Synopsis:
For a thousand years, The Old Town has stood as humanity’s last bastion against the maalkonis, malignant black mists that reduced the rest of the world to ash. They are kept at bay by rusty machines on the town’s walls. In order to survive, the dwindling population depends on one another.
Since a young age, Justīne has embraced the harsh responsibilities that accompanied her apprenticeship on the last farm in existence. Her younger sister, Anna, is beginning her own apprenticeship as well. Learning engineering was not Anna’s first choice, but the town’s last mage fell to the maalkonis years prior, leaving nothing behind but confusing books and strange runes.
When food runs low during a particularly harsh winter, distrust spreads like a plague, and Justīne is blamed for it. As hunger leads to violence, she and her siblings are forced to flee The Old Town, embarking on a perilous journey into the very mists that had formed their cage. Their fight to survive in the dark develops into a hopeful mystery as they follow the breadcrumbs of a mage’s efforts to save the world. Meanwhile something pursues them through the maalkonis…
Review:
This novella is brimming with an interesting concept of a dystopian city surrounded by this deadly darkness, and for all the locals know, they might be the only survivors. Keeping the darkness at bay are some instruments, but as the townfolk slowly dwindle, the darkness encroaches.
Sisters, Justine and Anna, both have roles within the city. Justine (our POV) is apprenticed to the city’s only farmer while Anna works with their father as an engineer (and is a wannabe mage in secret). One day, Anna steals one of their father’s portable tools, one that pushes back the darkness. She drags Justine into a tunnel under the outer wall, the darkness not touching them, but within, they encounter a humanoid creature, which chases them and injures Justine. They bury the tunnel and years pass, the city becoming more volatile until one day a riot erupts and the sisters must flee the city to find a way to fix things.
There is a ton of neat concepts in these pages. I really liked the idea of the darkness luring away people and then some shenanigans happen. But I really enjoyed the sisters, they were a great tandem, playing nicely off each other.
The book is not heavy on the action or mystery but there is a quietness of everyday life in this last bastion-esque town that I found really neat. Just the basics of survival, I really enjoyed that.
Bassett’s prose is neat, the worldbuilding complete (sometimes a little exposition-y but never overbearing). The pace is strong and the scenes all fleshed out. The overall central conflict of the story was not necessarily ‘save the world’ type, but there was some great character reconciliations in the climax that leave future installments a possibility.
A quick read, one I recommend!
*I received an ARC from the author for an honest review
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