By Judy Fernandez Diaz
Julian Randall is masterful at creating vivid, magic-filled, fantastical worlds that leap off the page. In The Chainbreakers, the award-winning author of the Pilar Ramirez duology effortlessly weaves poetic prose, suspenseful storytelling, and stakes so high you hold your breath as you turn the page. He creates courageous middle-grade characters you want to root for, that make you chuckle, all while you fear for their safety as they navigate death-defying predicaments. These characters stay with you long after you’ve finished their journey.
The Chainbreakers, his forthcoming novel out on Sept. 3 from Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), is an action-packed adventure that follows 12-year-old Violet Moon on a mission to rescue her father from the depths of the ocean.
Violet has wanted to be a Reaper captain like her dad since she was seven years old. Reapers and their ancestors have been protecting the ocean from the Children of the Shark, these ghost-shark demons, for generations. Violet’s dad is the captain of the Mooney, one of the five Reaper ships brave enough to take these deadly creatures on. The Mooney’s home is Horizon, a place Violet loves and calls home:
What I’ve always loved about Horizon is that you hear it before you see it. Alive or dead, Horizon is never shy about greeting you with a song. Rows of drummers line the shore, a choir of brightly dressed singers holds their notes, and the people of Horizon clap as I pull the Mooney into the port.
The hustle and calls of the market ring beneath the light of lanterns. Behind it all, the low-slung buildings and family homes have the salty, cinnamon smell of home.
It’s clear Violet cherishes her home, but in The Chainbreakers, Randall explores the following questions for his main character: Do you sacrifice one to save the many, or do you risk sacrificing the many to save the one? Will Violet – who is loyal to her people –put them and future souls at risk to save her dad? The latter question is the one Violet must answer when her father is captured during one of their missions. Violet admires her dad and is devastated when he’s taken from her. She’s one of the only people who believes he’s alive, despite attending his candle boat ceremony—a celebration of life for those who have passed away. She approaches the council comprised of Reapers from all five ships and begs for their help:
“They have taken our captain and my father. Let me be the one to bring him back.”
“You would risk the only ship Horizon has, our only means of rescuing Passengers, for one man, who we presume is…?” a councilor next to Mekiba trails off.
"My father is alive,” I growl. “And I would risk it for my father.”
“And do you”—Mekiba leans forward in her seat—“know the difference between what you ask as a captain and what you ask as a daughter?”
The question punches the wind from my chest. Tears prick my eyes, but I blink them back and say flatly, “I know the difference. I have been training for this role my whole life. What I don’t understand is why the council refuses to even discuss trying to—”
Violet’s first order of business is to convince the council to accept her proposal for a potentially deadly mission. She is tenacious. Giving up is not an option for her. So she sets out to recruit allies to help in her mission, starting with Moss, the first Passenger she ever rescued. Violet is determined to not stop until her dad is back by her side where he belongs:
“We’re on our way to see Sand,” I say, referring to the chef who greeted us earlier when we docked the Mooney.
“What would a line cook from Palm know about a dangerous mission to the Depths?” asks Moss.
I smirk just a little despite myself. “An ordinary line cook? Nothing. But a spy disguised as a line cook, who also happens to make the best grilled squid in the Five Heavens? Well, he might just be able to help us.”
The Chainbreakers is a wild ride through the depths of the ocean, full of battles with demon sea creatures, unexpected friendships and allies, and a spunky protagonist who readers will cheer for on each page. Part of Violet’s journey is realizing she’s not alone. At its core, this story is about how the love of one’s family fuels strength to overcome insurmountable obstacles, even long after they’ve passed:
“Are we not the children of those who said No more? Who tore the chains from their wrists and made their Heaven where they were?”
A roar of agreement goes up, even the Palm Reapers taking the beat now as I feel myself stand taller, my voice strong and vibrant.
“All our legends begin with the hands of legends not yet named, prayers not yet answered. The Chainbreakers didn’t have the luxury of knowing they would become Chainbreakers; they only knew the stars were dim.”
“From the mouths of the young!” Blues smacks the table hard in assent as the pounding beat grows in volume beneath my words, building to a crescendo.
“Our legends begin with a dimming of the stars. Siblings, our enemy gathers below us.”
A great cry shakes the dust from the shelves, the whole room vibrating as my fellow Reapers stand united, stomping their feet in agreement. Even Constellation has taken the pounding.
“Children of the Chainbreakers, if our stars are dim, it is only because the ancestors trust that we will fight in the dark.”
That scene was one of many that gave me goosebumps as ancestral ties and magic is one of my favorite theme combinations in fiction and The Chainbreakers had it in spades. In addition, it is an extremely fast-paced and fun story, and a must-read for all lovers of fantasy fiction.
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Visit our Bookshop to pre-order a copy of The Chainbreakers.
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About the Author:
Julian Randall is a Living Queer Black author from Chicago. He has received fellowships from Cave Canem, CantoMundo, Callaloo, and the Watering Hole. Julian is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and the winner of the 2019 Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award from the Publishing Triangle.
His writing has been published in New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, and POETRY, and anthologized in Black Boy Joy (which debuted at #1 on the NYT Best Seller list), Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, and Furious Flower. Julian has essays in The Atlantic, Vibe Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books and other venues. They hold an MFA in poetry from University of Mississippi.
Julian is the author of five books across three genres. For adults Refuse (Pitt, 2018), winner of the 2017 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and a finalist for a 2019 NAACP Image Award and The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi and Black TV Nerd Shit (Bold Type Books, May 2024). For younger readers: the Pilar Ramirez duology and the forthcoming middle grade novel The Chainbreakers (all from Holt Books for Young Readers).
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Judy Fernandez Diaz is a first-generation Dominican American living in Arizona. She was selected as a Las Musas Books Spring 2020 Hermana mentee, and an Aspen Summer Words middle-grade participant in 2022. Her short stories have been featured in two anthologies: “The Larimar Experiment” was included in Where Monsters Lurk and Magic Hides published by Bee Infinite Publishing (Sept 2022) and “Flor de Caña” was included in Quislaona: A Fantasy Anthology published by DWA Press and Worldbuilding Magazine (2023).
In addition to writing, she enjoys a career in elementary school human resources while raising her beautiful 11-year old daughter.
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