The young come to the rescue of the future as this series reaches its celebratory climax.
In the conclusion to Deeb’s YA SF series, a brilliant young hacker and her friends strive to purge evil forces that have corrupted an amazing technocratic utopia located below the ground.
In a future beset by climate-change strife in the “Aboves” zone, Southern California teenager and math prodigy (and recreational super-hacker) Dorothy “Doro” Campbell had been initiated into a secretive society called Seneca. Operating out of a vast and advanced subterranean complex (with satellite installations around the world), Seneca ostensibly grooms elite youths to become the saviors of the endangered Earth. In reality, however, the place has been compromised by amoral, power-hungry corporate forces with a different agenda. Doro, aided by her biotechnologist boyfriend, Dominic, and a few other trusted allies, has uncovered evidence of nanotechnology surveillance, media lies, and mind control. She has also investigated the mysterious disappearance of her father, Johnny, who had just discovered a solution to heal the atmosphere’s sundered ozone layer. In this installment, Doro emerges from a 54-day coma, a side-effect of a neural attack courtesy of the sinister Flex Corporation. Doro and Dom are mentally wired into an online connection with other humans throughout Seneca. This is a sword that cuts both ways: The duo can virtually travel anywhere and sense conspiracies (such as an ambitious Mars settlement-terraforming scheme meant to extend Seneca’s totalitarian rule to another planet), but at the same time they are vulnerable to nefarious traps and digital fail-safes in the system. With hidden allies emerging from all directions, can the tide be turned? This is very much a gang’s-all-here cast reunion of the various heroes, villains, and in-betweens from throughout Deeb’s series, many proclaiming slogans like “The time has come for us to take back the tools of oppression. Help us reshape the world” in pep-rally proliferation. The “science” aspect of the narrative is fairly indistinguishable from magic, but the author ably depicts the exhilaration of dawning mass-awareness in a shared consciousness and reliably delivers the SF genre’s seemingly mandatory messages of resilience, eco-justice, and girl power as the saga reaches an upbeat conclusion.
The young come to the rescue of the future as this series reaches its celebratory climax.Pub Date: May 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781734201635
Page Count: 196
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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