A thrilling underwater adventure for fans of dystopian drama.
A teenage girl races to uncover a conspiracy in a submerged ark that harbors the remnants of humanity in Moshage’s YA thriller.
The ark, named November’s Dawn, is 1,000 meters long and walks along the floor of the ocean on “over two hundred legs”; the world above is “just raging waves and endless storms.” Josie Owens, born and raised on the ark, has been educated only by its ruling faction, the Order of Scientific Discovery. On her 16th birthday, Josie finds her life transformed by a “holomessage” from her late father, a respected engineer. He reveals a startling secret: The ark was always intended to rise again and return to the surface of the Earth, “but there are some who would never let this happen because it threatens their power.” In addition to the message, Josie is left with a necklace with a mysterious meaning she must uncover. The stakes escalate when Felix, her father’s loyal engineer friend, is fatally shot by a Commandant soon after sharing the message. Thrust into a quest, Josie seeks to unravel the secrets of the Order of Scientific Discovery. Her adventure, with a setting reminiscent of the class-divided, train-bound society in the film Snowpiercer, takes her through the various levels of the ark. She soon discovers a shadowy resistance group and is recruited to their cause. Broadening the scope, Moshage intercuts Josie’s adventure with the activities of the villain, the First Vicar of the Order, who’s determined to thwart Josie’s efforts. This narrative back-and-forth maintains suspense during some occasional lulls devoted to worldbuilding details, including an extended sequence set at a fictional “fetterball” sports match. Though the story beats may feel familiar to readers of the genre, the novel’s unusual setting, well-drawn central character, and carefully structured twists make it a worthwhile addition to the teen dystopian shelf.
A thrilling underwater adventure for fans of dystopian drama.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781951445645
Page Count: 326
Publisher: Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters.
Two young people save the world and all the magic in it in this series opener.
When tall, dark-haired, white-skinned Christopher Forrester goes to stay with his grandfather in Scotland, he ventures to the top of a forbidden hill and discovers astonishing magical creatures. His grandfather explains that Christopher’s family are guardians of the “way through” to the Archipelago, where the Glimourie Tree grows—the source of glimourie, or the world’s magic. Black-haired, olive-skinned Mal Arvorian, a girl from the Archipelago, is being pursued by a murderer, and she asks Christopher for help, launching them both on a wild, dangerous journey to discover why the glimourie is disappearing and how to stop it. Together with a part-nereid woman, a ratatoska, a dragon, and a Berserker, they face an odyssey of dangerous tasks to find the Immortal, the only one who can reverse the draining of magic. Like Lyra and Will from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, Mal and Christopher sacrifice their innocence for experience, meeting every challenge with depthless courage until they finally reach the maze at the heart of it all. Rundell throws myriad obstacles in her characters’ way, but she gives them tools both tangible (a casapasaran, which always points the way home, and the glamry blade, which cuts through anything) and intangible (the desire “to protect something worth protecting” and an “insistence that the world is worth loving”). Final art not seen.
An epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-16)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593809860
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
