The Gilded Ones by Namina FornaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Picking this book up from the hold shelf at the White Salmon Library, the librarian told me that this wasn't the first time she'd seen this particular book cross her shelf. As well it shouldn't, given how well-done Namina Forna's debut is, following a lot of the most relevant trends in fantasy with powerful results. Rooted in a world with numerous cultural and ethnic groups that serve as parallels to real ones, protagonist Deka not only faces god-awful racist taunts from white Northerners, but also sees just how quickly her theocratic society turns against her when her blood turns gold and she fails a ritual test of "purity." Blood indicating her magical skills, which to the priests and royal forces, only mark her as serviceable to the Emperor, not as a human with her own strengths and destiny. Forna, in her writing, holds up a sharply critical mirror against our society and all its real, bigoted ills - and unless I'm reading the entries on her Goodreads page wrong, it's only the beginning of what promises to be a trilogy for the ages.
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