Amber Kim – Introduction
- CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR...Books One and Two
Second Best?
Wherever there is a lead character there is typically a best friend right beside them. It’s not just that fiction tends to reflect real life, but giving your hero a confidante helps provide them with support and opposition, and is especially useful to do a lot of the exposition heavy lifting. Disney, in particular, has made the sidekick an art form. The Genie. Dory. Mushu. These aren’t just great sidekicks, they’re characters who could—and in some cases have—assumed the lead role.
Lucy Knight’s bff Amber Kim certainly backs herself as a personality. At the end of The Mythic, as Lucy rubbishes Amber’s suggested titles for an imagined telling of their first adventure, Miss Kim declares “‘Fine, we’ll call it The Awesome Story of Amber Kim. I’m an engaging enough character to support my own tale’.” Which is exactly what I have her do by helming the B-story of The Mythic and the Horses of Doom.
Opposites Attract
Much like Lucy, Amber Kim arrived, fully formed in my mind, but from the exact opposite direction. Lucy is brazenly staunch. Amber is obsessively fearful. Lucy is reckless. Amber thinks too much. Lucy is…not book smart. Amber is a self-professed genius. They appear to have little in common. Lucy even tends towards ingratitude towards her so-called “best friend”. But that’s a lesson I wanted her to learn in the first book. By literally making her responsible for Amber’s welfare, Lucy had to learn that being a loner won’t cut it for the journey ahead.
Amber’s father isn’t around and Amber knows little about him. Again, this is the opposite of Lucy whose father is there but whose mother is gone and rarely acknowledged due to her father’s grief. Lucy’s dad is a broken man, who takes little interest in Lucy. Amber’s mother—who we only know as “Mrs Kim”—is a helicopter parent, excessively caring, and passionate supporter of her daughter’s friendship with Lucy and of Lucy herself.
Bonus Round
There is a huge clue in one of the books about Amber’s father. I’ll reveal all in Book Five but let’s just say that The Mythic Series is all about links – how everything fits together in unexpected ways – and you should look very closely at Amber’s connections…
Bonus Bonus Round
If you’ve read Part One of The Mythic and the Rosetta Engine then you will have learned the truth about Amber’s father. I’ve been sitting on that reveal for a decade!. It’s something I’ve known about Amber ever since she wandered into my head. And, of course, you’ll know the truth about Amber’s mother also…
