Sons of Day and Night (Book 1)
Sons of Day & Night by Mariposa Aristeo is book one in The Chronicles of Twinsbane series. This story is told in a dual perspective between Waruu a Son of Day and Daccias a Son of Night. The story is also split into four sections: Midnight, Dawn, Noon, and Evening. As the story opens, Waruu is doing his very best to be captured by Nighties so he can end up in the dungeon of the King in order to get his hands on the coveted separator. While he is successful in his efforts to get inside the palace, he is unable to discover any whereabouts of the separator, but what he discovers is arguably more significant - he is the king’s double.
In this fantasy world, every person has a double who is like them in almost every way, with the exception that one belongs to night and one to day. Unfortunately, prejudice exists on both sides towards each entity and the root of distrust goes deep. Furthermore, Waruu’s discovery is life altering as the King is believed to not have a double. What makes a double dangerous in Twinsbane is that if one of them dies, the other will also; which sets the conflict and desperate desire for the separator - an elixir said to sever the bond between doubles in order to protect one from the fate of the other. A group known as the Separatists are eager to get a hold of the separator - partially because Daccias’s father promised it to the people before his untimely death, and Waruu is a part of this Separatists group.
After the discovery that Waruu is King Daccias’s double, Waruu and Sydnee, the leader of his group, set to work to switch Waruu and King Daccias. Their plan initially works, but it is continuously fraught with danger and peril between Waruu being discovered for who he really is and the ravaging effects of the Midnight Plague that results in a suffering death and a complete severing in two of the body. Despite desperate attempts to force his hand, Daccias refuses to reveal the location of the separator, and Waruu’s attempts to find it himself leads him to question his loyalties, his beliefs, and his understanding of himself.
Noteworthy quotes/ mentions:
Daccias is a snarky character that you want to hate. But his complexity as a character draws you in and you realize there is more to his story than is initially revealed. Mariposa does a great job of building the tension and suspense around him.
“The separating tonic has been around for centuries, and it can give us the freedoms we all want. No longer would we have to worry about one double dying because their twin took a turn for the worse” (11).
Part of Waruu’s disdain for Daccias is a result of the death of his mother who died because her double died. Waruu feels that the separator would have saved her life and saved him the pain and suffering he has experienced as a result (21).
“Historians believe the Sons of Day are descended from the sun, and Sons of Night from the stars. I doubt such a theory” (29).
King Daccias has nightmares which are often of his death or harm in some fashion. On page 31 he recounds the “image of my hanging body.”
“Two ashen faces stare at me. No, it’s one that’s split in half” (46).
On page 50-51, Sydnee tries to convince Waruu away from his plan to take the King’s place knowing that if he is caught he will face pain so great, he would wish he were dead, but that they would not kill him because he is the King’s double. “You might even try to kill yourself, but they won’t let you–because they can’t. So they’ll make the life you live worse than death.”
When Waruu comes face to face with Daccias he states, “I thought it would be like looking in a mirror. It’s more like looking into my soul” (61).
“I will fight to the death if need be, even if we fail, but we won’t because the Light will always win over the Darkness” (113).
“Stories are what connect us all. They help us to live and breathe the life of someone else, and they show us we’re not so different after all” (121).
“There are other forms of imprisonment that don’t involve chains or ropes. You are just as much a prisoner as you were half an hour ago. Lock in your own bitterness with no one to help you” (128).
“My scars begin to ache with old memories. I should not feel sorry for this girl, nor the people, nor anyone. I don’t want to. All they’ve ever desired is my destruction, yet here I am, wishing them life. It is my duty, as Father would say. But he didn’t have to pay the price like me. It is much too great” (178).
“We all have a choice, but sometimes discerning the right one is hard” (189).
“What if, in his own distorted way, Daccias is doing what he believes is right? What if he’s not motivated by greed or vengeance or arrogance but by … something entirely different?” (204).
“Fight for the truth and never compromise” (226).
“A good king is never a happy one. Because a good king takes upon himself all the worries and troubles of the kingdom and fights its battles until the end” (245).
“These men aren’t my enemies. They never were. We’re not Light and Darkness. We’re Nightlight and Daylight. Different, yet the same” (250).
Without giving too much away, Waruu is able to best Daccias, but in the end it leaves him questioning himself and those he cares for. Even more disturbing is the connection between himself and Daccias has left him and the loneliness exacerbates his confusion. Is the path he is taking the right one, or has Daccias been right all along?
If you have a teen reader who loves fantasy, then this is a great book that I would certainly recommend for this age group. Full of adventure, mystery, danger, and intrigue, this novel is thought provoking in the way it demonstrates through the eyes and experiences of the characters for readers to develop empathy for others and to consider ways in which those who seem to be our enemy may be closer to a brother or sister than we ever realized. Book two is set to release on November 10.
