lightlark
lightlark is a young adult fantasy novel written by American author Alex Aster. The work was first published in physical format by Harry N. Abrams publishing house. Later, it had a translation by Alfaguara and Victoria Simó Perales. The book was launched in Spanish in 2023, after becoming a bestseller on booktok and the United States. Its popularity was such that it remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 42 weeks in a row.
This story contrasts with that of its beginnings, since, According to Alex Aster, she spent ten years pushing to get a publisher to sign her. In the end, the writer undertook a marketing campaign on booktok, where she found her reading public, as well as a contract for an upcoming installment of lightlark and a film adaptation by Universal Pictures.
Synopsis of lightlark
The island of every hundred years
Six magical kingdoms know the story of a mysterious island that emerges from the sea every hundred years. This place is known as Lightlark, and it is more real than anyone imagines. When the time comes, the island resurfaces from the ocean and summons the six rulers of the six respective towns, whom they a terrible curse lurks. Each of them must attend the island and fight to the death to get their people exorcised from their suffering.
Actually, Lightlark has always been in the same place, but a mystical mist prevents people from the nearby lands from being able to access it by ship. Upon showing themselves to the world, the six rulers discover that the island is not only inhabited, but also has political systems and a vast society. This territory is presented as the battlefield, but also as a salvation.
A 500 year curse
The novel states that, five hundred years ago, a curse fell on the inhabitants of the six kingdoms. that has kept them miserable. Since then the Centenary has been celebrated, a sort of The Hunger Games where only one of the rulers will rise with the power that will allow him to save his people. Meanwhile, one of them will be destined to die, condemning his own people to non-existence.
However, there is a problem with this concept: if the curse has lasted for five hundred years, and the centenary has occurred every hundred years since then, How is it possible that the residents continue to be cursed?
This plot gap is garnished if attention is paid to other details, such as that the inhabitants never live more than twenty-five years, or that the labor force, apparently, is governed by children and adolescents.
Wildling's Sovereign
Crown Island is the ruler of the savage kingdom, where women are cursed with being forced to murder the man they love and extract his heart. Throughout her life, Isla has been trained to attend the Centennial and become the savior of a people increasingly dejected by desolation. Despite being certain of her position, the young woman falls in love with one of her enemies, which embroils her in a moral dilemma.
While trying to keep one of his great disadvantages a secret from the other opponents, You must figure out how to fight your own desires, at the same time that she fights without any magical power in a contest where everyone is apparently more skilled than her. Thanks to Isla, the main plot of the novel unfolds, as well as a love triangle and a story of intrigues and betrayals where even the least expected can be impious.
comparative criticism of lightlark
lightlark It is one of those youth novels that keep readers and critics divided. Despite its initial great acceptance, the book suffered a decrease in the furore caused when several reviewers began to find plot flaws. It should be noted that many other award-winning fantasy titles have narrative errors. Nevertheless, lightlark it has endured a media blitz on various platforms, such as Amazon and Goodreads.
Most of the negative reviews state that lightlark does not develop the premise it promises, and that, in fact, the plot does not have a solid general construction, leaving many questions in the air. Also, there are inconsistencies that are very easy to notice.
For their part, the positive comments speak of Alex Aster's ability to create a living world, with entertaining and fast-paced situations. Added to this, praise the conformation of the characters and its fresh dialogues.
About the author, Alex Aster
Alex Aster
Alex Aster was born on August 8, 1995, in the United States. She is an American author of Colombian descent. She began writing when she was still very young, developing a particular taste for fantasy, romance, and youth literature. when she was a child, her grandmother used to tell her stories about the folklore of her native Colombia, which gave rise to the young woman to create Emblem Island: Curse of the Night Witch, one of his first works.
He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2017. Since the viralization of his first video on booktok, a literary community on the Tiktok platform, Aster has been featured in various media including television, YouTube channels, newspapers and magazines.. In fact, the author has grown so much in popularity that she, to date, is one of the most influential women under 30 according to Forbes 2023.
Aster is very active on social media. His Instagram account has 165 thousand followers, and his Tiktok profile has 1.2M followers and 33.9M likes. Despite criticism of her material, the author maintains a loyal community, in addition to having the support of other well-known writers, as well as publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly, who have praised her work and predicted a great future in letters.