Excellent prose and brilliant concept. I also really loved the subjects tackled in this book, as there were some really important ones. That's always so good to see. The complex timeline change was just unfortunately a bit too much for my little brain, and made the reading process overall not very cohesive.

"The Saint of Bright Doors" by Vajra Chandrasekera offers a unique and imaginative take on the speculative fiction genre, but it left me with mixed feelings.

Chandrasekera's prose is undeniably skillful, painting a vivid and surreal world that's a mesmerizing blend of science fiction and mythology. The narrative takes unexpected and often bewildering turns, making it a challenging but intellectually stimulating read.

One of the book's strengths is its exploration of complex themes, such as identity, consciousness, and the boundaries of reality. However, these themes sometimes become so abstract and convoluted that they obscure the story's emotional depth, making it difficult to connect with the characters on a personal level.

The fragmented narrative style, while intriguing, can also be disorienting, making it challenging to follow the plot cohesively. The story's non-linear structure adds to the sense of disconnection and can leave readers feeling somewhat detached from the characters' journeys.

"The Saint of Bright Doors" is a novel that demands patience and a willingness to grapple with its abstract concepts. While it offers a unique and thought-provoking reading experience, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you're a fan of experimental and cerebral speculative fiction, it's worth giving this book a try, but be prepared for a challenging and occasionally bewildering journey.

❥ 2 stars ☆

❝Behind every bright door is a world full of lost hearts. It matters.❞

I wanted to like this book because it seemed to be an interesting story about the mysterious bright doors and what they mean.

The book also has LGBTQ representation and brings up real topics and problems that exist in our world; like politics, religion, different countries and areas, different people and castes, LGBTQ relationships and homophobia, abuse and trauma, gods and saints and devils, magic, life and death, sickness and quarantines, etc.

Fetter was raised by his mother to be an assassin who was supposed to kill his father, who is seen as a god by many. But as Fetter gets older he escapes and moves away from his mother to a big city and he realises what an abusive upbringing he had and that he doesn’t have to be a killer or follow any of his mother’s beliefs that she taught him.

Fetter doesn’t have a shadow which is very interesting because that’s obviously not something you have heard of before, and he also sees any spirits and devils that may exist around him which is an ability that even his mother didn’t have.

While the book gives a lot of information it felt slow-paced, and even with all of the information it sometimes felt like information was missing or that the whole story should have been longer so it could have been told properly without giving the feeling of missing details or that the story was cut short.

The ending was a bit confusing and felt rushed so I didn’t really understand what happened. I guess Fetter was destined to change the world in some way and in the end, he just did and that’s it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

My arc of this expired before i could finish it. This review shall be updated whenever i manage to finish the book.

More of a 3.5 but I’m rounding up.

This turned out to be one of those books where I’m completely confused as to what I feel about it and what can I even write in this review. It was a very intriguing read in parts while very slow to get through in others, and throughout my reading I kept wondering where it was going and what was the point of it all. I can see the influences of Sri Lankan politics in the world building but I guess it was the writing style that just wasn’t for me.

But I’m still glad I finally got to read this author’s work. And the well narrated audiobook definitely helped me to want to pick it up whenever I could find little time.

I've read some of Chandrasekera's short fiction before and absolutely loved it (the one with the time traveller and King Parakramabahu is still so clear in my memory). But I wasn't jiving with this at all. The writing felt really clunky, and while I did really enjoy some of the concepts in this book, there were just... way too many crammed in there for me.

It's so sad. I was so here for a Sri Lankan flavoured fantasy, and really wanted to love this. Maybe I'll come to this some day and give it another go, but it's been sitting unfinished in my kindle for two months now, and I think it might just be time to call it.

I do like Chandrasekera's concepts and ideas, so I'll definitely be interested in seeing more of his work. This one just wasn't for me.

DNF at 72%

This is one of the few situations where I think the quote on the cover is perfect. It reads, “a spellbinding labyrinth of mysteries.” Notice it does not say intricate character development or expect a meticulously plotted book. The pacing is off, and I never fully connected with Fetter and Fetter’s relationships. I was more interested in the world and topics being covered. The intricacies of the world are impressive and there are discussions of current issues and topics. It is well done, but there is always a sense of separation. This is a journey book and not a destination book. That is especially true with an ending reveal, which may or may not land well for you. I was not entirely happy with it, and it felt unfinished. Still, the journey was enough for me to give it 4 stars, but I could see it not being for some readers especially with the ending.

I loved the immersive world building and characters. The plot itself is very interesting. However, I just found this book to be okay. Some parts of the book were so gripping and others were boring. I look forward to trying more of this author's work in the future.

Maybe I'm just not in the mood for it right now, but I'm sick of children protagonists raised in a wondrous magical environment. I tried to immerse myself, but lacked the patience to let go of my bitter, real life adult disbelief even for the briefest of stories. This annoyed me, and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why.

Score: ⅘

Pros:
A Fascinating World…
…that is rolled out slowly through the book, making it mysterious and surprising;
Well crafted prose that is, at times, truly beautiful;
The plot is littered with well earned surprises;
Fetter is a relatable and likable protagonist;
A patient, almost meditative pace…
Cons:
…that at times can drag;
Several elements presented as important early in the book amount to little in the end;
An eleventh hour twist that did NOT work for me.

Review:

Fetter was destined from birth for one purpose: to murder the world-renowned saint The Perfect and Kind. His Father. Choosing a different path for himself, Fetter fled and built a new life in the city of Luriat. But he soon learns that destiny doesn’t let go so easily…

I truly wanted to love this book - the premise grabbed my attention immediately, and the opening of the book fully hooked me. And The Saint of Bright Doors has a LOT of good going for it! The world Vajra Chandrasekera has built here is fascinating and mysterious; it’s never laid out directly for the reader, leaving you to discover it little by little throughout the book (imagine my surprise when I discovered this seeming fantasy world had things like television and computers), and the plot often drops a significant twist right when things are starting to feel comfortable. Perhaps most importantly, Chandrasekera has a real talent for prose - I like to highlight striking lines, and this is probably one of my most highlighted books in recent memory.

That being said…it never quite got there for me. While The Saint of Bright Doors does have several very impactful surprises throughout, the middle of the book goes far too long without one, to the point where I almost put it down entirely because the pace was dragging so significantly. Further, the opening sections set up several elements as significant parts of the story (including the titular Bright Doors), but ultimately these elements end up insignificant. Most problematic for me personally is the eleventh hour twist (literally with 50 pages or so to go), one that reframes the entire book up to that point, absolutely did not feel earned and did not work for me at all.

In the end, while I didn’t love this book, I did really really like it, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the premise with the caveat: be ready to push through the middle.

Read THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS by Vajra Chandrasekera if you love strange & terrible things, scars, chaotic cities, laying down your parents' trauma, support groups, the unchosen ones, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, bright colors, cults, devils & the multiple versions of self.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated books of the year early!

This is a difficult book to summarise, but if you are intrigued by intricate stories that weave in complex topics of the lasting impacts of colonialism, resistance, and retribution, and follow a young man just trying to escape his past and find his place in the world, then this is the book for you.

Fetter is the kind of character that has a dark past that he only wants to escape, but only discovers more and more that he must confront it in order to move forward. Alongside all this is a mystery unfolding in the city that he finds himself a part of - and it was this mystery underlying so much of the story that kept me intrigued.

Full of intricate world-building and lush (even if at times surreal) imagery, I know that this book will be one of those that will stick with me for a long time, even if I have trouble exactly explaining why.

For fans of Martha Wells, especially the City of Bones, this one is one not to be missed!

“The Saint of Bright Doors” is a truly unique and inventive piece of South Asian fantasy that defies expectations and captivates with its mesmerizing storytelling. The protagonist, Fetter, was raised with a dark purpose, but as his skills dull and he deviates from his destiny, he finds himself exploring a city filled with mysterious doors that hold untold potential.

Vajra Chandrasekera’s writing style is both surreal and intelligible, taking readers on a journey that weaves between realism and dreamlike sequences. The blending of mystical and modern elements, along with the exploration of South Asian culture and politics, creates a rich and immersive experience. The author’s ability to evoke emotions and create vivid visuals adds depth to the narrative. The world-building in “The Saint of Bright Doors” is impressive, and despite being a standalone novel, the story is packed with intriguing concepts.

Fetter’s character is well-developed and relatable, and readers will find themselves drawn to his journey of self-discovery. While the book may polarize readers due to its unique style and pacing, those who connect with it will be rewarded with a breathtaking and thought-provoking experience. The novel’s profound introspection and concept-driven approach make it a compelling and memorable read, leaving readers with a desire to revisit its pages and explore its complexities further.

This one had an interesting premise that completely lost me halfway through. At one point in the book, I just couldn't keep up with the story and found myself losing interest and fast. I think the ending was really interesting and I liked the direction it went in, I just wish the rest of the book was as intriguing.

This is a difficult book to summarize, but the outlines of the story are fairly simple: A boy is raised by his mother to be a weapon against his father. Fetter's mother ripped his shadow away at his birth to make him an assassin, and she grooms him to murder his father, around whom a religion has grown.

The story gets really interesting once Fetter eventually escapes his mother, and ends up in the Luriat, a city of wonderful and terrible things coexisting. Fetter falls in with a group of other Chosen Ones, and Fetter builds a life for himself, even as he begins to probe the mystery of the city's Bright Doors, and has long conversations with his mother on a phone not connected to anything.

Luriat is an amazing construction. Full of bureaucracy, cults, rising rebellion/revolution, discontent, economic disparity, and possibly magical relics, and set in a world of conquest and colonialism.

Fetter grows into an interesting person as he begins building a life separate from his mother's obsession, while also trying to stay under the radar of his father's people. He and the other Chosen ones are an odd and interesting bunch, with their support meetings, messy lives, and plots.

And though there is a rising resistance, spearheaded by those Fetter knows, he's not central to that cause, or any cause. In fact, he's just trying to live his life, and not kill anyone. Much of the novel is Fetter processing things around him, and it doesn't quite follow the trope of a Chosen One who accepts and fulfills his destiny and the city/the kingdom's governing body is replaced by something else, hopefully better.

Instead, Fetter kind of bumbles around, and keeps trying to make decent choices as he learns more about his parents and their actions, and along the way author Vajra Chandrasekera treats us to the complexities of religion, politics, colonialism, bigotry, repressive governance, identity, immigrants' experience, and a lot more.

Set in a dystopia, the book veers into surrealism at times, and mystery, and weirdness. At the same time as it sometimes confounded me, I was intrigued and entertained.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Tor Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Saint of Bright Doors is hard to summarize, as there are many plot points that meander with little way to tell which is the main vs side plot. Fetter is a young man who has recently outgrown his childhood home and vengeful mother and moved to a new city. It is common knowledge to those who know Fetter that is father is a cult leader that he's never met, but what Fetter hides is that his mother raised him to assassinate his father. As Fetter tries to leave the life of violence behind, he meets a new group of people and gets roped into a plot regarding either his father, the magic bright doors, or some combination of the two (it was never very clear). The caper never gets too detailed as Fetter always seems to escape the notice of the higher powers, and the consequences of his (in)actions are never really discussed. Random plot facts: Fetter has no shadow, which allows him to float like helium, and he sees demons that have a foot in this world but not really.

Chandrasekera take a bold risk in creating a fantasy universe with the usual competing kingdoms, but instead of swords and sorcery, plenty of everyday technologies existing, such as telephones and email. It was a great idea, but the execution was mostly jarring. Most of the time the characters would go about as typical fantasy characters would, walking to destinations, reading physical books, fighting with knives, and witnessing hangings on scaffolds, so when they would randomly swing from this to checking their email, it felt out of place. The main character, Fetter, also meets most of his crew at group therapy, which is definitely a modern concept. This actually could have worked, but it was used mostly as a plot device.

It's taken me a long time to write this review, because it took me a long time to trudge through this book. Or, as Chaucer would put it, to trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on. Each page was a morass of energy sucking lack of plot and depth pit that stole my will to care but did not anger me enough to stop reading. The imagery was gorgeous and so full of potential, but the tone was that of a philosophy lecture by a college senior who hasn't gained the maturity to fully unlock the inner message. There was much promise in this book, but it never delivered.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera!

Reviewed on my blog:

http://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-saint-of-bright-doors-by-vajra.html

The Saint of Bright Doors is a vivid, beautifully-written, unique novel that utilizes all of my favorite aspects of magic realism. Each chapter felt like its own story, but, together, the chapters wove an intricate tale of family, loss, religion, and society. The pacing was a bit slow for me at times; however, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. The Saint of Bright Doors is a perfect read for any book club or literature class. It definitely opens doors for various conversations. I'll be recommending The Saint of Bright Doors as an excellent 2023 read.

I found this book enrapturing and slightly confusing all at once. The magical realism was tied in in a way that almost lost me at points but I was grounded in the characters so that helped me through. It was stunning to read despite being hard to stay fully engaged and understanding at times. Overall, I would recommend this to fantasy lovers.