Ah, Humanborn. Where to start?
Let’s start with the book itself. Joanna Maciejewska’s Humanborn is a novel following Kaja, war veteren, investigator, and refuser of choosing sides. She lives and works in the wreckage of Dublin in a post-magical-war Ireland. You can see already why this might float my boat, right? Well, a concept isn’t enough. It’s got to be done well.
Folks, this book made me stop playing Tears of the Kingdom for a FULL WEEK while I powered through it (don’t forget I am the world’s slowest reader, even if I am loving a book).
Maciejewska’s Ireland was enthralling. From the tales of how the magic came to be there, to the creatures now living there, to the treaties and alliances and the workings of the magic itself. To the cost of the magic. I hung on every word telling me about this fantastical world. The intrigue as well of the world outside Ireland stuck in the mind, ever present, with hints woven through the book. That alone would have had me entertained for the whole novel, but then there’s the characters.
I already knew that Maciejewska was a bit of a rockstar when it comes to crafting characters, especially ones who you don’t know if you should trust or not. In Humanborn, she takes it up a notch. Kaja herself was wonderful, complex, and faceted, and then she was surrounded by a complete set of allies, enemies, unlikely friends and uneasy colleagues. And there’s extra plus points because Kaja (in my opinion) even smooched the right one.
The story itself was about Kaja and her task to track down the culprits of terror attacks in the city, but it’s much more than that. It’s about Kaja and her journey into the world of the fae, and her ensuing entanglement with them that might end up affecting her a lot more than she might think.
Urg, look, it’s damn good. I don’t want to spoil anything, just read it.
C. Matt Schofield 