Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Book Two in the critically acclaimed The Fire Sermon trilogy—The Hunger Games meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in this richly imagined post-apocalyptic series by award-winning poet Francesca Haig.
Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that has laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair, one is an Alpha—physically perfect in every way; and the other an Omega—burdened with deformity, small or large. With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world’s sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort, Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: whenever one twin dies, so does the other.
Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side-by-side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.
Review:
This is going to sound strange, but I liked this book better than the first book. I think some of that has to do with the fact that the first book had to take some time in explaining the twinning, and establishing characters and all that. This book could get straight into the action. Although, it had been a few months since I read book one and my memory was kind of hazy on some of the details.
This young adult dystopian novel follows Cass after the events of The Fire Sermon, as she is now with island Omega leader Piper and his twin, Zoe. They are still being pursued by the Alphas, including Cass’s twin, Zach, otherwise known as the Reformer. Cass’ visions of the blast are haunting her, but ultimately lead her to uncover what the Alphas are up to, and possibly even a way to end the twinning, meaning equality for all.
I enjoyed the plot of this one, as I felt like I was along for the journey. Piper and Zoe are her main companions for this book, and the author delves into what makes the two of them tick both as individuals and as bonded twins. We also meet several new characters, including Xander, another seer, who has been driving mostly insane by his visions but constantly speaks of the “maze of bones.” Leonard, a bard, seems like a minor character, but the song he creates about the battle with the Alphas gives life to the rebellion.
I’m definitely on board to finish out this trilogy now. I got hooked with this one. The horror of the tanks, the development of the characters, the promise that there will be a resolution and more will keep me reading further.
*A physical copy was provided by the publisher, Gallery Books, in exchange for an honest review.