I’ll be honest folks, this next one snuck up on me. Even though I adored Micaiah Johnson’s debut, The Space Between Worlds, I wasn’t quite ready to return to Ashtown. My current aversion to exploring sequels does not help either. But on a whim, I decided you know what, the library has it, I might as well give it a shot. And goddamnit, this might be one of the best books I read this year. Those Beyond The Wall is a mean, scrappy fighter of a book that holds no punches as it makes its presence known.
Ashtown thrives within the desert outside the pristine walls of Wiley City. It is ruled by the emperor, and his will is enforced by his many riders. Mr. Scales is on of those enforcers, and damn good at it too. She is known for her clever brutality amongst her foes, while some others know a slightly softer side. So when she witnesses one of her closest friends murdered in front of her eyes, with no culprit in sight her fire ignites. When similar deaths start to occur in the privileged Wiley City, the emperor of Ashtown tasks Mr. Scales with figuring out what the hell is going on. It’s not long before she starts to cross paths with those who used to traverse worlds, and everyone has a sneaking suspicion that this might be part of the problem.
I’ll state it right off the bat; I am astounded by Johnson’s writing ability. The brash, mean, and angry prose is back and filled with the grit of the desert. It gets under your nails, irritates your nostrils, and finds its way into every fold of your being. I have more highlighted passages and sentences from this book than I know what to do with. The writing is ferocious, giving Mr. Scales infinite dimensions. And within those dimensions, we get to see Johnson really open up her world.
Ashtown is given a whole new feeling within the book as well. The stark divide between the wealthy, bubbled Wiley City, and rough and tumble of Ashtown is made clearer. Where Those Beyond The Wall goes further however, is the political tension and the perspectives of each community as they stare at each other across the barricades. Ashtown may seem ugly from the outside looking in, but it’s a place that takes care of its own, and uses its image to protect itself from the machinations of the citizens of Wiley. It knows it can be scary, and so puts on a scary face to deter those looking to “save it.” Johnson goes to great lengths to show that Ashtown is a place where one can belong though, not just exist. Yes, it may seem to have a harsh system of law, one that is more plain on its face, but unlike Wiley, responsibility and accountability are held in high regard. I could go on about Johnson’s nuance in her portrayal of Ashtown’s political system, but honestly, you should discover it for yourself. It’s refreshing to see power so starkly defined.
Johnson eagerly plays with identity in relation to community. There are so many layers at play it’s almost hard to keep them straight. To list them all would taunt the abyss, but I want to highlight a few of my favorite ways Scales deals with it all. First off, it is refreshing and deeply satisfying to follow a character who knows herself so well. I did not read this story as an identity crisis in the sense of finding oneself. Instead, it felt more of an identity crisis in the sense of learning to grow into one’s fated role. Scales knows who she is, and who she is destined to be, but is reluctant to fully accept the responsibility. She has a role to play and a role she likes to play; her crisis is bridging the gap and by god is it done well. She has her own internal strife, but it is very much not the typical “woe is me” stuff. A lot of that internal strife is learning how to deal with the fact the varying people in her life see her in different ways. It’s not that she is shattered, but she is a multifaceted jewel, showing one face or another depending on the person and the situation. One can be more than one thing at a time, and her story is mastering that as a tool to become a fully realized agent.
To bring it back a little bit, Johnson’s writing goes an incredibly long way here, giving Scales an inner voice that is perfectly suited for the tone. It’s furious, but not quite righteous. Her anger is pointed inwards and outwards and leaps off the page in compelling ways. You get to see the world through her eyes and want to tear it down with her. There are moments where it soars to near righteousness, but the characters around her and situations at hand are quick to remind her that righteousness can lead to ruin, but they never tell her to cool off. Speaking of, the supporting cast in Those Beyond the Wall is so good. Similar to Scales, they are also all shown in a different light than in the previous book. Character development should never be a straight line and the lengths that Johnson goes to to cut new faces from the jewels that exist is a joy to watch. People seen as villainous in the previous book are given a different angle to see their plans. Certain things are never excused of course, but everyone has a role to play. Caralee, from the first novel, seen from the outside just hits differently. Her cynicism from the first book while refreshing, feels distant here. I found myself much more sympathetic to Scales’ worldview, and it was nice to see them play off each other and learn from each other.
Those Beyond The Wall is the perfect unplanned sequel. It builds on the themes from the previous book without re-treading the same ground. It gives the world a lot more depth and creates more interesting conundrums out of the central problems within the world. You can really feel Johnson putting her all into it, and pulling it off. It would feel like a disservice to not mention that Johnson pulls from real life experiences to help tell her story, and that aspect feels present as hell in a good way. The complexity of the situation that the characters find themselves in is treated with a thoroughness I did not expect for the page count of the book. Do yourself a favor, and pick up this book, and The Space Between Worlds if you haven’t read it yet.
Rating: Those Beyond The Wall – Tear Down the Walls With Gusto
-Alex
