“Every oath holds power.”
In Earthbound, Katee Stein blends all the best elements of The Stormlight Archive and Dune to create an utterly unique sci-fantasy tale where magic and science clash as the mystical and mythical collide. It’s epic yet intimate, heart wrenching yet hopeful, and it’s as complex in its politics as it is in its emotions; this truly is an earth-shattering story in every sense of the word.
Through the eyes of Overseer Tehran and expecting parents Knox and Emilia, who have all been best friends since childhood, we are transported into a technologically advanced epic fantasy world where terrifying creatures live beneath the Earth and powerful oaths bind men to the Sky. When terrible tragedy strikes their home, they are all pulled into a whirlwind of deadly conspiracies, conflicting loyalties, and dangerous promises; torn between duty and desire, they will stop at nothing to honour their loved ones and protect their homeland, even if that means putting their own heart, soul and life at risk.
Don’t you just love it when you open a book and it completely hooks you from the very first page? See, I’ve always said that I don’t like it when the first chapter just throws you straight into the action, but Stein absolutely made it work for me in Earthbound. The horrifying invasion of the earthbound creatures combined with the unexpected introduction of clashing magic and technology not only immediately set the stakes sky-high, but also sparked a sense of awe, intrigue, wonder and terror that kept me glued to the page the entire way through.
Moreover, these characters very quickly pulled me in on an emotional level, and I loved how Stein balanced and interwove their gut wrenching inner conflicts with the ominous external conflicts. Through Tehran and Knox, we get such a deep and disturbing look into the tense political landscape and the religious and magical aspects of this world, while Emilia provides some fascinating insights into the technology and science elements, which created such a deeply immersive reading experience as a whole.
Not to mention, Earthbound absolutely shines in its depiction of realistically complex interpersonal relationships, and I loved getting sucked into all the intense emotional turmoil. See, when you have a magic system that subtly manipulates emotions, things can get very messy very quickly, and I was so here for it all. Stein is not afraid to explore some very heavy, sensitive and even contentious subjects, all without ever devolving into a dramatic trauma fest, and I loved how some actions and relationships made me feel so conflicted that I started to question my own sense of morality at times. Oh and don’t get me started on the found family vibes in Knox’s POV, my heart was not ready for that!
All that said, I do have to admit that there were a few moments in Earthbound where some very disturbing and life-altering personal tragedies were brushed over slightly too quickly to be believable for me, which lessened some of the emotional impact for me. Still, I think Stein is up there with Robin Hobb and Krystle Matar in terms of how she captures raw human emotion on the page, doing a terrifyingly brilliant job of exploring themes of loss, grief, corruption, culture clashing, hope, friendship, sacrifice, and love in all its devastating beauty.
On the surface, Earthbound might seem like just another political fantasy with some mystery and (unconventional) romance thrown in, but when you dig a little deeper, it’s a tragically beautiful story about the power of words and promises, and the consequences of breaking them. The stakes are extremely high on both a world scale and a personal level, and I loved how seemingly small actions were shown to have serious rippling effects across lands and throughout everyone’s lives, for better or for worse.
With the devastatingly brutal and dreadfully ominous way we leave our characters at the end of this first instalment in the Of Earth & Sky duology, I am equally nervous and excited for the heartache and emotional turmoil that is sure to come in the finale. This story truly surprised me in all the best ways, and if you are looking for a fantastically wondrous and intriguingly mysterious sci-fantasy tale that is rooted in raw human emotion, then I can’t recommend Earthbound highly enough.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Earthbound is scheduled for release on September 18th, 2024.
