The Unbalancing by RB Lemberg
Publisher – Tachyon Publications
Published – Out Now
Price – £15.65 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook
Beneath the waters by the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps restlessly. The celebrated new starkeeper Ranra Kekeri, who is preoccupied by the increasing tremors, confronts the problems left behind by her predecessor.
Meanwhile, the poet Erígra Lilún, who merely wants to be left alone, is repeatedly asked by their ancestor Semberí to take over the starkeeping helm. Semberí insists upon telling Lilún mysterious tales of the deliverance of the stars by the goddess Bird.
When Ranra and Lilún meet, sparks begin to fly. An unforeseen configuration of their magical deepnames illuminates the trouble under the tides. For Ranra and Lilún, their story is just beginning; for the people of Gelle-Geu, it may well be too late to save their home.
A lot of stories are about the need to act in order to win. In a lot of epic fantasy, the problems will have been around a long time, centuries or millennia and now with the right people at the right time although things will be hard they can be stopped in their tracks. This is always deeply satisfying we like seeing things resolved. We like to think with a bit of hard work and teamwork we can do this. But is life always like that? I think a great modern example is Becky Chambers’ various SF novels. In RB Lemberg’s magnificent fantasy novel The Unbalancing the desire to act, to be better than you were before and do something is still a worthy aim but it also takes a view that the struggles of life can be very hard to face and we may sometimes have to think of winning in other ways.
By the picturesque islands of Gelle-Geu a living star sleeps beneath the sea. It has been there since the forming of the word by the Goddess Bird when twelve powerful magical stars were dropped into the world and for each a Starkeeper who themselves is a powerful magic user must mind them throughout their lives. But the Blue Star here dreams badly. This has led over a thousand years to a rise in earthquakes impacting the islands. A new starkeeper the lively Ranra has taken over the role and thinks that this is very much her time to try to solelv this issue but is not sure how to go about it. Meanwhile in a garden works the shy poet Eriga Lilun would love to be left alone to enjoy their garden and poetry but is constantly prodded by the ghost of their ancestor (and th first ever Starkeeper) that they should be in charge and need to act soon. Ranra and Lilun cross paths and find themselves instantly attracted to each other but also realise that they may together have a way to stop potential disaster but is it all too late?
This is easily one of the best fantasy reads of the year for me. Lemberg has constructed a beautiful story that tackles difficult subjects of mental health, climate change and facing your own demons but doesn’t say all this is easily resolved with a good speech and a fellowship of true believers. Three key strands for me all carefully wrapped around each other and play off one another to make the story engaging, fascinating and thought-provoking.
On one level we can see living in an era of climate change appear in the story. The star that has given the Islands a source of power and stability is now destroying it. As Ranra and Lilun investigate they find successive starkeepers have decided to ignore the issue; ignore the evidence that things are getting worse and need attention – that’s for future generations to solve. Ultimately the future is now here. Watching this in realtime we cannot help noticing humanity’s tendency to think someone else will solve a problem wins most of the time. With Ranra and Lilun the tale has a younger generation prepared to get involved to help the Star and their people survive.
But Lemberg adds some additional and harder challenges. The star beneath the sea is not inanimate but alive – it dreams and had a life before Bird sent it to this world. One of the big themes explored in the story and between Ranra and Lilun is the difference that a ‘fix’ means to a ‘healing’. Fixing problems suggest we can snap hands, use magic; and battle the enemy and all is magically reset to good times again. The triumphant finale we all know and love. But issues that have been a long time can’t always be wiped away. Climate change can’t be undone just with one zillionaire’s idea (and we know we can’t trust zillionaires) and neither can mental health. While we get great scenes of magic being used to protect people and their homes from natural disasters and Lemberg invests us into these acts we need to appreciate you cannot just fix someone’s trauma in days especially when it has been ignored for so long. We have to sometimes be prepared to go the long way round and make sacrifices that we can’t soon ignore. Lemberg’s way of exploring this topic is subtle and powerful and will make me consider the crucial difference between those two words and approaches for a very long time.
Now all of this may sound worthy and allegorical but not perhaps enjoyable to read? You could not be further from the truth the final strand and the most important for me is Ranra and Lilun’s relationship and also the way this Island, their people and culture all come to life. Our central duo are fundamentally good people, but their personalities shape them. Lilun is very introverted and though a poet has hidden from the world and not yet comfortable in their own skin or sexuality. Ranra on the surface is confident and magnetic but tends to think of people as there to do their bidding and forget their feelings. Lemberg makes the reader understand these two, where they come from and importantly makes us like and fear for them. These two need each other and they complement each other. Their discussions are important parts of the book where each works with the other to find better solutions. The theme of co-operation, sharing and treating people with respect runs throughout. Importantly each character is doing this both for their people and the star not themselves and in the process become better people because of it. The path for them is always hard but its never in doubt that the attempt is the right thing to do even when possibly too late. They make this story’s heart and I really invested in them heartily.
As I also did with the wider world we see of the Islands. A kind people, who love a good party, poetry and yet there are scientists, shipbuilders and artists all crossing paths and engaging with one another. We do see particularly in Ranra’s side of the story that families can always shape or influence our behaviour but overall, this is a good place to live and well worth saving. Lemberg doesn’t infodump worldbuilding but subtly explains how certain terms and approaches from the more layered use of gender and sexuality to the founding religious beliefs and magic systems of the world. For a relatively short novel Lemberg weaves in so much depth that by the end we feel like we’ve been there for a long time and understood how this place worked.
The Unbalancing is a powerful and poetic read. Lemberg’s use of language and storytelling is a delight to savour and combined with the themes and overall approach make this twenty-first century fantasy that should stand attention. It is brilliant and a tale many readers will never forget. Strongly recommended!
