Book Review: Inferno's Heir by Tiffany Wang
What is "Inferno's Heir" about?
Tiffany Wang's debut novel Inferno's Heir is a young adult fantasy book about Teia Carthan, a princess who's outcast by her kingdom and family purely because of the fact that her mother was from a different kingdom, so much so that people call her "halfling".
Now that both of her parents are gone, her half-brother Jura will soon become the King of Erisia, and who knows what might happen to Teia once the ascension takes place.
Because of her parents, Teia can control both water and fire, while Jura can only control fire, but his powers are not just in his magic. Once he's crowned king, there will be no way for Teia to survive, especially as he's already tried to kill her before.
But Teia sees one last chance as Jura is busy fighting a resistance group called the Dawnbreakers, whose whole thing is to bring down the monarchy and install a democracy in its place. Teia knows that her only way to survive is by showing Jura that she's valuable, and one way to show that is by infiltrating the Dawnbreakers and betraying them to Jura.
And yet, when she is finally with the rebels, she finds herself forming connections with different members of the group, and not only that, but she's starting to think that maybe the rebels have a point after all, making it all the more difficult for her to betray them...
You can get "Inferno's Heir" here:
"Inferno's Heir" is a young adult fantasy story, not a romantasy story...
Despite the fact that this book has a blurb from Rebecca Yarros (author of the romantasy sensation Fourth Wing) right under its title, this book not a romantasy book at all, and will probably not appeal to the same audience that enjoy Yarros' books. In fact, there's barely any romance here, and the romance that is here is mostly from the side characters, and even that is mostly just implied.
Does that make the book worse? Not at all, on the contrary, it makes the book a lot more substantive that many romantasy books out there, it's just that if you're looking for a romantasy book like Yarros' (or just a fantasy book with a substantial amount of romance), you're looking at the wrong book.
Now that we've established what the book is not, what is this book?
It is technically young adult fantasy, but it's almost entirely an adult fantasy featuring young adult characters, so even adult fantasy readers can enjoy this one.
This book feels like a YA and slightly toned-down version of Seth Dickinson's The Traitor Baru Cormorant, complete with the fascinating intrigue, betrayals, morally grey characters, and the fact that the book's start is the weakest part by far.
Also like Baru Cormorant, this book didn't really feel like a debut novel. Yes, the start might not be the most compelling, but the author's ability to slowly build up subplots and side characters while seemingly focusing only on the main character is terrific and it allows the ending to be what it is, an explosive climax that lifted the entire story from being decent to pretty good.
"Power," she said quietly, "is a funny thing. People collect it. They hoard it." She tapped the tip of her daughter's nose with her finger, and Teia giggled in return. "Power is currency here, Teia. You can buy safety—security. And if you have to split the sea itself to earn that in Erisia, then that's what you're going to do."
— Tiffany Wang, Inferno's Heir
"Inferno's Heir" might not be perfect, but it ended perfectly...
One of the book's few flaws is the fact that for a majority of the book (not for the entire thing, thankfully), the characters speak in a way that feels very artificial. It's clear that this is meant to be witty banter, but more often than not, it comes across as the type of dialogue you'd see in a recent Marvel movie, full of one liners that you'll probably forget as soon as you're done with the chapter.
This is the thing that makes this book feel very YA, even though it doesn't have some of the more foundational tropes of YA fantasy, like the romance (as mentioned before, it is technically there, but only implied).
Fortunately, other than that, this book is mostly excellent. Despite the "witty" dialogues feeling very repetitive, the characters still feel very distinct due to the ways they act and the parts of the book where the dialogues are more normal and aren't trying too hard.
The worldbuilding is similarly well-done. It's not the most in-depth (if you're looking for thorough magic systems you should look somewhere else) but it serves its purpose and feels believable enough even if it's not the most unique.
However, the true star of the show here is the plot and the political intrigue that comes with it. The slow pacing feels deliberate instead of lethargic, adding tension to all the unanswered questions raised by the plot, which in itself is very unpredictable, especially for a young adult story.
And it peaks right at the ending, where everything comes together beautifully, in a way that feels earned but not predictable, leaving the readers wanting for more, without feeling like it's an unsatisfying cliffhanger.
"The downside of true love was it really could last forever—and the ones left behind always suffered."
— Tiffany Wang, "Interno's Heir"
Who should read Inferno's Heir?
This is a book about and outcast princess joining a rebellion against her own kingdom. Despite the fact that there's a blurb from Rebecca Yarros on the cover of Tiffany Wang's Inferno's Heir, if you're looking for a romantasy read (or just a fantasy read with a lot of romance in it), this is not the book for you. Instead, if you're a fan of young adult fantasy (or even adult fantasy), and you're looking for a book with a lot of political intrigue, morally gray main character, betrayals, and a twisty plot with a satisfying ending that will leave you reeling and wanting for more, then this might be the book for you. 4/5.
