‘Sons of Day and Night’ achieves the minimum requirements for a fantasy novel

by Megan Deets

“Sons of Day and Night” is a fantasy, action-adventure retelling of the classic story “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mariposa Aristeo. Her debut novel is published by Enclave, a leading publisher of young adult Christian speculative fiction.

In the kingdom of Twinsbane, the people are divided into the Sons of Day and the Sons of Night, each with a magical connection to these elements. Every person is born with a double from the opposite group. When their double dies, even if that person is still perfectly healthy, they die too. 

The story centers on Waruu and Daccius, the respective pauper and prince characters. Waruu grew up on the outskirts of the kingdom, trained by his mentor and father-figure Sydnee to someday defeat the tyrannical Sons of Night. 

Daccius, however, is the prince of Twinsbane. He has been taught that the impoverished Sons of Light are a nuisance to the kingdom, only trying to gain the mysterious Separator potion. This potion is rumored to allow the connection between a person and his double to be broken. 

These two boys meet when Waruu steals Daccius’s throne, deceiving the people into believing that he is the true king. Matters become more and more complicated as both boys unravel secrets from the past and begin to wonder if things are really as they seem. 

The first thing that I noticed when I started reading this book was the overabundance of cliches that Aristeo relied on in the first half of the novel. Every few paragraphs seemed to use similes for descriptions rather than showing without telling.

This use of trite synonyms was a distraction from the successful character building. Since the novel is already based off of a story that is so familiar, reading descriptions with overused language added to the feeling that Aristeo didn’t have a fresh take on the Prince and the Pauper trope. 

I was impressed, however, with Aristeo’s ability to handle multiple points-of-view well. The chapters alternated between Daccius’s and Waruu’s first-person perspectives. She made clear distinctions between the voices of the two boys, and I never was confused about who was who. The use of two points of view were successful, which allowed Aristeo to set up the mirroring in the two boys’ lives. I could easily see the differences between the two without having to be spoon-fed the information. 

I also appreciated Aristeo’s realistic characters. Drawing on principles from her Christian faith, Aristeo created complex characters that accurately portrayed human nature. She used the truth that man is naturally sinful to add depth and character development to her story. Just as Waruu and Daccius struggle to choose between light and darkness, people in the real world participate in a constant battle between good and evil. 

People are flawed, and Aristeo didn’t shy away from that. But “Sons of Day and Night” also showed that people have the chance to change and to make better choices. Many of Aristeo’s characters were torn between the selfishness of their own desires and their love for the people around them. These inner motivations clearly demonstrated the complexity of the human heart. 

Unfortunately, Aristeo’s successful characters were hampered by her plot and worldbuilding. While I was reading the book, I was often confused by the sequencing of events. Though there were several flashbacks throughout the novel, they were not the biggest issue I had with the plot. 

There were a few times within “Sons of Day and Night” when the story skipped over large sections of time. This normally doesn’t bother me, but Aristeo did not incorporate any kind of summary about what happened during that missing time. This made the time jumps confusing for the reader.

Although most of the conflict was resolved in the final chapters, I also found the ending of the book to be somewhat disorienting. The resolution happened abruptly, leaving the reader feeling whiplash from the plot. Everything wrapped up too quickly in order to accomplish a good balance with the slower start to the novel. I struggled with the ambiguity of the ending as well, but that will probably be dealt with in the second book of the series. 

Overall, “Sons of Day and Night” was an enjoyable read, especially when the plot picked up the pace in the second half of the novel. I found the characters compelling and the themes relevant. It met my expectations, but it didn’t surprise me because it clung tightly to the tropes of the fantasy genre. Aristeo’s book checked all the boxes for a fantasy retelling, but it didn’t leave me wanting more. 

Megan Deets is a freshman Professional Writing and Information Design student. Some of the things that she loves are new notebooks, fresh fruit and musicals.

Book cover image from Enclave Publishing