A New Sci-Fi Fantasy Series Emerges

A Review of "Airay" by Coz K.A

STAR RATING: ☆☆☆1/2
Spoiler free review.

I found Coz K.A. while scrolling through Instagram one late night. Her art, characters, and world pulled me in and I waited excitedly for her debut self-published novel, Airay. I ordered the paperback standard edition (you can find the special edition here) and cracked it open the day it arrived. Despite being a fan, I’m going to be as objective as possible with my review—and I’ll start by saying the book didn’t wow me like I thought it would.

With over 45 original illustrations and a gorgeous cover, Airay is a sci-fi fantasy YA (NA?) novel set in Brynden Ka, a country on the planet Anaiess. Most of the characters are human save our tragic hero, Kon. Kon is an Avari—a species with elemental powers that fled the planet. The book’s primary question is why the Avari left Kon behind. There’s a wide cast of characters, some more grating than others, but none shine quite like Kon does. It’s hard to make your protagonist both interesting and likable but Coz K.A. does exactly that. While he may seem like your standard brooding male lead, Kon has depth, character, and tragedy.

Kon is hunted by the EME, the Elemental Military Enforcement, for reasons unknown. The book’s main plot is interrupted now and then with flashback chapters that show us who Kon is and what he’s done to survive. The EME are at times a vague, faceless, “government is bad” enemy¹ like in Divergent or Uglies, but they’re most intimidating when they’re not present—seeing their impact on people (primarily elemental children, who they hunt en masse) hit harder for me than a bunch of guys showing up in uniforms, and that’s where I believe Airay’s tension and stakes shine the brightest. There are scenes, too, where Kon faces off against EME officers who beg for their lives or try to bargain their way out. These reminders that atrocious actions are committed by people and not just faceless governments hit their mark.

Though I can’t mention them for spoiler reasons, there’s another villain in Airay who had all my attention and definitely stole the show. I read each of their scenes on the edge of my seat.

My biggest gripe with the book is something so small and unproblematic that I shouldn’t be nearly as annoyed with it as I am, and that’s the acronyms. There’s the aforementioned EME, then there’s the EPS (Elemental Protection System), and the AIP (Avari Integration Program). All three are mentioned almost exclusively with their acronyms and the closeness of ‘EME’ and ‘EPS’ had me re-reading some paragraphs to make sure I was thinking of the right one. This may not be a problem for other readers, and it might be a sci-fi thing—I admittedly don’t read as much science fiction as I should.

The primary relationship in Airay is between Kon and Icelyn, whose dynamic hints at a future romantic subplot. While I found the pair cute (they had me smiling, I admit it), I thought they trusted each other too easily. We’re reminded in every chapter how untrusting and self-reliant Kon is and Icelyn, being an elemental, has every reason to be similarly distrusting but they click immediately. Icelyn has ice powers which was cute, if still very corny, and I’m interested in seeing where the pair’s relationship goes.

Ah, yes. Peter.

Peter is Kon’s friend and a member of the main cast. An elemental nerd with glasses and asthma, he read like a walking caricature. His obsession with Avari led to regularly making Kon uncomfortable with neverending questions about his species. The behavior was played off as comedic but irritated me. I don’t think Peter is useless. He has goals and personality, and his ideas advance the plot. But he was the most underwhelming character. I’m hoping to see him develop more in the sequel.

As for the powers, most characters have standard elemental conjurations save for Kon, who uses ‘terrashock’, an ability to harden the air into an impenetrable glass-like substance that explodes on command. He uses it frequently. I would, too.

We don’t learn much about the world of Anaiess beyond the country Brynden Ka. It’s hinted the rest of the planet doesn’t know about the EME’s behaviors, but I wondered why the Avari chose to leave the planet entirely and not just the country. The flora, fauna, and societies on Anaiess are identical to Earth. There’s advanced technology (hovercraft, holograms) and occasional alien races, but for the most part, readers don’t travel too far from home.

As the first in a series, Airay felt like a setup for something greater. On its own, it was entertaining if a little bland. The plot isn’t anything new—teenagers with powers hunted by the government for some reason—but the worldbuilding, art, and mostly well-written characters made up for it. I’m excited to see where the story goes.

1. “Government is bad” enemies/plotlines aren’t what I’m criticizing here. Fuck the government.