‘The Never Tilting World’ Brings Real World Meaning to Prophecy and Elemental Magic

“A demoness is what men call a goddess they can’t control,” opens “The Never Tilting World,” the latest fantasy novel from Rin Chupeco, of “Bone Witch” trilogy fame. Touted as “Furyborn” meets “Mad Max,” the novel has everything: magic, romance, adventure, danger, and so much more that makes for an exciting read that also stands up to scrutiny of its deeper meaning. As Chupeco pulls us through the physically broken world of her creation, Aeon, she presents commentary on the state of the real world, touching on issues that one might consider contributors to cracks in our societal foundation.

“The Never Tilting World” explores dualities of all shapes and sizes within its pages, following the threads of four young people who travel to the literal edge of their world in search of healing and answers. After the Breaking, a cataclysmic event that brought the planet’s rotation to a grinding halt and doomed the two halves to eternal sunshine or eternal night, the twin goddesses who ruled Aeon are relegated to jurisdiction over their respective realms. But this broken world needs mending, and it is their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, who are called to the Great Abyss that rends the world in search of peace for themselves and their people. Accompanied by a healer bodyguard and a snarky fire wielding desert clansman, respectively, they must find their way through treacherous physical and emotional territory for answers about themselves and their pasts, as well as a way to fix a world torn asunder.

Though this fantasy world shows unimaginable extremes of blistering desert city and stormy wave-besieged metropolis, the book draws immediate parallels to the real world with its encroaching threats of ever more destructive climate change. In the very first few chapters, the parallels are blatant — “winter had traveled closer this year,” and Odessa’s primary job as princess is to aid in warding off the threats of permafrost to their ocean city — which grants the readers a frank discussion of the dangers of melting permafrost and rising ocean levels.

Though not as overt as in these first few chapters, Chupeco makes a point of integrating a discussion of nature and its balance, shown primarily by Odessa’s newfound powers. Every feat of magic comes with a price: She is able to grow plentiful crops and luscious vegetation, but the land becomes almost instantaneously barren — a nod to agricultural devastation and overuse of land. Though taking the book (with its discussion of fate and predetermined destiny) might spiral one into pessimism, Chupeco’s tale doesn’t seem to deliver a doomsday prophecy, but simply a warning: It’s time to make a change before it’s too late to save this broken world.

Chupeco brilliantly inserts nuggets of commentary on gender roles and stereotypes into her novel, refusing to bend to such stereotypes and building far more interesting characters as a result. For example, Haidee is reminiscent of the classic tomboy — but rarely do we see major female characters getting their hands dirty with machinery. Though Arjun, her partner, is far less sheltered, Haidee is the one who uses her “mechanika” skills to rebuild their vehicle to withstand the desert conditions. In the other realm, Gracea, the highest ranking authority among Odessa’s team of soldiers, exhibits abusive tendencies that historically fall more towards male characters in stories. As a matter of fact, all the high ranking soldiers, male and female, exhibit these abusive behaviors towards their servants (clerks), which in a sense is a relatively radical statement in itself — though this isn’t a particularly heartening example, it does very purposefully alter the stereotype for such stories.

The romantic narratives also involve a discussion of class. It’s a classic story of a princess and commoner who fall into forbidden love — one that both Odessa and Haidee contend with. What elevates their stories are the separate intricacies entangled within: Odessa is lesbian, and her love for Lan is forbidden because she must produce an heir. Chupeco does create a powerful message here, no question. By placing the relationship parallel to another (heterosexual) classic love story, Chupeco normalizes Odessa’s feelings in a way that showcases, unobtrusively, that these stories can exist in just the same space as heterosexual stories can.

Night and day, living and dead, fire and water: two sisters, two worlds, two journeys. With four perspectives to draw on, Chupeco weaves an intricate tale riddled with dualities that creates an entertaining read but also contends with many real world issues. “A Never Tilting World” is more than a story of adventure, of elemental magic, and of betrayal and destiny. The sequel will undoubtedly be one to watch out for.