Ink in the Blood

Volume XXVI / Issue 6 - October 11 / 2019
Ink in the Blood
Ink in the Blood
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Ink in the Blood

Author: 
Kim Smejkal
Boston, MA: Harcourt (Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), February, 2020
437 pp., hardcover, $25.50
ISBN: 
9781328557056
Grades: 
Grades 9 and up
Ages: 
Ages 14 and up
Review by: 
Review by Chris Laurie (Reviewed from Advance Reading Copy)
5
Excerpt: 

A big part of inkling training was deciphering prose: Fiona of Asura wanted to leave her partner. The Divine wanted her to know that this would ruin her family.

Celia now needed to translate the warning into art, something this stranger would understand. She tapped her raven quill on the table and bit her lip.

How to ink the omen?

She pressed the quill to her forearm, ignored the slicing pain as the magic took hold under her skin, and drew.
A hand mirror slowly took shape on Celia’s arm.

The tattoo would transfer to Fiona only when Celia commanded it. And it would appear line by line, exactly as Celia had drawn it, so she planned each stroke with precision. After receiving her own inked omen in the dead of night, Celia knew that execution was part of the show.

Celia imagined Fiona sitting up in her bed, sleep-mussed and confused about the pain at first, then realization mixing with fascination as she peered at the image forming on her skin. Celia always tried to make it as flawless a performance as possible. No long pauses to draw out the suspense. No unnecessary lines to confuse the image. Clean and pretty. It would stain Fiona’s skin forever, so it was the least Celia could do.

An hour later, as a final touch, Celia inscribed – Family is everything – inside the face of the mirror. A sentiment Celia wholeheartedly agreed with, thinking of Anya, but still, if Fiona had some other view of the world, who had the right to tell her otherwise? In Illinia, Profeta did.

For the past 10 years, Celia and her best friend Anya have been forced to be servants of the Profeta religion. Both have seen their parents killed, and both have been forced into servitude. As inklings, they are made to tattoo citizens with images that then guide the recipient’s life and, in effect, strip away their freedom. Neither Celia nor Anya have ever truly believed in the Divine, but they have been witness to the tortures and other behind-the-scene horrors wrought by the religion.

Capitalizing on the distraction caused by travelling theatre troupe Rabble Mob, the two 16-year- olds flee the city of Asura. As they travel to neighbouring townships with the troupe, the two settle into a new routine and soon begin to develop a new act using their hidden inkling skill. However, in one of the most unnerving scenes this reviewer has ever read, Celia discovers that the Divine is real and has followed them both, bent on revenge.

Kim Smejkal has masterfully created an immense, fascinating world filled with a large cast of well-written characters. The novel focuses primarily on friends Celia and Anja who are both engaging and complex. The many secondary characters are also unique and believable. Refreshingly in this novel’s world, orientation and identity are naturally understood as continua, with multiple characters using the pronoun they or its derivative forms, and some same-sex relationships are portrayed.

The universe surrounding the inklings suggests mediaeval Italy, with canals, travelling theatre troupes and a seeming absence of technology. Diverse themes, including religion, magic, friendship, and freedom of choice, are effectively woven throughout the novel. Fans of Holly Black, Kendra Blake and their ilk will find a favourite new author in Kim Smejkal.

As noted in a back cover blurb, “Kim Smejkal lives with her family on Vancouver Island in Canada which means she’s often lost in the woods or wandering a beach. She writes dark fantasy for young adults and not-so-young adults, always with a touch of magic. Ink in the Blood is her debut novel.”

Highly Recommended
Reviewer: 

Chris Laurie is an Outreach Librarian at Winnipeg Public Library in Winnipeg, MB.