The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

Publisher – Solaris

Published – out now

Price – £9.99 paperback £5:99 Kindle eBook

Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy.

He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.

Everything in Luriat is more than it seems. Group therapy is recruitment for a revolutionary cadre. Junk email hints at the arrival of a god. Every door is laden with potential, and once closed may never open again. The city is scattered with Bright Doors, looming portals through which a cold wind blows. In this unknowable metropolis, Fetter will discover what kind of man he is, and his discovery will rewrite the world.

In Fantasy the concept of the chosen one is a very common theme, and it is very much about certainty. Yes, you are special; yes, you have the adventure and yes, you will save the world. The attraction as well as having a touch of legend about it is that it appeals to our sense of deep down wanting to be chosen ourselves. A simple life where all decisions are pre-destined for glory. But what if you’re not chosen at the last? This is the start of the amazing The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera that offers an intriguing spin in a tale of a modern world that is both like and not like our own and where nothing is ever wholly what it seems.

Fetter was once going to be the chosen one to bring about his father’s destruction. Mother-of-Glory trained him, honed his skills and trained him to kill her enemies and focus on the long-term goal of killing Fetter’s father now known as The Perfect and Kind the head of a religious movement growing in power. But ultimately fetter chooses not to follow that path and runs away to find his own life. Now many years later in lives in the great city of Luriat. He meets regularly a support group of similar Unchosen Ones (those who did not follow their paths or not quite viewed as worthy enough) and life passes on but The Perfect and Kind is nearing the city; Mother-of-Glory has announced she is dying, and Fetter finds himself mixed up in a revolution.

Now I loved reading this book it was truly delicious reading, but I am going to say be wary of expectations. The summary above is all true but this is not your standard fantasy revenge plot with Fetter the rising hero this is something much more different and all the better for it. There is an ambiguity in the story throughout which essentially means we don’t have the certainty of a normal fantasy tale. A person or a city can be multiple things at once. Fetter is a trained killer, he has magical abilities and even no shadow and yet he’s a more relaxed and yet also confused young man working his life out. He’s given up his mother’s orders and settled into the normal life of many immigrants in Luriat, been there long enough to help others ad yet when the chance comes to get involved, he takes it and even he is not quite sure why. Rather than driven revenge plot Fetter is carried through a chain of events from that choice that exposes him to all sides of the city, a new understanding of his world and parents and puts him in great danger. He’s a compelling character because he is not the hero just someone taking each decision and trying to do his best and sometimes failing.

For me the core od the story is Luriat and the wider world. This is a world of contradictions throughout and yet in many ways reminds us that our own world is not a simple one. Luriat we are told is a great city on this sub-continent attractive to immigrants from many of the communities, advanced in government, living standards, culture and yet just as much as people want to live here its dangerous. The rules for immigrants are obtuse. Homosexuality is banned yet tolerated unless you fall foul of those in power. Equality is praised yet there is a caste system and then we start to see the nastier side of authority. In a truly haunting scene Fetter witnesses mass executions for those deemed criminals – for crimes criminal or political. The way this is turned into a mass ceremony is one of the most powerful scenes I’ve read – like fetter we can only witness it but the immensity of the cruelty of the process makes it suddenly cast a shadow on the whole book. This world is not a safe one. In later sections we find how easy the world can suddenly switch you from resident to prisoner and back again. There is a Kafkaesque wander though an immigrant/prison camp that shows us the darker side of Luriat again but also shows how things flip. Your life is uncertain, and you can easily end up on the wrong side and in incredible danger just for wandering into the wrong spot.

Adding to the theme of uncertainty we see everyone has other sides to them. Fetter gets an undercover persona that too is real person. Some of his fellow Unchosen find themselves having other roles of revolution to now side with and there is a lot of interweaving powers in Luriat for which his father The Perfect and Kind is gathering support. His approach to this city is likely to create a White Year – one labelled for expecting death on a huge scale. Fetter finds himself in opposition but this won’t be easy.

Again, from that you can take this more as a thriller and the modern world that Luriat represents is another aspect of this story where nothing is simple. The wider world too we find is a strange one. This is a world where ethe history may or may not be fake; one where some people can see supernatural beings named Devils that may torment others for no purpose or perhaps do have one. Fetter leaves Luriat and we see a wilder world where magic can play huge roles from funerals to having to save the sick or possessed. This is a novel of experiences and yet the wider message is that everything has other sides which leads nicely to the doors of the title. Luriat has the unusual Shining Doors; p[laces where a door appears on one side of a wall that no one can open and yet some can feel something. A door that is not quite a door is a fitting mystery and becomes central to the main plot, but it encapsulates the bigger story – everything is not quite what it seems, and everyone wants to discover the truth of matters which may never be easy. Indeed, the finale foes in a very different and surprising direction that upsends things and still makes the long-term outcome uncertain.

For me The Saint of Shining Doors is a unique reading experience. A flowing magical and complex fantasy that requires the reader to really engage and process the story. But while that can sound off-putting (personally my kind of read) you’re in the very safe hands of Chandrasekera’s writing and this is writing to savour here. We get gorgeous sentences that explain characters and bring this strange world to life that add texture of joy, beauty, evil and sadness – often not far part from one another. Unusually I was reading this slowly to savour it and that isn’t a common experience for me but it’s because I just wanted to immerse myself in this world. One that reminds us we live in a world that can be amazing supportive and yet is also at the same time – often in the same place cruel, violent and oppressive. I strongly recommend The Saint of Bright Doors for a unique fantasy experience. One of my reading highlights of the year so far!