Exodus's Chorus

Book: Exodus's Chorus by A.J. Peterson

Reviewed by Rallie X

Rating: 6/5

𝔸ℝℂ ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 - 𝙀𝙭𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙨'𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙪𝙨, out October 13th!
As with my review of Oblivion's Hymn, I don't know exactly where to get started. So thank you to A.J. Peterson for giving me access to the eARC to review, this review and opinions are my own. The degree of rabid affection I have for this series cannot be contained. All of you who have been with me since last November know how obsessed I am with Oblivion's Hymn so you're in luck you get to hear me scream about this one instead (Both? Both. Both. Both Is Good).
<i>Something else strange is afoot here.</i>
Bastion laughed fondly. <i>It would be stranger if there weren’t something strange afoot with that group.</i>

A.J.'s writing has a really specific feeling of inspiration for me - like, reading this series I've found such a deeply honest exploration of what it means to be human, to confront shame and grief and to believe in yourself and accept praise while still acknowledging that you are not and could never possibly be "perfect". I mean, Bastion's conversation with Echo about Rhienne is such a perfect example of this sentiment, <spoiler>"'She could move mountains and rattle stars if only she would try'.”</spoiler>and <spoiler>had me crying throughout the book at every call-back to it in Rhienne's internal monologue</spoiler> (so like OBVIOUSLY Bastion is still one of my favorite characters!). Not to get academic on main but the series is giving big Badiou artistic/poetic Truth vibes. And I love it.
Another thing that A.J. brought into the story is chronic pain, especially the kind that attacks who you are. As somebody with multiple chronic illnesses, I resonated do strongly with Echo throughout the book. Just as much as Oblivion's Hymn has one of the most accurate representations of suicidal ideation I've ever read, Exodus's Chorus uses the language of fantasy to convey how deeply developining disabilities can affect your sense of self as you have to carve out pieces of your life or figure out how to change them to make them still viable - there's a very specific kind of mourning that accompanies it and A.J. captured it perfectly, e.g. <spoiler>"Three months ago, she’d fought the literal gods; now she couldn’t even get out of bed."</spoiler> It's just so deeply relatable that I think anybody who has gone through a similar struggle and the feeling of being basically betrayed by your body will understand on like a molecular level.
It was so exciting to expand the PoVs, adding in Exodus and Irelia brought so much to the story; two new "vectors" (so to speak) through which to explore some of the base concepts at the heart of the series (belonging, self-worth, Being, grief, love, etc.). I also appreciated how romance was incorporated on a secondary but not unimportant level; it didn't lessen the importance of Rhienne and Echo's queerplatonic friendship, it just added layers that felt like a very natural shaping/re-shaping of selfhood in the wake of a massive, world-shattering conflict that only this group was at the center of and really understands. I mean they have actual gods voluntarily involved in their lives, Exodus <spoiler>coming to them because he's lost and has nobody else to ask for help</spoiler> and Bastion there to do Bastion things for his "favorite mortals" (he's such a manic pixie dream god and I love him). Which is also why I loved Cal! They brough new fresh energy to the group, having a young'un join the party - bringing a little hero-worship along with them - was funny, cringe (affectionate), and harrowing in turns. <spoiler> I was sobbing when Rhienne finally realized what she was doing to Cal and made active choices to be the adult they needed..."'She could move mountains and rattle stars if only she would try'" indeed.</spoiler>
In D&D one of the most common adages is "don't split the party" and A.J. played with that perfectly here. There was so much - both in terms of story development and character development - that simply wouldn't have occured if the group were together (or the two groups were split differently). The pining between two full adults (Rhienne and Irelia) and the "will they won't they" (Echo and Exodus) was unmatched, and Bastion being the stay-at-home dad ( remember that vine with the kid smashing the oven door open and shut while his dad plays trombone? ) while Exodus went on a journey across the stars (the god of journey's first journey?!) made space for all of them to grow separately and with each other.
Without diving into a bunch of academic blah-blah-blah, one thing I love about the Divine Songs trilogy so far is how well A.J. is able to write the deeply personal, collective, and overarching "systems"-level setting (e.g. The Mothers, the influence of certain political figures, the secret secret somethings you'll have to read to find out because I'm not spoilering it) in a way that blends them together. This is the kind of epic fantasy that requires sensitivity and multi-scalar thinking in order to create, and it isn't simple to do. Every time I've read Oblivion's Hymn, and now with my first read of Exodus's Chorus, I am just gobsmacked by how effortless the story feels despite knowing how much work goes into crafting something like this. I genuinely cannot wait for book three (do we even know the title yet??? WHOSE SONG AND WHAT KIND IS IT?????) and will just have to sit here gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for my physical copy of Exodus's Chorus to come to me so I can read it again and again and again.
P.S. <spoiler> Okay so when I got to
“I am Exodus,” he whispered, and the name filled him with the warmth and light of something true. “The Shepherd of Wandering Souls, Warden of Pilgrims.” The third title, Herald of Dispersion, did not sit well in his heart anymore. Even though no one would hear or remember, it felt important to choose something that fit. As Thune released the shrieking ball of power, Exodus smiled. “Herald of Dawn.”

I FEEL LIKE I WAS VERY FAIRLY CONCERNED THAT HE WAS GONNA DIE-DIE, SINCE OBLIVION DIED IN OBLIVION'S BOOK AND THIS IS EXODUS'S BOOK. I swear to fucking god I do not think my heart could have survived it.</spoiler>

Read full review on ARC Library