Put simply, A Swift and Subtle Light is a novel that would most likely appeal to a range of people from adolescence to early adulthood. The story follows a young girl through high school - from her sophomore year to her senior year. Though this novel might easily be realistic fiction, it has a large number of fantasy or science fiction elements that make it unique, such as an alternative world and magical orbs of power. In fact, the main character soon learns that she is a member of a chosen group - the Six - who posses relics and are forced to fight an almost-invisible evil. To do so, they must travel to an expansive, dream-like world filled with negativity in various forms. A Swift and Subtle Light visits many interesting and different locales. Its length allows for ample description and vividly-colored scenes without making it boring or overwhelming.
Another important aspect of A Swift and Subtle Light is philosophy. A wide range of philosophical ideas are brought up through the main character and her friends in the novel. Some of them are "borrowed" ideas from age-old debates, but a good deal of them are original. This thought-provoking novel delves deep into forbidden chambers of thought while weaving them into the central plot and avoiding too much confusion. Firm grips on seemingly-solid realities are shaken at the foundations; nothing is how it seems.
The strongest feature of this book is its emotional value. Through experiences, philosophy, and feelings, the various levels of confusion, despair, altruistic love, and joy are felt almost simultaneously - always just the way the main character would feel them. The emotions in this book range from elation to despair. They are, perhaps, the feelings many of us cannot express, but they are greatly magnified by the intense circumstances that the main character undergoes.
The ending of the novel is intruiging indeed, adding twists, solved mysteries, new and even greater feelings, and final realizations to the novel. Despite the novelty of these ideas, they are presented casually, and it is astonishly easy to find how they relate to the book, even its very beginning. The balance of realism and surrealism of the plot - particularly the ending - makes it original and amusing to read. The ending of A Swift and Subtle Light will leave the reader satisfied while yearning for more.
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