Faithless, Unbroken, Revolutionary: The Powerful Second Installment of C.L. Clark’s “Magic of the Lost” Series
When C. L. Clark’s The Unbroken hit shelves in March 2021, readers were launched into a lush new world of empire and colony—a world that soldier Touraine had to navigate with perfect balance as a person raised and employed by the nation that conquered her people’s homeland. Thrust into direct conflict with people who both looked like her and who still practiced the culture she had been denied by strict imperial schooling, Touraine managed her conflicting feelings deftly, believing that she knew who she was. Or at least, she did—until she and her fellow Sands, soldiers who, like her, came from the colony they now policed, are once again treated as resources to be spent rather than people. By the end of the first novel, Touraine has changed sides: betrayed by her empire, she becomes a traitor, siding with the people to overthrow their colonizers.
But simply choosing a side doesn’t make the world any easier to navigate. In The Faithless, the newly formed Qazāli Council sends Touraine into Balladaire, the center of the empire, as their ambassador. They have chosen Touraine because Balladaire’s princess, whom she once served (and, maybe, loved), has made her fondness for Touraine well known, and the Qazāli believe Touraine will be able to manipulate that affection. They also want to be rid of Touraine’s presence, due to the taboo magic she embraced to overthrow Balladaire’s grip on Qazāl. Touraine, on the other hand, has no desire to go back to Balladaire, not because she fears the nation, but because she fears it will feel like returning home.
The Faithless also continues the saga of Princess Luca’s search for magic, and her quest to take back her throne from her uncle, a regent who has no intention of giving up the crown. Though ambitious, Luca’s heart tends to be in the right place—especially in chapters told from her point of view—and she truly wants what is best for the most people. Deciding what that is, however, is anything but simple. When Luca’s investigation into the native magic of Balladaire, banished when her nation disavowed their gods, reveals uncomfortable truths, Luca has to decide if the price of magic is worth paying, for herself or for her nation.
It was hard to believe that The Unbroken was Clark’s debut novel in 2021, and it’s impressive to watch her meet—and surpass—reader expectations in the sequel The Faithless, which was released almost two years later. On a surface level, the story is an enemies-to-lovers style romance at set against a backdrop of court intrigue and power-hungry nobles grasping for control. But the series feels like layers of sedimentary rock, striated with colors and sheens that show the eras in which they were both born and compressed. The world feels like a palimpsest: Balladaire’s empire is built upon their colonies, which in turn are built upon much longer traditions, devoted to gods whose wills are difficult to ascertain. Whether the scene is a dance or a battle or a simple conversation, that feeling of depth and history is present on every page.