Review: Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko (Raybearer #2)

“‘I want to live,’ I said, replacing Ye Eun’s lily behind my ear, ‘because life is…life is worth it. Because as long as we can imagine a better world, we should stick around to see it. Even if it doesn’t exist yet. Even if we have to build it from scratch, brick by muddy brick.'”

Notice: Redemptor is the second book of the Raybearer duology. You can read my review for book #1 here.

For the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar’s throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer. She must then descend into the Underworld, a sacrifice to end all future atrocities.

Tarisai is determined to survive. Or at least, that’s what she tells her increasingly distant circle of friends. Months into her shaky reign as empress, child spirits haunt her, demanding that she pay for past sins of the empire.

With the lives of her loved ones on the line, assassination attempts from unknown quarters, and a handsome new stranger she can’t quite trust…Tarisai fears the pressure may consume her. But in this finale to the Raybearer duology, Tarisai must learn whether to die for justice…or to live for it.

I finished reading Redemptor close to the end of 2023. I read Raybearer all the way back in 2020, so it’s been quite a while since I visited the fictional world of Aritsar. That said, for a three-year gap and almost no refreshers spare for re-reading my review for book #1, I dove head first into the end of this duology and regained my bearings surprisingly fast!

From the end of Raybearer, Tarisai proposes a deal with the Abiku that states that if she can 1) anoint her own council of siblings to gain immunity to the 12 deaths and 2) survive a trip to the Underworld, the tradition of sacrificing children in Aritsar in the name of peace between Overworld and Underworld would end. Redemptor begins with a newly crowned and determined Empress Tarisai hard at work to make these two things happen.

However, it becomes immediately clear that she will face many challenges in holding up her end of the deal. Not only is she stepping into uncharted territory as a dual Raybearer of Aritsar, but as a young Empress especially. Whispers around the kingdom allude to its people feeling less than confident in Tarisai’s capabilities, and worse, that there may be trouble on the horizon.

Oh, and just to add insult to injury, she also begins hearing disembodied voices. Voices that only she can hear and that are berating her incessantly. Telling her that she is worthless and not doing enough to protect the children of the Kingdom. In all of this, a deadly combination of external and internal pressures besieges Tarisai, and her mission becomes even more difficult.

“How can you celebrate? How can you sip wine and throw parties, when so many of us have died? The Child Redemptors your empire murdered will never dance or sing again. Don’t you care?”

Redemptor page 56

“None of the vassal rulers took you seriously. You were just a little girl to them. People can’t love someone they don’t respect.”

Redemptor page 60

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What I’ve loved about Ifueko’s work from the very first pages of Raybearer is her ability to craft an immersive world and draw on every sense. Her writing is very illustrative of emotion, scenery, and stakes. Redemptor continues to be heavily inspired by West African mythos and culture and I’ve enjoyed it every step of the way. Ifueko also breathes life into characters that are not just important for the plot of the novel, but are also representative of many identities and struggles.

For example, Tarisai struggles with immense self-worth issues that are exacerbated by her childhood traumas and parental wounds. She doesn’t want to be a mother herself one day despite everyone assuming that she will birth Dayo’s child.

Throughout the book, Dayo realizes that he is asexual. He has romantic feelings for one of his council siblings, and he loves Tarisai like a true sibling, but he does not want to sexually reproduce with either of them.

Kirah is fierce, gets the job done, and never shows weakness. But that’s only because the one time she allowed herself to love someone openly, it backfired immensely. She’s choosing to protect her heart by not allowing anyone to get too close, even though there’s someone she’s secretly aching to let in.

There are a plethora of YA fantasy novels out there that have side characters that seem to blend together by the last page. And then there are Ifueko’s novels, which contain characters that feel like people we might know. Or even a step further, characters that feel like parts of ourselves. I know as I was reading this book as a young black woman, I saw so much of myself in Tarisai. Her hopes, dreams, and aspirations for a new reality absent of violence felt so tangible to me because they mirror qualities in me. I loved her wittiness and moments of deep introspection. And I loved the resounding support and fierce loyalty of the cast of council siblings behind her.

“What if being free— feeling happy—makes me blind again? Ignorant of all the injustice around me, like I was before?”

Redemptor page 265

“BEHOLD WHAT IS COMING. I will come back. You will try to hold me, to knock me down. But I will always get up. And I will come back. Behold what is coming.”

Redemptor page 270

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In all, the plot of Redemptor serves as the follow-through of what Tarisai set in motion from the end of Raybearer. In that sense, it is a simple plot. But in true Jordan Ifueko fashion, the plot and the stakes become so much more with the aid of lush mythos, an animate cast of characters, and a whole lot of love. If you read Raybearer and haven’t gotten around to finishing the duology quite yet, here is your sign to dive in. It’s worth the read.