Alfajiri

by Michael LaBorn

When three Alfajirians flee the capital after a brush with fate, they are forced to abandon everything they understand about their destiny in order to embark on a journey of self-discovery.

A journey that threatens to not only change the fabric of their lives but to unravel the infrastructure of Alfajiri itself. With the heir to the throne on the run, the people of Alfajiri must decide whether they will follow her and her companions into freedom or fall in line behind a now empty throne.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

194 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Lee (Books With Lee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfajiri is one of those books that’s able to say a lot with few words, yet leaves you wanting more.

In this fantasy, we follow Kiah, the heir to the throne as she is internally battling with the world she grew up in and the unraveling secrets of her past.

Raised by the queen, who is although not her mother by birth, is the only mother that Kiah has known. This leaves her yearning to know more; with this she and her two close friends set out on a pursuit for answers, some of which we learn, and others of which are left unanswered at the closing of the book.

Although this is a high fantasy novel, I believe this book would be great for someone who wants the feel of high fantasy without the feeling of confusion that often accompanies being dropped into high fantasy worlds. The author does a good job building the world in a way that feels accessible to both fantasy newbies and veterans alike

I also found some passages in the book to be very thought provoking. Although this may not have been the intent of the passage, I feel like many could lead to some interesting dialogue.

Overall although this was a world that took me a moment to be invested in as it was a little bit slow to build, by the ending I was flipping the pages hoping there was more.

If you enjoy high fantasy books with a diverse cast of characters that provides both great world building with humor sprinkled in, this book is for you! But be forewarned, it does end on a cliff hanger and you might be a little angry about it

[Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a Fantasy novel that isn't a million pages long or bogged down with complicated magic, this is your book. It also writes POC just getting to exist and be people. I loved this sweet story and it's brief nature. But the ending! 😁😬🥺😭😫

[Ronnica Fatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the characters and storytelling!

[Steph (starrysteph) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alfajiri is a bright, inclusive, imaginative fantasy following a young woman who is torn between the destiny she was raised to pursue and her desperation to uncover dark secrets from her past.

We follow royal heir Kiah, who is faced with a tremendously difficult choice. She was raised by Queen Vashti - but is not her daughter by blood - and has questions about her past and the reality of the throne’s actions. Kiah and her two friends set out to uncover the truth and determine to whom they should declare their loyalty.

Alongside her story, there are vignettes of various other curious characters in her world. It’s not immediately clear how these all connect (and there are still unanswered questions by the end), but they begin to intersect and reveal more about the greater world by the end of the book.

While Alfajiri involves high fantasy elements (elves, magic, and so on), they are quite lightly incorporated. It’s not hard to be dropped into the world - you don’t have to input complicated magical systems or vast maps - you’re shown exactly what you need to know to understand throughout each vignette. And the overarching themes of oppression and colonization are quite connected to our current reality.

There are so many unresolved threads and little hints sprinkled through these chapters - I figure there are a lot of plans for this series and a lot left to be discovered.

You may have stumbled across some angry reaction videos on TikTok (“how DARE you, Michael LaBorn?!?”) … they weren’t kidding. There’s a cliffhanger here that will leave you hungering for (or just straight up demanding) the second book in the series.

CW: murder, death (incl. death of parent), colonization, oppression, gaslighting, abandonment, grief, war, violence

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[a little off center JOAT · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it, it has a fresh feel to the story, something that many fantasy books miss out on because they are all vaguely European inspired. It was a fast read, with lovable MCs, a mysterious villain who manages to feel both ominous and kind of good?!? In her last moments she says things that point to actual love and care for the young MCs. Since we don’t see what Kiah sees when she confronts the Queen, her comments bring a feeling of pity for her, and leave me unsure if she is 100% villain, like a narcissist that is trying to get in one last jab, or if there is some part of her that truly does care for the young people she took from their families to raise. I am only slightly saddened because I have no idea when another book will come out! I cannot wait for more from this author and his beautiful world!

[Drew Osburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an engaging fantasy book that covered a lot in a short amount of time. The characters are intriguing and the world building is subtle so you don't feel bogged down in it.
That being said this felt like this was just a part one to a book rather than a complete book in it of itself. In the second half of the book we get new POV characters with little to no context and because the book moves so fast in the second half we don't really get to understand the characters motivations. Also the blurb on the back of the book is rather misleading and kind of gives away part of the ending.
This is a promising debut novel with a brutal cliffhanger ending but I do wish some of it had slowed down to really let us get invested in these characters and this story.

[Nicole Rutherford · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a lot of promise in this book but I just couldn’t look past some glaring problems that likely come down to editing. Overall the story felt like a very long intro rather than a complete story. I’m hooked on the characters we did get to know and the world created is cool but too often I felt disconnected by the jumps made. In particular I feel that the character’s motivations were not fully fleshed out. Decisions are made and big changes in direction chosen without what feels like enough motivation or inciting incidents. Overall I think this could be a great book…but it’s lacking in execution.

[Kianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m deeply unhappy to say this… but I did not enjoy this read. Typically when I think of short books I think small but powerful. Impactful. But honestly I’m just confused. Nothing happened in this book? But also a few things tried to happen? No characters, magical folk, or places were explained. The characters learned things but the reader didn’t. And there were so many loose ends left at the end. Not in an oooh what’ll happen next! Kind of way but in a… did the author forget this possible plot point, way. I really wanted to enjoy this and I was whole heartedly expecting to love it but I think perhaps it just wasn’t for me.

[heidi Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! This book is full of magic and secrets.
When first starting to read the book, it was clear Kiah had some personal issues going on that she needed to figure out, and I thought the book would focus on her the most. Well, she is a focus, there is so much more to this book. I also thought we would get more answers to what exactly was happening than we did, however the author crafted the story in such a way that even though I have more questions I am also very intrigued to see where the story takes me.

[Toni ~married to a hunk~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give his book a solid 4. It is told in 3rd person POV which is fine for me. The only part that didn't work for me was that there were chapters from a character that I had never even heard their name before then. It was solid from 2 characters mostly with Kiah the most. Towards the end there were new characters that I had no idea who they were and why we were hearing from them. The cliffhanger is brutal though too.

[Colleen Spence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost never rate things 2 stars but I had no choice here. The writing is great, characters great, world building was great. The plot though? Completely unfulfilling. If this entire book (minus the last chapter) was the first quarter of a novel it would probably be 5 stars honestly. The plot doesn’t even start until chapter 19 out of 21. The last chapter felt like a cop out and left me wondering why I had wasted my time reading all 18 chapters of set up.

[Cholonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alfajiri is a plot driven fantasy that covers a lot of ground in 195 pages. The story is told from multiple points of view, giving you an insight into the political climate. The shift in character views is helpful to understand how different people feel about what is going on and transition between viewpoints is both smooth and plot relevant. I’m interested to see where the story goes.

[Anne Kinsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read a fantasy book quite like this. First of all, I love the representation and how different vignettes are sort of stitched together to form a whole. The decolonizing perspective is refreshing. The ending, though…brace yourself.

[Ally Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very accessible book. The language is easy and the pace is quick. It’s an interesting world for anyone dipping their toes into the fantasy realm. I was left with a lot of questions that I hope get answered in another book.

[Cass · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is going to be a sequel right? Right?!

[Christina Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, short fantasy book.

[Meaghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this because it was a very creative, beautiful, diverse world, but there are so many glaring issues that with more editing could probably have been fixed. I felt quite lost by the end as there were characters, different POVs, timeframes, and plot points added with nothing really explained to the reader. The story could have been longer and more fleshed out, and the end happened so abruptly - I found myself looking at the number of pages left and thinking there was no way all would be resolved cleanly. It left me wondering if the story was over or if it was a beginning concept for a series.
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That aside, LaBorn has the potential to become a very talented writer and I hope to see more from him as he refines his storytelling skills.