S. Kaeth reviewed Glass Kanin by Kia Leep (NPSeeds Saga, #1)
As a rising actor, Kanin's body is his career. His identity. His life. All that …
Pure brilliance
5 stars
In Glass Kanin, the debut novel of Kia Leep, readers are immersed in a story of one man’s struggle against his own lost autonomy that still manages to be packed full of whimsy, humor, and heart. This is a charming LitRPG that made LitRPG lovers out of my family (we didn’t read much of this genre before, though we do play lots of D&D. Now, my teenage son has dived into the genre). Kanin’s a great introduction to the world, as the reader can fumble along with him even if you haven’t read much LitRPG before— you can echo his thoughts of “what is going on”. Kanin’s extremely sympathetic, for all his faults, especially as he comes to terms with being attached to a soul-eating void monster and wonders what that means for him. How can he be a good person worthy of friends when at a violent, malevolent being …
In Glass Kanin, the debut novel of Kia Leep, readers are immersed in a story of one man’s struggle against his own lost autonomy that still manages to be packed full of whimsy, humor, and heart. This is a charming LitRPG that made LitRPG lovers out of my family (we didn’t read much of this genre before, though we do play lots of D&D. Now, my teenage son has dived into the genre). Kanin’s a great introduction to the world, as the reader can fumble along with him even if you haven’t read much LitRPG before— you can echo his thoughts of “what is going on”. Kanin’s extremely sympathetic, for all his faults, especially as he comes to terms with being attached to a soul-eating void monster and wonders what that means for him. How can he be a good person worthy of friends when at a violent, malevolent being can take over his tiny glass body and murder people with horrific levels of violence? Noli is a pure bundle of sunshine, and the fact that she’s deaf and knows sign gives her a way to teach Kanin how to communicate, throwing him a lifeline when he feels like he’s drowning in this new world. Every character is fully fleshed out and leaps off the page, so that the adventure feels like you’re right there with your new friends (and honestly, you can’t get a better friend than Nol!). I love the way sign is naturally integrated throughout the plot, along with Kanin’s efforts to learn and improve at the language. Kanin is gay and Noli is lesbian (and eager to get back to her wife) but the plot isn’t about being gay, just like it’s not about Noli’s disability. It’s just another piece of who they are as people, another brushstroke of color on the canvas of the world. And that’s another thing. The ridiculousness is embraced in this book (including the title pun!). Kanin, an actor, is stuck as a bottle of ink. Gone is his body and his voice and everything he honed for his career, and now he has to depend on his wits and on his friendship. Kia has a gift for weaving together strong feelings of grief and horror and determination together with laugh-out-loud humor in a way that feels entirely normal, rather than giving whiplash. The diversity of her characters and the pure brilliance of her creativity shine throughout the gripping plot.
