The Burning Land

Gyalo Amdo Samchen, a vowed Shaper and follower of the religion known as Âratism, is sent on a mission by the Brethren to cross the Burning Land in search of lost refugees of the same faith. A host of others join him in his travels across a land much harsher than any desert of sorts; the Burning Land is where the god Ârata took himself after battling a great evil, to forever hide from the world in a boundless sleep. What he'll discover—and learn—out in the harsh land is something that will change his life, possibly his faith, forever.

Axane, a Dreamer of the hidden city of Refuge, sees the travelers coming through her mystical powers, and wonders over what it might mean. Their legends speak of an act as such and upon Gyalo's arrival there are whispers of him being the Next Messenger, a man that will take them from one life to another, first through an act of merciless destruction. Axane does not know if this is true. All she knows is that she wants to flee the city that enslaved her mother, run from the marriage she's being forced into by her father, escape everything that frightens her. Soon, she'll have her chance.

Essentially, The Burning Land is about religion. Âratism is the foundation of everything, and there are many similarities to the faiths of our time and world: the Way of Ârata sees things further than just as a fight between "good" and "evil." It explores the human soul, twisting it and testing it with each action. Shapers are monk-like, devoting themselves to the cause and secluding their lives away from women and marriage. Dreamers suffer through both pleasant and terrible dreams, each one bringing outcomes of their intent, respectively.

As a coming-of-age tale, Gyalo goes through some severe and dramatic changes. Granted, I didn't picture him too young to begin with, but that's through my own ignorance. His faith is tested, his very well purpose of living thrown aside while he is forced to do what he has sworn to never do. The life of a Shaper is never shown more clearly than through Gyalo and his beliefs. That said, I found Axane and her sections to be more of an interesting read; the city of Recluse is hidden from the world, and they know no more than their own boundaries. A certain scene involving the House of Dreamers is quite effective, showing just how much the people there value their religion and to what extent they'll go to prove it.

Shapers have the power to create, transform, and manipulate solid matter. With an ability as such, anything could be done. Need more food or water? Turn that sand or rock into it. Need a large object moved? Just flatten it and send it off. Unfortunately, Âratism does not allow such freedom amongst its users and forces all Shapers to be tethered by a drug called manita. I enjoyed this aspect of Shapers, that they all are powerful through simple training but must be control by a drug that weakens their senses.

Action-wise, there are no sword fights or sweeping dragons or large-scale battles of momentous acclaim. Instead, we have tension building all the way to the end of the novel, where, unstoppably, a small army sets out to destroy Refuge. It is in these last pages that we see some spectacular events, ones that make me want to dive into The Awakened City, The Burning Land's sequel, with zest.

I can't help but gush over The Burning Land by Victoria Strauss; it does everything right that I've been wanting in a fantasy novel as of late, and all without resorting to the nasty clichés of the genre. Sure, there are a few within, such as an unneeded prologue and an ancient war, but with so much else to offer the book is sure to win over any number of readers.