Book Review: At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard

This is the highly anticipated sequel to The Hands of the Emperor. While it follows a few months after that book,  I recommend those interested in this book read first The Return of Fitzroy Angursell and The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul at the very least. The stories there happen in tandem and set the stage for what will happen in this particular novel.

Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, who has now left him behind in the Palace to safeguard the world during his absence on a quest to find an appropriately magical heir. When he returns, he will abdicate, and Cliopher will at last retire, satisfied with having achieved most of his life's political goals--even if his long-suppressed personal dreams are starting to bubble up.

(Surely he used to have hobbies besides running the government?)

All he has to do is wait patiently for his lord's return... until adventure quite literally hits him from behind, and what was once safely hypothetical becomes intensely real.

Cliopher has always followed the stars of his chosen course: the epic oral histories of his people, the poetry of the rebel poet Fitzroy Angursell, decades of devotion and service to his Radiancy... They were enough to change the world. But are they enough to guide Cliopher home?

Read on for my review, spoilers for the preceding books.

Overall Impression

This was an excellent sequel, though it's hard to call it that when several other books take place between this (or adjacent to) and The Hands of the Emperor. Regardless, this book has many recognizable characters and a few new additions, though a significant part is solitary introspection by Kip or one-on-one's between Kip and Fitzroy. The story takes us across the world to magical new places and really expands on the lore behind the Islanders.

Plot

Similar The Hands of the Emperor, this one's story takes part in several sections with interludes between them. Each one is interesting in its own right, but differs in the setting and some of the characters present. I found the interludes to have a clever sort of symmetry to the prior novel. In that one, Kip is being elevated each step of the way until he becomes the Viceroy. Here, it is somewhat more the reverse, a symbolic fall, as Kip progresses in his personal journey that leads him down and then up to even greater heights than before. The only drawback for me was one of the sections felt a bit slow with some angsty back-and-forth between Kip and Fitzroy in their relationship. It wasn't too bad, but it did seem a bit repetitive for what it was (and the characters do shine a light on it).

Characters

Central to the story is Kip, Cliopher Mdang, and his relationship to his lord Artorin Damara, who we have learned in the various prior books is actually Kip's childhood idol- Fitzroy Angursell. The revelation, naturally, shocks Kip to his core and several chapters are devoted to his working out what it means for him. There are other supporting characters, but they all take a back seat to Kip and Fitzroy. That being said, I really like Conju's snide remark that not everything revolves around Kip (though technically, in this book it does).

Probably the strongest part of the book is Kip's introspection about who he truly is, what his heart desires, and what it means for him to be the tanà, the keeper of the fire dances of his people. In the prior book, we saw him handling pretty much everything with aplomb, except perhaps for his family relationship. Now that that's pretty much resolved it's a matter of his heart, which also brings in Fitzroy and his relationship. I'm sure there will be follow-up books centered on Fitzroy as he is also struggling with some of the same things, but in a very different light.

Setting / World Building

The setting of this novel is much the same as the prior one, with scenes in both the Palace and the Vangavaye've. There area few extra locations we get to visit, though, that allow us to see more of the worlds, the gods, and even mysteries beyond either. Kip is still very much following his interpretation of the Lays, the set of oral history that his people have passed down. Kip has worked so hard to earn a place in them and as of the prior book he had, but now he surpasses even that. The sorts of thing he gets to in this book are truly spectacular and the sort of legends his people will sing about for generations. It's almost as if being viceroy and tanà of a whole world and reforming it to a vastly more democratic and socialist one just wasn't enough for Kip.

Final Thoughts

This was a good continuation of the story, but it is far from complete. Without spoiling much there is still so much left to do for these characters, not to mention all of their friends. I can't wait to see how it continues and what sort of adventures they get to. The characters and setting are great and the story takes some very interesting turns- I don't think I saw any of it coming. If you've already read and enjoyed The Hands of the Emperor, you need to read this one!