A fresh, suspenseful take on the robot apocalypse.
War brews between humans and their automaton overlords.
In a nigh-unrecognizable world, humans are kept as servants on large estates controlled by Automa, impossibly advanced creations who have recently seized power. The history of how artificial intelligence took over develops in interstitial chapters told by various historians while tensions rise in the present. Humans have various skin tones, including swarthy and brown, but racial categories don’t seem to matter in a world where the main axis of power is human versus Made. Crier is the daughter of Sovereign Hesod, who loves appropriating human culture while brutally oppressing the people under his rule. She is also betrothed to Kinok, an Automa with more separatist beliefs toward humans as well as a plan to make him and his kin invulnerable. Meanwhile Ayla, a human girl who lost her family to Automa violence, takes a job as Crier’s handmaiden in an attempt to take them down from the inside. Dizzying political machinations intertwine with a burgeoning romance between mistress and servant, especially since Crier suspects that she was built with a capacity for love that her kind shouldn’t have. The plot zooms ahead despite being a setup for the sequel, with nail-biting sexual tension between Crier and Ayla—queerness is unremarkable in this world but cross-species relations are unthinkable.
A fresh, suspenseful take on the robot apocalypse. (map, timeline) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282394-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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