An absorbing fantasy novel with dystopian themes that explores human endurance in its varied forms.
Two young women, trapped on different sides of a tyrannical regime, become connected through their shared oppression.
Eighteen-year-old Coa Rangecroft has been forced to enter the Great Hunt, an annual tradition that takes place over the course of seven days in the totalitarian Arctic nation called the Allied Force. Soldiers target and hunt down the foreign participants, and the family members of anyone they kill are publicly executed afterward. Few of the hunted even survive until the fifth day, but Coa is harboring a secret: She’s a fireborn who possesses magic, a rare ability among the world’s remaining population. Fellow captive Hazen Creed appears to be onto Coa’s powers, and, despite being a fellow Great Hunt competitor, he also seems to be looking out for her. Coa finds she may have yet another ally in Ife Størmbane, a princess from the Makari-African Empire who’s married into the most powerful family of the Allied Forces; she has plans to do far more than just save Coa. Debut author Phenix’s poignant storytelling will evoke strong emotions from readers. While the story contains a lot of exposition, the robust worldbuilding is supported by the alternating first-person perspectives of Coa and Ife. Most characters are white; Ife is dark-skinned.
An absorbing fantasy novel with dystopian themes that explores human endurance in its varied forms. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798212913577
Page Count: 458
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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