This was Book of the Month over at the Indie Book Club on
Goodreads. Not fantasy, but dystopian/sci-fi. It's slightly out of my usual
genre, but I've read 1984 and Brave New World, (and have
read a little about Iron Heel and We), so I didn't feel lost by the dystopian
approach.
The first person protagonist is Zay, a teenager. He and his
sister, Lina, are growing up on Block Island, which is a
low tech but rather charming place. But it does not stay that way for long. An
invading force brutalises their parents and kidnaps the children. They're taken
to the mainland and placed into a seemingly civilised adoption system.
The culture shock of shifting from a world with practically
no technology to a high tech (22nd century) city is immense, and coincides with
the emotional shock of losing their parents. At first the world seems rather
well-ordered and civilised, but the façade does not last long.
The writing style is generally easy to read, and the world
is well-constructed. Unlike some dystopian books (1984 and Brave New World both
fall into this trap) the characters are actually of some interest rather than
being mere vehicles by which to give the reader a tour of the horrible world.
After an initial speedy start I felt that the first half of
the book could have been paced a bit faster. In addition, one aspect of the
plot felt a bit too obvious. However, after the halfway point the pace picked
up significantly, and then increased again nearer the end.
About 80% into the book I had a feeling for how the ending
was going to go, but turned out to be wrong (in a good way). The ending fits
the world/plot very well.
I'm not a fan of book ratings because what might be awful
for one person might be minor for another, and likewise for good stuff, so I
prefer to go without them usually. However, for books I read as part of the
Book of a Month I'm intending to rate them on Goodreads. Cherry Hill
falls slap in the middle of the 4 star bracket. I'd like the first half to be
faster, but the ending is good, the second half is nice and rapid, and the
world is well-constructed.
So, if you're into dystopia or want to try something new,
why not give The Burning of Cherry Hill a crack?
Thaddeus
No comments:
Post a Comment