The Call was one of the genre highlights of 2016, a striking mash-up of Koushun Takami's Battle Royale, Terry Pratchett's Lords and Ladies and the TV series Skins, but elevated by O'Guilin's signature dark wit and his sure grasp of Irish mythology.
As Nessa tries to find a way of escaping, the last barriers between Ireland and the Grey Land begin to fail, and the invasion begins in earnest. Refusing to believe she could survive without betraying the Nation, Nessa's government imprisons her and subjects her to torture and interrogation. Nessa has survived her Call, despite her deformed legs.
Most of the time, the Sidhe kill the victim. Sometimes the Sidhe spare the victim, to return them home mutilated or "changed" in some horrific fashion. The Sidhe have a day in their realm (three minutes in ours) to hunt down and kill the child, otherwise the victime escapes. Every teenager is "Called", summoned to another realm where they do battle with the Aes Sidhe, the ancient rulers of Ireland before they were banished in a great war. The people of Ireland, the division between north and south no longer mattering, are under constant attack. The island of Ireland has been sealed off from the rest of the world by a mystical barrier. When The Hunger Games was released as films, most of the worst scenes were not shown. YA has been getting babied down for decades, much to my dismay. I'm not surprised that people were bothered by how violent it was.
I loved her sleep solution to being unable to grieve. Fourteen year old girls are full of hurt feelings, even for no reason. They rang really true of young relationships. I loved the descriptions of the Grey World. Her terror and disturbance after the assault felt very real. He reinforced this with repeated references on how humiliating it was for Conor to be beaten by girls, rejected by Nessa who should have been GRATEFUL. The scene at the end when he is assuming Nessa is stunned by his majesty is priceless. I really loved Conor's POV as a window into sexual violence. It doesn't appear as a swear until halfway through the book. I was wondering if the idea for the Cauldron came later. To maintain naming continuty, a hypothetical Book 3 would have to be called The Cauldronizator or something
0 kommentar(er)
