The Jade Sun (Realm of the Prophets #2), by E.J. Doble
The Book
Synopsis:
Traversing a vast desert under a starlit sky, the young Prophet My'ala is forced to reconcile with the choice that she's made, and the journey her and her people have embarked upon in search of a new home. Accompanied by her family and their God-Elect, she must navigate an unfamiliar world fraught with danger, wrestling with a single question that will determine whether her people survive out on the sands.
What does it mean to call a place home?
With little choice, and a seemingly impossible task ahead of them, My'ala and her people press on over the dunes - until one day they encounter a small tent propped up next to an ancient well. Within the tent, they encounter a desert wanderer with a single, starlit eye, adorned in beautiful green robes and shiny golden jewels. Her name is Othella the Muse.
And she may just hold the answers they're looking for...
My Review
The Jade Sun is the second instalment in the philosophical fantasy series Realm of the Prophets, written by the young British author E.J. Doble. Direct sequel to The Crescent Moon, we will continue Mya'la's story, this journey of self-discovery through question and meditation, while she, together with the God-Elect, is trying to guide her people to a new home; something that brings us the main question Mya'la has for this book: what defines home?
Similarly to the previous book, Mya'la's will have a new mysterious figure that will help her to ponder, Othella the Muse; all accompanied by the beautiful writing style of Doble, which invites to inquire more about those concepts, dissecting it into different sub-questions whose answers might bring Mya'la closer to the truth behind the great interrogation.
However, while the first book was purely a big conversation between two figures, this second takes more advantage of its setting, exploring the dessert and using the observation and experience as ways to lean closer to the answer they are looking for. This novel aims to open the dialogue and to show the relativism that is adjacent to some concepts, so Mya'la might find HER truth, but not necessarily the one for the reader.
The Jade Sun is a great novel, one that I recommend when you are looking for something more meditative and thought-provoking (in general, apply this to the whole series). E.J. Doble shows his ability to change the registry, and I hope to see which question is the next Mya'la needs to answer.
The Author/s
E.J. Doble
E J Doble is 21 years old from Bath, UK. He is a self-published author, whose first novel, THE FANGS OF WAR, was released in January 2022. He is a part time swim teacher, and painter.
When not writing, he is most often found drinking excess amounts of coffee and tending to a variety houseplants with odd and entirely pointless names.