Synopsis
‘Dragons once led our people across the wastelands, away from storms, and toward hunting grounds.’
That’s what the elders say, but eleven-year-old Akrist has squinted at empty skies his whole life. The dragons have abandoned them, and it’s Akrist’s fault. He’s cursed. Like every other firstborn son, he has inherited the sins of his ancestors. In his camp, he’s the only eldest boy left. Something happened to the others.
Something terrible.
When Akrist befriends Tanar, an eldest boy from another tribe, he discovers the awful truth: they’re being raised as sacrifices to appease the Goddess and win back her dragons. The ritual happens when the dual moons eclipse. Escape is the only option, but Akrist was never taught to hunt or survive the wastelands alone. Time is running out, and he has to do something before the moons touch.
Review
I received an audible code from the author, and boy am I glad, because the narration by Ryan Haugen is top tier.
This story has a unique world. The somewhat nomadic Hunter-gatherer communities definitely made me think of American Indians. But it’s also an incredibly bleak world too. Dystopian by definition, but still unique enough to not be entirely dark.
Akrist is marked as the community outcast by being the first born son. He’s the last remaining eldest son in the community, and all he knows is that something bad happened to the others. As an outcast he is often ignored, starved, looked down on. At worst, when he does receive actual contact with other humans, he is beat for the tiniest infractions.
After a special visit from a special someone that will be left unnamed because spoilers, it was interesting to see the novel progress around the idea of someone shunned being almost kind of welcomed in by necessity. It’s not all smooth and easy, both for the community, and Akrist. The struggle of which follows along with him during his entire life.
My one gripe (which I will try to remain as anti-spoiler as possible, but be forewarned) is that the character gets away from meeting the same fate as the other older boys just for it to circle back to it several years later and happen anyway. I do understand though that it’s about not being able to avoid your fate, and creating the impetus for the book 2 character arc, but I just wish it had been done through something else, especially with most of his life being so rough. But perhaps that’s the entire reason…
Personally a 4/5*! I most definitely need to keep going with audio for book 2!
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