Three young people are being trained to use mysterious
artifacts that allow dimensional travel - they think to protect the world from
tyranny. In truth, their elders are nothing but mercenaries. It all falls apart
when one of them is denied initiation.
This is an intriguing YA story, but one which offers little
new. There is the currently-obligatory love triangle, a lot of violence (some
of it gratuitous), a subplot about the destructive nature of drug abuse. It's
not bad, but other than the method of traveling through "There,"
another dimension in which time doesn't always move at the same rate, it isn't
all that original.
The author presents us with multiple POVs - all of them
young people. Maud is the most interesting character (and, sadly, the one we
see the least of). The themes of revenge and justice are important in the
novel, along with the concept of who, if anyone, should play God. And we get an
interesting look at Hong Kong, a city the author seems somewhat fond of.
Unfortunately, the description of the real world is somewhat
lacking, to the point where it took me far too much of the novel to realize it
was the near future (I think). Maybe if the book had its maps (missing from the
ARC I received) it would help.
However, unlike a lot of books marketed as YA lately, this
one really is. Growing up and coming of age are central to the story. It's well
written and the characters are interesting, so I can deal with its minor flaws.
Book received at World Fantasy Con.
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