When one of my friends found out that I obtained a copy of FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, she insisted that I read the prequel novella before jumping into the book. When I saw that the eBook was free on iBooks, I jumped at the chance. Her claim was that Kai is infuriatingly mysterious in book one, and many aspects of his past are cleared up in the prequel. And while I can't relate to her thoughts just yet, I feel like I somehow managed to glean some really important information about him in this short novella.
I've learned that he feels betrayed by Elliot, and I've also learned the unique workings of this dystopian world. I've learned that the ability to read and write is incredibly rare, and it's something be cherished. I learned that the rich are so uncommon that they take their position in society so seriously that they would not allow true love to prosper. I've also learned that I am not the biggest fan of Elliot right now--the girl who broke Kai's heart due to class issues....who I also have to repeatedly remind myself is a girl because she happens to have the name of a guy. It makes me very curious about book one because I know that the dynamic between the two of them can lead to a lot of potential drama.
After reading the synopsis of book one, I feel like this simple background story and introduction to this world will enhance my experience with book one, and that's all I could have asked from this novella. Peterfreund's writing is beautiful, and I'm very excited to see her version of the PERSUASION re-telling set in a dystopian world come into play. It's scary, however, to think of a world where people are owned as slaves and so easily killed just to prove a point. And, I suppose, this is why I am so excited to continue on with this series.
Really, I just can't wait for more of this world. As scary as this world is, what little world-building I have seen so far has fascinated me. I mean, we began this prequel with a volcano and an area of land where you can die from lack of water, people hunting you, or catastrophic volcanic activity! There's just nowhere perfectly safe. Combine that with the easy ability to connect with Kai because of his desire to make a better life for himself at the tender age of fourteen (four years before book one takes place) and you know you've got a winner.
I'm intrigued. I've only caught a glimpse of the synopsis for book one. I totally didn't know it was a retelling of Persuasion. Might have to look into it since I really enjoyed the classic.
ReplyDelete