Identity (Book 1: The Nine Hundred Golden Suns)

Identity (Book 1: The Nine Hundred Golden Suns), by Jade Cahoon

Hi guys, how has your week been?
If you’ve come across any new favourite reads lately, I’d love to hear about them.

Today, I’m reviewing Identity (Book 1: The Nine Hundred Golden Suns), a gripping science fiction story by Jade Cahoon.

About

Norah, a young book-loving university student gets the shock of her life when her city is attacked by strange spacecraft and her good friend Casey declares she might actually be an alien princess. With no memories of life before four years ago, Norah has no idea who she is, but on a journey across worlds, she will soon find out. But, will she accept her new identity, with all the pain and responsibility that is sure to come with it?

Characters

Norah (secretly Princess Anutea) was an interesting and highly relatable character for me. An avid reader, forgetful, and a little lost in life, I felt a growing sense of kinship with her. Having been found naked in a field four years prior to the start of the story, with no idea who she is, Norah simply began creating a new life and a personality to go with it. She seeks answers as to who she was before she was found that night and when her city is attacked by strange spacecraft, her journey for such answers truly begins. Throughout the story, Norah had to make some truly tough decisions as her life and identity changed forever. Overall, she felt relatable and admirable, for all that she endured on her journey.

Casey, Norah’s close friend (secretly a Space Captain called Casilim La) was a protective and loyal companion, who did whatever he needed to in every situation to keep her safe. He repeatedly demonstrated his bravery, as well as his devotion to her as he risked his own life to preserve hers. His growing affection for Norah was evident from the start of the story and as Norah’s own affections became visible, I couldn’t help but root for the pair of them to get together.

Loren, a deputy leader of The Empire at first appeared cold, mysterious, and goal-driven. At first, I didn’t like him at all, however, over the course of the story, his character became oddly sympathetic and I became conflicted over how to feel about him overall. His actions began to make more sense as parts of his past were revealed. At times, I couldn’t help but feel pity for him, yo-yoing back and forth between my general dislike of him as a character.

Likes

Identity was a gripping and enjoyable read. I particularly liked the following aspects of it.

The third person narration works well as there are several key players involved in this story, each inhabiting a different location. The narrative point of view shifts mainly between Norah and Casey, alongside Loren’s on occasion, giving us a more varied perspective on the core issue of the novel: Identity.
The world-building was unique, with multiple races, languages, and technology introduced in snippets throughout, providing a promising glimpse of what this series has in store for its readers.
The antagonistic relationship between Casey (Casilim La) and Loren was well constructed and gradually revealed more of their intertwined and complicated pasts, revealing the true extent of their hatred for each-other.
The gradual relationship which formed between Norah and Casey was heart-warming and had that ‘it’s about time guys’ feeling that you might get when watching a beloved tv show.
The exploration of Norah’s sense of self was well executed. Her character arc of identity, beginning with a lack of true identity, shifting toward regaining said identity, was intriguing and well-developed over time.

My one dislike was that the copy I received for review could have done with a good proofread beforehand, as after the half way mark, there were a decent amount of grammatical errors which repeatedly interrupted the flow of the story and confused some of the meaning of the words.

Memorable Quotes

Throughout the book, I kept my eyes open for quotes that stood out to me. On this occasion, I found just one, but its importance has stayed with me since.

‘Maybe the question wasn’t who she was, but who she ought to be.’

This quote left me thinking deeply about who we all ought to be: who do we want to be in life, compared to who we currently are? What are our hopes and dreams, and how can we live up to our full potential as individuals?

Overview

Overall, Identity (Book 1: The Nine Hundred Golden Suns) was a unique tale of a loss of identity, and an epic space journey toward gradually recovering a person’s true sense of self.

My Rating: 5 stars. A moving and deeply engaging sci-fi journey.
Recommended to: Lovers of gripping science fiction series.

Would you like more information?

Learn more about Identity by visiting its Goodreads page, HERE.
Or, find out more about Jade Cahoon by visiting her Goodreads page, HERE.

As always, thank you for joining me for today’s review.
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Wishing you a wonderful week,
Ellie. xoxo