Eleanor Davis is one of the greatest comics artists alive and her latest book is a heartfelt exploration of the fears and hopes of a new mother as she contemplates a society facing momentous change. It’s a book that anyone who loves great comics should have.
I’ve been struggling with how to describe this novel, other than it’s often pensive and irregularly balanced for a “dystopian” story. Finally, I came to the conclusion (after 3 pages of notes) that it needs to be read because of the struggle it shows and invokes in us. That may not be very helpful, but as stubborn and intellectual Cedar says at the start, “...maybe you’ll understand. Or not. I’ll write this anyway…” I mean...what do you record for a possible life in a world unknown to you?
Unmoored by the loss of her first love, Poe Blythe has created deadly armor to protect the Outposts last dredge as it sets sail to pan for gold. Led by a man known only as The Admiral, Poe's grief and anger serves a purpose. But when her ship is attacked by drifters downriver, Poe's faith is tested. Why do the drifters hate the dredge?
Poe's survival depends on more than her engineering skills, but who can she trust?
I've come to expect a certain element of speechlessness every time I finish a Shusterman novel. A few audible gasps, some moments of gripping the pages so tightly in effort not to fall over in terror, etc. – the usual. However, I was not prepared for the thriller/urgent call to environmental action that is Dry. It's terrifyingly relevant to consider the ramifications of living in a world that's out of drinkable water. And the father-son Shusterman duo push this near-future dystopian narrative along around multi-dimensional and complex characters to wrestle with the question of how far desperation can take humans away from their humanity. It's been days since I read it, but I'm still haunted by this book.
Kickbutt protagonist Abbie has superpowers that get her in trouble wherever she goes, but she's trying to return her mother's ashes to her homeland. Magruder's art style shifts seamlessly from lush and expansive to quirky and expressive as she respectively focuses on world- and character-building. For fans of Marjorie Liu, Faith Erin Hicks, and those who wish Cece Bell's El Deafo was set in a dystopian desert wasteland.
One of the most exciting and haunting novels I've had the privilege of reading. Who Fears Death tells the story of Onyesonwu, a girl and powerful sorceress born into a terrible legacy in near-future dystopian Africa. Onyesonwu undertakes a quest for revenge that turns into something much more complex; along the way, she must fight for acceptance, equality, friendship, and to make peace with her fate. Okorafor believably writes scenes ranging from brutal violence to exceptional tenderness with sincerity and care. This is a must-read for anyone who craves sci-fi & fantasy novels that don't flinch from exploring and illuminating realities of our own world in fantastical settings.
