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Giving Revolutionaries a Voice
Children of Maya follows a changeling rabbit that wants to free her fellow prey animals from a life of slavery. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
My homeland of Romania had a thriving mining industry, and during the historic rebellion against the Communist Dictator Nicolae Ceacuscu in 1989, the miners protested on masse. The story was inspired by those events to give those brave revolutionaries a voice.
Maria leads the revolt and turns into a dynamic character. What were some driving ideals behind her character’s development?
Maria herself was based on my grandmother. A woman with a heart of steel and even harder determination.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Family struggles have always been my forte in storytelling. If it’s the calloused father with egomania, the overworked mother at a loss with how to raise her children, the selfish siblings who can never get along, or just the misguided friends who forget when to follow and stay loyal, all these people are interesting, lovable and even redeemable. Ambivalence is a lovely thing when you try to understand why people behave the way they do. Magic realism and overcoming adversity was another fundamental theme. I want people to look at their lives and study the past and ask themselves, are they actually struggling compared to what others have endured.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I want to build the sequel to Children of Maya, and I promise it will bring more to the table. More adventures, mishaps and epic struggles against the odds. But at the same time, I have a second novel already finished and largely polished I want to publish. It’s inspired by the history of the late Roman empire, with light magic and a lot of court intrigue. It’s a surprise, but fans of my first book will feel right at home.
Author Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Children of Maya
Children of Maya, by author Christopher Vastag, takes place in the land of Kaskilla. It’s a world that is inhabited by changelings, and animals granted a human spirit by the goddess Maya. But the predator changelings have not kept true to Maya’s word and have enslaved the prey changelings. Maria, one of the enslaved rabbits, plans a rebellion from the mine she is forced to work in. Her escape leads her to an unlikely ally, Prince Reginald. Together they unite a group of prey and predator changelings while evading the cult, Khaytan’s Covenant, led by Absolvers.
Vastag tells this imaginative story from the first-person point of view. The point of view alternates between three different characters. Each time he switched characters or chapters, he does label the section with whose viewpoint we are in. Without that, this would have been a confusing story. Though, I feel the story would have had a better flow had it been written in the third person point of view.
This is a page-turning novel with a lot of action, a variety of characters that have depth, and a twisting plotline with multiple facets. The pacing of the story is fast, keeping readers engaged throughout the story. The character development has enough details that will keep young adults interested and helps readers get to know who is in the story, but it is not so overly detailed that they will lose interest. In addition, the author has left some questions unanswered as the plot unfolds, giving readers something to look forward to in a sequel. I am especially interested in reading more of Maria and Reginald’s story.
Children of Maya puts together a fantastic fantasy story with characters that readers will connect with and cheer for. Maya is kind-hearted and shows the goodness of the world she lives in that the animals living in the kingdom can have a better life. It is a story of friendships and allies, self-discovery, and the battle for freedom.
Pages: 406 | ISBN : 1624751555
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