps up some things and sets up others for the next installment and I am excited to see where Mandanna goes next! When I first caught wind of this book earlier this year, I was so excited and I am so pleased to say that it did not disappoint. I hope you give this gem of a book a try because it is wonderful.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me an electronic advanced reader copy of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review. Quotations taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon final publication.

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Sci-fi based on the Mahabharata?! This is everything I never knew that I needed before this moment! Will sell my soul for an arc!