The notion of a selection, where young adults are more or less given away like property, sounds a bit barbaric. We’ve seen it in the Hunger Games, and in another series with the same title as this one by Kiera Cass. All are similar in the sense that the powers that be host a competition. In the Hunger Games, they fight to the death for entertainment with one (supposedly) victor at the end. In Kiera Cass’ series, the winner ends up with prince charming. In this book however, it’s a little of both. The surviving winners ends up in the Lord’s employ while the rest end up…dead. The girl who wins ends up in the Lord’s harem, while the winning boy ends up as a servant for that same lord.
Although it feels as if this story has been told multiple times, I enjoyed this version very much. Not only is it sci-fi, but it does have a magical feel to it, with the prophesies and mystical themes. I loved the idea of a race humans that abandoned Earth long ago that are now back to reclaim the planet, now called Earthenfell, while fighting an alien race. It took me while to understand the whole concept and the world the characters lived in but I loved how the writers slowly incorporated the necessary details as the story progressed. I thought it was very well written although I wish it could have been even more detailed.
Usually, I dislike female leads that are naive and fragile, but in Maya’s case, I think it was necessary. Her whole life she thought she would be safe from the selection since her community had preselected a girl that would be trained and prepared for the competition, to be the Obligate of Maya’s clan when the time came. However, because this preselected girl dies right before the bi-annual ceremony that would announce her as the next Obligate in the deadly game, Maya is randomly selected instead. Maya has no clue what the selection really entails. As she mourns her fate with her family and friends during her last night on Earthenfell, I believe she comes to terms with her possible fate. “An Obligate entering the competition with no training was walking into almost certain death (loc 215).” However, once in the competition, Maya proves to everyone that she might just have what it takes in order to survive the physical and mind games they are putting her through.
When we first learn of Lord Toric through Maya’s point of view, he’s made out to be an evil and sadistic leader. However, the more we learn, the more we see the humanity in him. He has a dark past which has forged him into the man he is, and we slowly realize that he’s not the real enemy. Actually, he singles out Maya the first time he sees her and she becomes his obvious favourite. I love the rapport they build. It’s simple and modest, and Toric does his best not the intimidate the shy and innocent Maya.
One of my critics would be the length of the book. Not only does the story finish on a cliffhanger, but I find the book was too short. It’s almost as if the writers purposely cut the story in order to make it fit into a trilogy. The ending makes you want more so if their goal was to leave me wanting more, they certainly achieved it in the most evil of ways. I definitely plan on reading the next book, however the release date has yet to be announced.
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This kinds sounds like a mix of The Hunger Games and The 5th Wave. It sounds entertaining and I like the mix of sci-fi/mystical theme to it. Glad you liked it! Geeat review, Stephanie!
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