THE MONARCHS

Sabbas’ YA SF novel follows a group of large-eyed teens with special abilities.

In the near future, the skies are filled with toxic mist, democracy has been demolished, and most of the population has reverted to farming communities. Seventeen-year-old Samuel Helenis is being held in “the Facility,” where “everything in the labs [is] colorless, from the walls to our mandatory robes to the emotions of the ones who [test] us like rodents.” He has eyes twice as large as the average human’s and a mind that can “manipulate matter in ways not considered normal,” though this ability is not under his conscious control, even after 10 years of experimentation at the Facility. Samuel is in love with Evelyn Agartha, an orphan who lives near the Facility, but he can’t quite bring himself to admit it to her. Everything changes when a dozen black-robed, large-eyed children storm the Facility. They kill Samuel’s tutor in front of him and burn Evelyn’s village, claiming the actions are necessary parts of the current struggle. Samuel and Evelyn are not convinced and instead escape into the woods—the natural world, which they have never experienced before. After some misadventures, they encounter Luna, a psychic with telepathic powers who wants to lead them to a safe haven. Along the way, they learn more about the conflict between the government and the feared large-eyed children (“The military will want to hunt down everyone like us”). Throughout, Sabbas evocatively includes regular references to Alice in Wonderland and popular songs. The story has obvious affinities with the X-Mencomics and movies, but while many elements are derivative (and the final third can be a bit of a slog), some bright dream sequences and references to larger cosmic themes set the yarn a bit apart from standard dystopian kids-with-special-powers fare.

A thought-provoking and spiritual dystopian quest.