Dystopia and allusions to The Divine Comedy make for a heady combination, but much of this first-in-a-trilogy fails to go beyond setup. Dante and Bea were raised on the asylum island of Tarnagar in a world where everyone must follow the teachings of the mysterious Dr. Sigmundus. Tarnagar houses those not controlled by Ichor. When a mysterious new prisoner arrives who knew Dante’s inmate mother, Dante learns she was a leader of the rebels who fight against Sigmundus’s totalitarian regime and he, along with privileged Bea, escape Tarnagar to join them. The final third of the novel really gets going: The rebels, Dante’s experiments with Odyllic force (a mysterious power that can reshape reality) and a confrontation with Dr. Sigmundus keep the pace brisk. Keaney’s style—simple, sometimes terse sentence structure, more telling than showing—make for a fast if occasionally pedestrian read. Those who enjoy books like The Giver or the Uglies trilogy will want to give this a try, and will be drawn into the world enough to wait for the action despite some inconsistencies of time line and backstory. (author’s note) (Fantasy. YA)
