this debut book is a blend of science fiction and fantasy, following two timelines that at first distinguish our two heroes. the first is a far flung planet called gahraan that houses the female MC asha, one of the millions of human in servitude to a galactic emperor. asha's POV is the one we start with, and the one that intially put me off the book. it goes too deep too soon; the author exerts her poetic prowess so much that it goes on for paragraphs while what is really happening in the first chapter isn't anything other than asha going to and from home and work. it's used to set up the world i presume, but i felt like it was very heavy-handed in explaining the themes that will run throughout the book. it also blindsides me to the immediate 'chosen one events' that occur in the first of asha's chapters, and overall makes her beginning very rushed.

obi, our male protagonist, holds court (quite literally) in the second time of importance: early 19th century london, which serves as his home and anchoring place for obi to return to as a time traveller. i preferred obi's first chapters because for some reason the flowery lyricism is held back to weave the threads of not only obi's character but his romantic relationship  that i think, despite their distance, becomes one of the more developed relationships in the book.

obi is flung into asha's timeline, while george, his partner, is left in the other, and the bulk of this book is the events that occur in both. obi and asha go on a typical sci-fi journey across the stars, picking up a third person in the voyage, and we discover that these three are very important, and have been prophesised with importance for a long time. i really liked the way prophecy was portrayed in this book, almost like a tangible energy, and the weight of this prophecy is made known to us through the excerpts from a mysterious scholar at the beginning of each chapter. however, there is still a lot of vagueness towards the magic that surrounds obi and asha; i felt at times it could with more of an explanation instead of just 'golden light washed over them' and other indeterminate happenings. additionally, the third relationship, with xavier, didn't feel as developed, considering he is supposed to play as big of a part as obi and asha, i never really felt like i understood him or could get a grasp on his character.

a relationship i did enjoy is the begrudging alliance made by george, left with a london vulnerable to a mysterious big bad, and alarick, the father that abandoned obi and also the one who obi had constantly been searching for. there's no real explanation made as to why he shows up immediately after obi's disappearance from this timeline, but it makes way for this puzzling bond between two men with a vested mutual interest, and also shows the hole obi's absence makes in their lives. i loved george's character, how he buckles under the weight of an empire and what it's done to people; the tower of london scene was so needed. the author doesn't hesitate to stand for the Blackness of these characters, in the anguish of this particular scene, while also showing comfort found in obi braiding asha's hair, which i loved so much. you don't really get scenes that you can relate to, especially when obi(?) says that doing your hair requires another person, a community.

despite me enjoying this book more and more, the ending of the book had me thrown between bumping this to a four star. it doesn't feel like anything was set up for the next book, and there's no clear path forward for any of the characters, no hint of what's to come. it just ends rather flatly, which contrasts to the grandiose nature that the author has created. i still eagerly await the next book, and would recommend for anyone either looking for a new series or wanting to step into sci-fi.