Shortly after the death of her mother, 16-year-old Bree Mathews starts college at UNC Chapel Hill. Her early college career gets off to a magickal start, when at her first party she sees a mythical beast who is fought by her classmate.
Bree uncovers a secret society of the descendants of King Arthur and his knights. In an attempt to discover the truth behind her mother’s death, she joins an ancient war fought by users of magick. Facing suspicion for being black and an outsider, Bree learns of the magick within her heritage which she must wield to save those she cares about.
I learned of Legendborn through my favorite radio show 1A, when Tracey Deonn was interviewed. I totally agree BIPOC writers and characters are often overlooked in fantasy. I love twists on old stories, and a black girl facing an Old Boy’s Club of descendants of the knights of the round table is a modern spin.
Modern setting informs the fantasy elements rather than distracting from it. The magick in the modern college makes sense, and undane conflicts have their expression in magick conflict and vice versa. This story does not shy away from showing the prejudice of even the supposed good guys, and the harm those with incredible power inflict on the powerless.
LGBT characters are depicted the best way possible: simply a part of the story, a character trait that is accepted. The central romance is straight, but same sex couples are depicted without the sexuality being the focus.
I will fully acknowledge I don’t have much knowledge of rootwork, which is a part of Bree’s heritage and the ultimate source of how she discovers the history of her family line. The magick system (and the interaction between rootworkers and the magick workers of the upper class) feels authentic. Real world magick has the strange status of being a hobby of the elite while also being the “tool of the powerless” as it is sometimes said. After all, the wealthy have free time and can afford expensive items, while the powerless don’t have the access to solve problems through institutions. Yes, Legendborn magick is special effects showy, but the underlying concepts are logical and feel genuine. The depiction of ancestor worship left me happy.
A strange real world thing that bugs me: Bree is going to UNC Chapel Hill through a program called early college, with her tuition being paid partly through scholarship and partly with her Dad’s savings. There is a program called PSEO that allows high school students to go to college and their high school district pays it, which I did while in High School. While it wouldn’t cover room and board, I’d be shocked if North Carolina didn’t have the same program or something similar to cover tuition.
My other quibble is the magick is totally Christian. I get the ADR has a lot of (especially Catholic) influence, and I know most folk magick practitioners are not pagan. But my proud pagan heart hungers to see ADR Lwa or Welsh deities. Maybe they will show up in sequels as we see more of this world.
Without a doubt Legendborn is an excellent piece of modern fantasy with both mundane and magical conflicts.