Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
Format/Source: Hardcover/LibraryPublished: October 2017
Publisher: Razorbill
Length: 298 pages
Genre: Young adult fantasy
★★★
Beasts Made of Night, the first book in a duology, tells the story of Taj, the best aki in the city of Kos, as he uncovers a plot to wage an army of young aki against the monarchy. Set in a Nigerian-inspired fantasy world, Beasts Made of Night explores social responsibility and how people bear guilt in a caste based society. This book is #ownvoices for Black representation (Onyebuchi is an American with Nigerian heritage).
In Taj’s world, sin manifests on a person’s skin in the form of tattoos. Aki slay and eat the sins which Mages pull from people, taking the tattoos onto their own bodies. Eating sin leaves permanent tattoos on Taj’s body, though they fade for all other aki. Mages occupy a privileged place in society, working for the monarchy. The monarchs, who are pure skin unmarred by tattoos, are considered to be sinless, though aki know that monarchs bear no tattoos because they can afford to pay for their removal. Aki, all of whom are children because they never survive to adulthood, perform an important service to the people of Kos, yet they are disdained and live largely as street orphans.
“I hope to go my whole life without ever seeing one of my own so frightened again. If joining the Mages prevents that, then so be it.” Taj, p. 177
After eating an immense sin of the King’s that takes dragon form, Taj flees the palace when he hears he is to be arrested. He is quickly captured and then blackmailed by Izu, the King’s Mage, into being the King’s personal aki. Again under threat from Izu, Taj is moved outside of Kos’ walls to train young aki. Outside Kos, he becomes involved in a plot to overthrow the monarchy and the Mages.
Little more than worldbuilding happens in the first third of the book. The worldbuilding is the primary strength of this novel, however, so readers may forgive the lack of significant action. Onyebuchi creates a fascinating fantasy world populated by Black characters and inspired by Nigerian culture, though readers unfamiliar with Nigeria may not recognize its influence on the narrative. An unnamed religion could be interpreted as an analogue for Islam. Taj’s first-person narration reads like an actual teen boy – not the most compelling voice, but one that’s likely realistic and relatable for teen readers.
The incident in which Taj eats the King’s sin takes place around one hundred pages in. Unfortunately, the story fizzles out after this intense scene, which seems to have little influence on the plot. Taj, whose compassion tempers his bold personality, remains passive as he shuffles around according to Izu’s demands. Taj’s fight to protect Kos from those who seek to destroy it does not happen until the last fifty pages.
The book explores question of whether having one’s sin eaten by an aki absolves one of that guilt, and whether an aki can truly thrive if they are carrying the guilt of other people. Taj denies that he feels any guilt of his own (he argues any guilt he feels comes from eating sin), but he begins to learn what it means to feel his own guilt.
Educators may connect the book to the popular film Black Panther (which also features an imaginary African country), using both texts to explore questions of social responsibility or compare and contrast worldbuilding. The book could also be used to open up discussions of how people bear guilt. Multimodal responses could include drawing and explaining a beast or tattoo that represents a sin or illustrating a scene from the novel in comic form.
The Bottom Line
Although weak on plot, Beasts Made of Night remains a solid read because of its unique worldbuilding and centering of Black characters.
Further Reading
- Read an excerpt
- Interview @ Unbound Worlds
- Review by Noha @ The Bookish Word
- Review by Nandini @ Unputdownable Books
- Review @ NPR
- Review @ Kirkus
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