Based on the cover, I thought this would be more of a witchy fantasy, but it was more along the lines of a TL Huchu without the Scottish dialect.

Every time Fetter went to his group therapy, I couldn't help but think of the support group scene from Fred Claus.

I did like the band of misfits coming together to outsmart the system, and that Fetter wanted to evolve past his mother's expectations and become his own person.

This is another one that I’m going to revisit at a later time. There isn’t anything I love or hate about this one. I want to give it full attention but I just haven’t been connecting.

3.25

This is such a hard novel to review because while there is nothing untrue in the summary, it also doesn't feel like it fully encompasses what this book is. The Saint of Bright Doors is a lyrical story about identity and destiny and the descent into fascism. It's surreal and meandering and definitely requires more brain power than I was able to give it on this read, though I imagine upon reread it will all make more sense. I think the story might also be more impactful if the reader has some knowledge of Buddhism and of Sri Lankan folklore and history.

Honestly, what strikes me most with this story is that it is a debut novel. It's ambitious and complex and the writing was visceral. I can't necessarily say I enjoyed reading this novel but it definitely was a unique experience and I look forward to seeing what Chandrasekera comes up with next, which is apparently a standalone science fiction epic about two souls bound together and I am so intrigued.

2.75✨/5

BIPOC Author. Debut Novel. Fantasy.

First, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book. I want to state upfront that I did DNF this book at 46%.

The Saint of Bright Doors is about Fetter, a boy raised by his mother to exact revenge on his sainted father. After leaving behind his violent childhood, he moves to the city of Luriat where he meets others like him (children of a messianic parent) and is introduced to the mysterious Bright Doors, which seem to compel and confound him in equal measures.

Again, I did decide to DNF this book. That being said, I didn’t dislike this; I just don’t think it was for me. There were so many engaging elements, like the worldbuilding, the vibrancy and mixture of cultures represented, the main character’s origin story, the eccentricity/uniquity of the side characters, and the idea of a support group for unchosen messiahs. My primary difficulty in reading this was that I did not care about the doors, or Fetter’s personal life after arriving in the city, and I found myself mostly bored. I also felt like the main character was one of the least interesting characters introduced, and I didn’t feel invested in him. I think it might’ve been more exciting to follow several different characters. I’ll admit that, having only read 46% of this book, I can only speak for the part that I read. But for me, if I’m not invested in the primary plot, or the main character, it’s going to have to be a DNF.

Although this didn’t quite work for me, I’d still recommend this to anyone who enjoys delightfully strange side characters, political-religious machinations/scheming, a world teeming with culture and atmosphere, and the idea of a support group for unchosen messiahs ☺️!

On the narrator: I think a good job done by the narrator was what got me through as much of the story as I did.

[Note: Check Trigger Warnings]

I’m surprised, and a bit devastated, that this book doesn’t have more attention

Fetter lives in a world similar to our own, but with more magic and some real gods. He moved away from home and to the city of Luriat, where he has been helping people get their papers sorted and finding new friends in his group therapy sessions.

His group therapy session is filled with characters similar to Fetter, the “Unchosen”, people who were trained for a sort of divine heritage but wound up not fulfilling the role. Fetter was raised to kill his father and his father’s people, as a child he killed many, but now as a young adult he is enjoying being independent and finding his own way. He has friends, and a boyfriend, and people who reach out to him for help. It is not uncommon to be told “ask Fetter”, and Fetter is happy to be helpful, instead of killing.

Unfortunately for Fetter, nothing can be quite so simple, and he finds himself joining revolutions, wearing fake IDs, and infiltrating special research into the Bright Doors - mysterious doors that, after left closed too long, one day become unopenable to people forever.

Though this story is set in a magical world, the societal issues that plagued the world were very real, the most iconic part being when Fetter was wondering how his email wound up subscribed to a god.
The Bright Doors are mysterious doors that were left closed too long, and one day became unopenable

What makes this book interesting is the level of magical realism in the book. There are times when you as the reader are not sure how powerful the magic of Fetter, his friends, or his father really is. By the end of it I was wondering if it could be more of an urban fantasy. One thing that stood out in determining the level of magic in the world was in Fetter not having a shadow. In the beginning he is glad that most people, including his boyfriend do not seem to notice his lack of a shadow, yet as we get further into the book it is suggested that more people were aware of it than previously thought, with one police officer hilariously commenting “Where is your shadow, don’t people have those where you come from?”

Overall, the visuals in this story were really well done, the story was powerful, the main character was lovable and tragic, and the side characters were interesting enough to each have their own novel. Most importantly however there was a part towards the last quarter of the book where I literally jumped up and said, “WUT.” outloud, which is always a sign of an exciting twist.

A great story and interesting read, I will be recommending it for my bookclub for sure. Also Chandrasekera is releasing another book this year, sign me up!!

This was a delight to read! I absolutely loved this format (audiobook) and would highly suggest you try this out!

Magical realism isn’t always my cup of tea. I certainly don’t run to grab titles that have it, but this was very enjoyable and different!

So imaginative and vivid! And our stories protagonist being someone disillusioned by the path they have been expected to go down.. very interesting perspective!

Fetter was raised to kill with thebultimate goal of assassinating his father, the seeming divine leader of a religious organization. In this world of secret magics, doors that cannot be opened, and convoluted political and religious hierarchy, Fetter aspires to leave his past behind. But before long he finds himself acquainted with rebels and on the path to encounter his father, despite spending his young adult and early adulthood trying to forget the mandate engraved into him by his violent mother.

This is a fascinating magical realism novel set in a seemingly South Asian inspired world. While, overall I thought it was interesting and makes you think about apathy in an unjust world, I felt like there was so much going on that it's hard to wrap things up neatly. Ultimately, it's Fetter's life story as his violent past is left behind and he becomes a spy. But there were so many elements, the doors, people who study them, all these religious sects, magic, and power that I couldn't really wrap.my head around the whole. But still, overall, I liked the story and the ending.

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

I had to DNF this audiobook, as 8 hours in, I was still confused on the plot and what was happening in the story. This could be due to the format, as I am not usually an audiobook reader.

Lurait, aka the city of bright doors can be found on a supercontinent and is framed by sky and sea. You can find doors throughout the city and they just happen to watch over the city. It is unknown of what lies behind the doors which leaves people to speculate and create theories. Only a select few the doors are a calling and curse. This where Fetter comes in because he is one of the rare unchosen people to be called by the doors. Fetter had a rough start in life with his mother ripping away his shadow and he became a pawn to her since she raised him to kill his sainted father and to destroy the religion. But now he is unchosen and can see devils and antigods. There is no path for him to follow anymore so could he find some answers behind the doors?

The Saint of Bright Doors has a pretty unique and interesting plotline but I found it to not be executed well. I had high hopes of enjoying this book because like I said-it has a uniqueness to it.

The Saint of Bright Doors brings inspiration from South Asian culture and I love seeing books have inspiration of other cultures woven throughout the story because it makes it more unique, more diverse, and it allows me to learn about other cultures.

I really liked the idea of our MMC, Fetter and how he was raised to assassinate his father and then having his life change course. He is definitely on the more complex side and for the most part developed well.

With the world building I found it to be inconsistent and not really knowing exactly what it wanted to be since there were things in our modern times placed in this book which ended up making it feel jarring and awkward which pulls the reader out of the story.

The pacing was a hit or miss. There were a lot of moments where it was at a slow pace and then all of sudden it would pick up its pace.

I definitely did not hate the saints of Bright Doors but I also did not love it. It was okay and honestly pretty forgettable. I read this book back in July and am finally sitting down to write reviews on many titles and this was one that needed reviewing. I had a vague idea of the book but when it comes down to it I cannot recall everything in the
book.

Honestly, I feel if this book was more fleshed out on the world building and on executing the plot points better then I probably would have enjoyed this book more and would have not found it be unforgettable.

A unique piece of speculative fiction that really just made me think! Honestly, I didn't understand all of the concepts explored here but, what I did understand, I found really intriguing!

A good read for anyone who wants to dig into the potential power posessed by religion & cults!

I struggled with this book. Interesting ideas but not enough to hold my attention. I found my mind wandering off from this story way too much.

This wasn’t my favorite book. It was hard to follow the plot and I had a hard time connecting with the characters or learning from them. I wanted this to be like The Ten Thousands Doors of January, but it wasn’t. That’s probably on me

The Saint of Bright Doors is unlike anything else I’ve ever read in some regards. And yet it also strongly brought to mind some other stories. Particularly, American Gods. On the surface, this is a strange comparison. The settings have absolutely nothing in common; The Saint of Bright Doors is very much a South Asian story, while American Gods is, obviously, firmly rooted in America. But there is something about Fetter and his approach to life that reminded me strongly of Shadow. But seem disconnected from reality in some way. Both are wielded by powers they don’t understand, but who they can’t seem to help but go along with. Both endure some serious weirdness. Reading both books felt something like a dark, gritty fever dream.

This is the kind of book that you can’t expect to follow completely. There aren’t a lot of explanations, and even those we are given feel difficult to grasp. The best way to enjoy this type of book is to let yourself float through it, much as Fetter does. The world building is both stellar and baffling, as is the mythos underpinning everything. Fetter’s parents are terrifying in their power and incomprehensibility. Fetter has been trained by his mother from birth toward the sole purpose of killing his father, who is as close to a god as one can become. His life is fraught with danger and fear and impossible tasks. He finds a bit of camaraderie in the city in the form of a support group for unchosen ones, people with some kind of divine heritage who did not end up becoming the next Chosen One of their respective religions. And then he finds the Bright Doors, door throughout the city that have been transmuted in some way, and his fascination with them becomes nearly all-consuming. That is, until the task for which he was groomed suddenly reinserts itself into his life.

This is a world of transcendence and demons, of castes and pogroms. It’s a dark world, but a fascinating and colorful one. I could feel the religious and societal inspirations from the author’s heritage. The ephemeral feel of the story from Fetter’s perspective, as someone who drifts through life in a way, was difficult to connect with at first. Thankfully, it grew on me. And then there was a twist of storytelling at the end that made that unmoored tone suddenly make sense, which really elevated the story for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Saint of Bright Doors. It was refreshingly original, in spite of those comparisons I drew between it and American Gods. Because while those similarities in main characters exist, the stories themselves are radically different. Especially in terms of setting and world building. That being said, if you happen to love American Gods, I think The Saint of Bright Doors could be your next favorite book.

I wasn't entirely sure that I was going to end up liking this book but it grew on me. I found the premise creative and interesting, the scope though may have been more than one book could cover and develop, as there were aspects that felt vague and infinished. This was a very ambitious debut that maybe would have been better served as a duology. The bright doors, which were what drew me to this book stayed closed except for close to the end, only hinting at the worlds that were possible behind them. Fetter being shadowless and what that could mean for him was something I also felt that the author could have spent more time on.

I enjoyed how Chandrasekera shaped his fantasy world in the image of our own, how colonization, religion, and politics were euphemized to create a strange and familiar landscape. As all whose lands have a history of constantly and consistently being colonized throughout history and even today can and will recognize, there are practical and elemental ways in which colonizers utilize our very existence against us, how they observe and learn our ways only to then twist them and use them to enslave and shackle.

I genuinely think that this would be better as two books, as there is still so much more that could be done in terms of further character e position and world-building.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me listen to this audiobook. The premise of the book captured my attention and I thought it was going to be a favorite of the year, but it isn't. I didn't enjoy the characters that much, or the plot. It was a little predictable and boring to be honest. I know a lot of people have been loving this book, but I did not. The narrator did a great job though. And I will read the next book Vajira comes out with; I want to give the author another try.

This was a book that I really wanted to love. The cover is lovely. The description is interesting. The genre is one that I enjoy. Unfortunately, for whatever reason it just did not work. I found that I could not care about the MC. For as interesting as the summary was, the plot did not live up to the hype. It was overly complicated and dull at the same time. The strongest bit is the lovely description, but that wasn't enough to make this enjoyable.

I did listen to this on audio and the narrator did a good job with what he was working with. I could follow who was speaking and I thought that the emotions were adequately conveyed.

I'm not really sure who to recommend this book to. It's not a typical fantasy or sci-fi. It has a sort of literary feel to it. If you like something a little slower with vague explanations and a fantasy concept that isn't explained in depth, maybe you'll enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Vajra Chandrasekera, and Tor for the Audio-ARC This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.

Truly, I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately this story was simply not for me. This literary work was gorgeous and at times mesmerizing to read, but it fell flat, energetically, for me. And while I absolutely love the audiobook's narrator, Sid Sagar, this was a frustrating and slow slog through yet another new release title that seems to celebrate its obscurity. I'm honestly quite tired of these books now.

So why didn't I DNF when I should have a zillion weeks ago? Simple. Because after acquiring the audiobook, it was impossible to leave Sid Sagar unfinished. For the first time in my life, I could say without a doubt that I could listen to someone, specifically this man, read a shopping list forever and actually mean that lol!

So, yeah, this rating is bittersweet, because I loved sooooo many fascinating, fantastical things- spirit/esoteric phenomena, enviro and magical elements, diversity and culture, lore, people- populating this work, but I did not actually enjoy this book as a whole, no matter how hard I tried to get into it.

This particular story just wasn't for me, but I will 100% read Vajra Chandrasekera's next release because there is extraordinary talent here and I know that it will only be a matter of time before I vibe with something VC will publish in the future!

I was immediately sucked into The Saint of Bright Doors and Chandrasekera's writing style: it felt like someone telling me a story infused with thousands of years of myth and history. It gave me Salman Rusdhie vibes by way of epic fantasy, but also felt completely unique. Fetter's bizarre childhood hooked me. Unfortunately, I had a technical issue that meant I couldn't finish this one, but I plan to buy a paper copy to read the whole thing and leave a longer review on social media.

A brand new release!
I read the audio version of this book. It took me a few chapters to connect with the main character Fetter and understand what was going on in his life. Then it moved more quickly. One of my favorite parts is when his mother tells her story. It's fascinating how the author weaves colonialism, classism, and racism into fantasy. There are also several surprises which kept me engaged and the narrator does an excellent job with different voices. Thanks NetGalley and publisher for allowing me to read it.

This is a South Asian fantasy novel about a man, Fetter, who was raised by his mother to assassinate his father. Fetter becomes tired of this violent lifestyle and goes to a whole different city to try a new life in hopes to find peace and to be a better man overall. The story was told in such a dreamy style and serene way. The very beginning reminded me of "Hercules" for some reason; it felt very godly.

I loved the narrator's voice and accent, I feel like it gave life to this story. Unfortunately, the story shifted around quite a lot and made it hard to follow along. This book is definitely unique with a beautiful cover and all, and it's unlike any novel I have ever read/heard, but it wasn't satisfying to me in any level and I personally became disinterested quickly.

There were moments I was fully engaged and then large portions where I would zone out completely. I couldn't keep my focus and the book dragged on more than it should've.

As always, thank you so much NetGalley for this ALC, Macmillan Audio, and thank you to the author.

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