While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses.
The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love-and his potentially lethal kisses. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Readers will guess more than he does, though most confirmation waits for the next installment-this ends on a cliffhanger.įast-moving and intriguing though inconsistent on multiple fronts.Īfter praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic. Emmett’s first-person voice is immediate and innocent: he realizes that Babel’s ruthless and coldblooded but doesn’t apply that to his understanding of what’s really going on. Textual descriptions can be scanty however, copious action and a reality TV atmosphere (the scoreboard shows regularly) make the pace flow. Awkward moments in the smattering of black vernacular are rare. Emmett's initial understanding of his own blackness may throw readers off, but a black protagonist in outer space is welcome. It even forms language-translating facemasks, allowing Emmett, a black boy from Detroit, to communicate with competitors from other countries. They head through space toward the planet Eden, where they’ll mine a substance called nyxia, “the new black gold.” En route, the corporation forces them into brutal competition with one another-fighting, running through violent virtual reality racecourses, and manipulating nyxia, which can become almost anything.
Surely it’s the jackpot: they’ll each receive $50,000 every month for life, and Emmett’s mother will get a kidney transplant, otherwise impossible for poor people.
When Babel Communications invites 10 teens to participate in “the most serious space exploration known to mankind,” Emmett signs on. Kids endure rigorous competition aboard a spaceship.
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