In the walled city of Kos, sins are made manifest into shadowy beasts and consumed by the downtrodden caste of sin-eaters. But are those who have transferred their sins to others truly pure and blameless? Beasts Made of Night is a Nigerian-influenced YA fantasy novel and the first in a duology by Tochi Onyebuchi. It came out back in 2017 but jumped to the top of my reading list while I was searching for a book to meet the “Feeding Time” category for the #MonstrousMayChallenge on Twitter.
Seventeen-year-old Taj is unusual even among the aki—the young sin-eaters who are hired to consume the sins of the wealthy. Mages call the sins out in the form of inky black beasts that then appear as tattoos on the sin-eaters’ bodies. For all of the other aki, these sin-spots fade with time, though the guilt builds up and often drives them mad before they reach adulthood. Taj’s tattoos, however, never fade and he excels at tamping down the feelings of guilt by refusing to think about the sins or those who committed them. But he may need to question this strategy of detachment when he is called to eat several unusually large sins for two members of the city’s royal family. What sins are these royals hiding? The future of Kos hangs in the balance, and Taj will need to unravel a conspiracy among the city’s most powerful that could destroy everything he loves about his home.
The sin-beasts in this novel make for some pretty terrifying monsters. Particular sins manifest as corresponding animals that range from predators like bears and lions to snakes and spiders of unusual size. The unfortunate aki then has to do battle with the creature. Losing means getting your soul sucked out by the sin-beast, which will then go on to attack others. But winning is almost as unpleasant. The defeated sin-beast dissolves into an inky black liquid that shoots down the sin-eater’s throat, causing both pain and emotional discomfort. These sins become a visible symbol on the flesh of the sin-eater, like the Mark of Cain, and the denizens of Kos direct all their scorn and derision at the bearers of these marks rather than at the ones actually guilty of the sin. But perhaps the true monsters in this story are those that get to commit sins indiscriminately and then shirk the consequences.
Another interesting facet of Onyebuchi’s world-building is the magic system. The magic required to facilitate the exchange of sins between the wealthy and the aki is wielded entirely by a class of citizens called mages. Mages use prayer-like spells to draw the sin out of the perpetrator and supervises as the sin-eater faces off against it. The leader of the mages is also responsible for seeking out new aki children, taking them from their homes, and testing their abilities. Although they are integral to the practice of sin-eating, mages do not face the scorn that aki do. Rather, they are respected by society, if also somewhat feared. Their role allows them to exert power even over the royal family, since they know each royal’s dirtiest secrets and hold the ability to absolve them. But the mages are also perfectly positioned to change the way things are done in Kos. In Beasts Made of Night, we see mages who use their wealth of knowledge and information to go down wildly different paths.
If you’re looking for thought-provoking fantasy set in an African-inspired world, be sure to check out Beasts Made of Night and its sequel Crown of Thunder. You can find Beasts Made of Night on shelves now at your favorite local retailer, or order it online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. If you’ve already read it, let me know what you think in the comments!