This novel taught me that we should be careful what we wish for! A couple of years ago, I reviewed R. B. Lemberg's first book length prose volume in the 'Birdverse', a short novel or more probably a novella called 'The Four Profound Weaves'. I adored the poetic writing style and I adored the far from typical characters, but I found the fantasy elements too ephemeral, as if the author had zero interest in actually explaining anything. I wondered what Lemberg could conjure up if they wrote a more substantial piece with more grounding.

Well, that's exactly what 'The Unbalancing' is. It's not a long novel, but it's certainly longer than a novella, and it's far more grounded, spending its entire time in the islands of Gelle-Geu—which I'd pronounce with two soft Gs, possibly inappropriately—with a primary plot that unfolds relatively consistently from beginning to end. It's a further 'Birdverse' book with another pair of admirably atypical lead characters and some of the mystical elements return, such as the use of deepnames, mental constructs used for magical purposes. These remain unexplained, though they are subject to the laws of mathematics, which explorations I found fascinating, and serve mostly as an obvious representation of power. You're powerful if you have one deepname and each additional one lifts you in the power hierarchy.

At heart, this is a tragedy a thousand years in the making, because the star anchored in the water off the Gelle-Geu islands, that brings it life and safety, has become unstable and is likely to fail at any point. Already there are earthquakes and they're getting worse. The islands are facing total disaster and a new starkeeper is elected to make a difference, Ranra Kekeri by name, but it soon becomes clear to her that what's needed was needed a long time ago and her predecessors have not left her in an enviable position, possibly not even a tenable one.

She's a fascinating character, a go-getter with three deepnames who is eager to become a solution to whatever problems have been left for her to clean up. She's female, notably so because gender is a spectrum in the Birdverse, so pronouns are not simple—Lemberg neatly avoids complications on that front by narrating in the first person, even though they alternate between two characters again. Ranra is open with her relationships and isn't gender-specific in her choices, which, through Lemberg's capable character building, makes her seem free and confident rather than horny and promiscuous.

It's an important aspect to her character because of how it impacts her ability to get things done. She has an ensemble of advisors, a number of whom she's slept with and might make assumptions as to what their relationship means. Above all, it flavours her most important relationship, which is with Erígra Lilún, the other key character here, who's even more fascinating than she is, one of my favourite characters in recent fiction. The biggest success of this book is in how the two are so fundamentally different yet connect in very believable ways.

Lilún is a poet who's clearly neurodiverse. While Ranra flourishes in social situations, Lilún avoids them with a passion, spending most of their time tending the garden on Semberí's Hill, which is so secluded that it's actually not visible to anyone else except the ghost who lends it its name. He is the gentleman who brought the star to the islands a thousand years ago and he's emphatic about how Lilún should become starkeeper in order to soothe it and restore stability before it's too late. That's not how Lilún sees it, though, and their courteous friendship becomes a little fractious.

Of course, Semberí is kind of an expert on this front and it would behoove both Ranra and Lilún to listen to him, but also for them to read a little deeper as to what must actually be done. As I stated earlier, this is a tragedy at heart but one with hope. It's about how all things must eventually end and yet also become new beginnings. Both Lilún and especially Ranra are too wrapped up in their own interpretations of what's going on to acknowledge the true reality of it and Semberí, even if he's introduced as a wise all-knowing ghost, has flawed perspective too. I love how that plays out.

I have to confess that I'm of two minds about my wish for a more grounded 'Birdverse' book.

This is not far from what I was hoping for in the closing remarks in my review of 'The Four Profound Weaves' and there's much to praise about the single setting and strong focus on one fundamental plot strand. It certainly makes this book far more accessible than its predecessor and, while both are standalones, this would be the best choice to start with if you're interested in diving into this universe.

However, I found this a little less lyrical and poetic than the previous book and that stripped some of the magic so obvious in 'The Four Profound Weaves' away from this story and I missed that. With it gone, I enjoyed this more for its characters than its prose and not the primary two leads alone, though which others I appreciated most depended on where I was on the book. I felt far closer to both Ranra and Lilún than anyone last time out, but I didn't feel the need to read this one aloud to myself to hear the majesty of the prose.

At least the grounding gives Lemberg the ability to expand the Birdverse a little, in ways that are reminiscent of Ursula K. LeGuin and I'm hoping to see a lot more of. In particular, Lilún is without a gender, because that's something that people decide on in this universe when they feel strongly enough to choose one. It has nothing at all to do with biological parts and Lilún has been celibate for a long time. I find Lemberg's use of gender as a spectrum as fascinating, especially in how it's officially adopted through public display of jewellery tokens, even though, I connected personally more to Lilún through their neurodivergence.

I adored 'The Four Profound Leaves' but I was also frustrated by it. I enjoyed 'The Unbalancing' but to a lesser degree. I didn't adore it but I also wasn't frustrated by it. It's much more accessible and that proved to be both a good and a bad thing. I'm eager to see what Lemberg comes up with next. ~~ Hal C F Astell

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