TO MAKE THE WORLD BEAUTIFUL FOR YOU

Singh’s fantasy debut sees an assassin fall in love with the brother of her royal target.

Martia is an orphan living in Promapple, a village where highly trained dissidents live in open rebellion against Zarek, king of Absyleous. When Martia is 10, she evades the village guards and goes to see for herself whether Zarek is worthy of her hatred. Her enterprise impresses Promanthae, the enlightened despot whose iron will and instruction have made Promapple and its soldiers so redoubtable. He adopts Martia, and for the next 10 years, she trains constantly—both physically and mentally—to succeed him as village leader and ultimately to depose Zarek (or his heir, Coaleme). When Martia turns 20, however, she sneaks away from the village once more and encounters Coaleme’s brother, a peaceful, compassionate doctor whom she knows only as “Prince.” Martia and Prince fall instantly in love, but theirs is a star-crossed romance. Martia’s training has forged her into an unparalleled warrior. To keep Prince safe, she must not only abandon Promapple and fight against its people, but also take on the royal court of Absyleous. Martia’s dearest wish is to spirit Prince far away and live a quiet life together, but she has been trained as a killer and finds it difficult to express her love. Furthermore, men who should be loyal to her—her friend Minver, her top general, Lovshayie—may not be trustworthy. Will fate eventually spare Martia and Prince, or have factors beyond their control doomed them forever to tragedy?

Singh narrates Martia’s tale in the omniscient past tense, starting with a chapter of heavy exposition. This opening section calls to mind the dramatic prologues of Shakespearean drama, and there are thematic echoes of the bard in both the strength of Martia and Prince’s love and the unforgiving destiny that dogs them. Like stage players, Singh’s characters are fond of monologues, which, unfortunately, aren’t especially poetic. For instance, the tutor Arigue’s telling but stilted vision of Martia’s future: “But you, Martia, with the path you are on, you never had and never will have anything that you would want to treasure or protect, and if, fortunately, you might get something precious you want to save, then also, because of your destructive nature, I feel like this beautiful, tragic story will become your reality.” In addition, the prose isn’t particularly polished; fight scenes read like stage directions to be interpreted and embellished upon by the actors: “After getting the signal, which could only be seen by the assassins, all five started attacking her simultaneously.” Martia is a strong character, unparalleled as a warrior and fiercely determined to bend an unjust society to her will. Her empowerment is inspirational, and her failures moving. But while the despairing existential commentary will strike a chord with many readers, on a line-by-line basis, it remains difficult to ingest.

A determined but unpolished exploration of love and fate.