Monday, 9 October 2017

Last Star Burning by Caitlin Sangster

Sleeping sickness is the scourge of the land.  While the government fights to keep it's citizens safe and healthy, the enemy from Kamar continues to further spread the infection. 

Jiang-Sev is the last member of her family.  Her mother's body is displayed in  perpetual sleep as a warning to the citizens; she had been accused of bringing the sickness into the city.  Sev's status has been striped and she is being punished for the sins of her mother.  When a bomb explodes in the city, Sev is labelled guilty  of the crime and must flee or die.

I found it hard to get into the story and figure out what was going on in this stratified society.  While I did enjoy reading about her escape from the city and her journey across the outside, it wasn't enough to overcome the confusion of the plot.  There was too much subterfuge among leading characters.  Too many times I felt I could love or hate a character only to find out a few pages later that their history was a lie or fabrication.  I didn't form an attachment to Sev as she, herself was confused much of the time.

I wanted to like this dystopian novel, but it didn't connect with me.  I didn't care about the characters, whether they lived or died.  I did like the dancing and the explanation of why they danced.



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