Written by Kedi Daniels
For better or worse, young adult stories have a reputation for being light affairs. While their subject matter can be mature, the stories often aren’t as mature as their adult counterparts. Sometimes, though, readers will encounter a young adult book that offers a little more to chew on. While often, these more mature books miss the mark of the target audience, sometimes their themes and stories play to the young adult audience, while still offering more depth. Being, the first book in Kedi Daniels’ Being Saga is one such book.
The young adult market, however, encompasses a fairly broad spectrum of ages, from young teens, upward. While the years within the age range don’t amount for a massive proportion of the human lifespan, it’s a time of maturation. If you’re considering purchasing Being for a young adult reader, I would recommend you only do so for those in their later teen years and upwards. The book is full of dark subject matter; content that some adult readers will be disturbed by. In addition to violence, including murder, some profanity, sexual situations, the book includes abuse of its characters, religious topics and concepts, and even some cannibalism. Although this content isn’t particularly graphic and doesn’t push the envelope, some readers will certainly be troubled by it. Those that can get past the subject matter, though, will find plenty of positive representation through its LGBTQI+ characters, a coming of age tale, and an engaging urban fantasy story.
Those readers will also find a long book for the target age group at 486 pages in paperback (or an estimated 448 pages on their favourite eReader), and one that often reads like a horror story. Not so for its use of gore and cannibalism, however; more the style of the author’s writing. Throughout the novel, Daniels builds a sense of foreboding through its prose. The book takes the reader on a journey, through which it builds a sense of foreboding and dread. This is a dark fantasy story, and the writing leans into it.
The prose is evocative and puts the reader right into the story, as if they are experiencing it with the characters. Being opens with a brief prologue that sets the mood instantly, luring the reader in. It is effective in its ability to hook the reader and keep them reading. While much of the prose works in the same manner, the book doesn’t entirely maintain it. In such instances, it feels as though the author’s voice slips and it’s reciting the details more than making the reader experience it. The author manages to have fun with the prose, including the use of onomatopoeia. While this can help draw the reader in, it was used a little too liberally, and eventually reached the point where it had the opposite effect on me.
Despite the slight issues I have with the prose, it is written clearly, and in a way that most readers will follow along with easily. This extends to the dialogue, which includes both human and supernatural characters. Whether the character is human or a fantastical creation, the dialogue sounds natural and flows well between them. Given the genre, many of the characters are younger, but they all sound appropriate for their age. The book features some dialogue heavy sections, and in these instances, it’s easy to tell who is speaking.
A large cast of characters populates the novel. While some characters obviously play a larger role in its narrative than others, they each have something to add to the story, and none of them feel wasted or incidental. The natural sounding dialogue fits the characters perfectly, who all feel like real people, regardless of whether or not they are human. Some characters are more likeable than others, but none of them grate. Every character feels fully formed, with them all having their strengths and flaws. They are written with a level of depth often missed in young adult stories.
It’s not only the characters who have depth; it’s also the plot itself. Its fantastical story plays into its coming of age tale; these two elements work hand in hand to tell an engaging story. Throughout the book, there are plenty of twists and surprises that ensure the reader will never be certain about what’s coming up on the next page. The book moves at a fairly quick pace, but it does take a while to really get going. Once it does, the pacing is also fairly inconsistent, with the story’s progression slowing down at points. When the pacing slows, it’s usually because the book is building its wonderful world, but this balance does feel a little bit off.
With this novel forming the first part of the Being Saga, it doesn’t entirely stand alone. That being said, however, it tells a clear story with a beginning, a middle and an ending, without ever feeling like it’s only giving the reader part of the story. There is certainly much more to come for Being’s characters, but readers will find a fulfilling story. The last chapter sets the scene for what’s coming in the second book, but it doesn’t do so at the expense of this book.
If you’re interested in a young adult story with a mature plot and themes, along with darker imagery than you usually find in the genre, Being offers it in spades. It’s not a story for younger fans of the genre, but older teens through to adult fans will be rewarded for it. It casts an intriguing plot, and while the pacing doesn’t always work as well as it could, it remains a great fantasy story that is worth investing your time in. And, no doubt, it will have you ready to invest your time in Book II once it’s released.
Favourite Passage
A minute had never felt so long. So full. Each second embodying what it was made to think it was. It had to have been more. Those sixty-seconds and only those had aspirations of being bigger; hours and days. That minute that Iela’s gun was pressed against Caiden’s skull was the most filling minute that she’d ever felt in her life. She was full to the brim; gorged to her bursting point. She didn’t crave any more time if these kinds of seconds were the only ones left. Caiden would beg for death instead.
Being: Being Saga, Book I, Chapter XXVII
Being: Being Saga, Book I was provided by the author for the purpose of an honest review.
Being is available in both physical and eBook forms from retailers, including—but not limited to—Amazon.
Note: I do not post scores for reviews on this website, but do post them on my Amazon and Goodreads reviews:
- Amazon
- Goodreads
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Interested in purchasing Being?
Please find a link below; please note I do not collect any proceeds from the sale.
Being: Book I (Being Saga 1)
wastanley.com 