Born under a full moon at midwinter, 18-year-old Saba and her twin brother Lugh live in a dry and desolate wasteland left behind by the Wrecker civilization. Their Pa learned how to read the stars, but that skill can’t save him when the King’s henchmen, high on a drug called chaal, kidnap Lugh—killing their father in the process. Saba’s not sure if “eether Pa was readin the stars wrong or the stars was tellin him lies.” But she does know that she has to rescue Lugh—at any cost.
Spare storytelling plus one very tough heroine equal nonstop adventure in this atmospheric dystopian debut novel, told in Saba’s primitive dialect. As the plot unfolds, Saba braves fighting warriors, sandstorms fierce enough to uncover abandoned Wrecker cities in seconds and other undesirable surprises. Sometimes the real battle, though, is with her own guilt and the responsibility she feels to her family, and even to what’s left of humanity. Aiding Saba on her quest are her tagalong younger sister (whom she can’t seem to leave behind—no matter how hard she tries), a renegade group of female revolutionaries and the quick-witted—and frustratingly handsome—Jack. Fans of the Hunger Games and Chaos Walking trilogies will welcome this exhilarating new series.
