Review by Booklist Review
Buckell's latest (after The Tangled Lands, 2018, with Paolo Bacigalupi) begins by deceiving readers, presenting a postapocalyptic setting as fantasy, gradually dropping clues to the reader relating to our current world. Protagonist and narrator Lilith, the youngest musketress of Ninetha, privileged with guardianship of the mystical Cornucopia which provides for all of the city's needs, is equally unaware of her world's history, largely because books and reading were banned in exchange for the Cornucopias. When a librarian, Ishmael, stumbles into Ninetha as the first visitor in a generation, Lilith's actions to defend him ripple into the destruction of her home and family by her own mentor, Kira, who was offended by the family's heresy of secretly owning a single book and hoarding the provisions from the Cornucopia. When Lilith flees Ninetha with Ishmael, she discovers how sheltered her worldview was as he shares tales of his travels and his love of learning. Inspired by Fahrenheit 451, Buckell masterfully crafts this coming-of-age story for a strong, compassionate heroine who needed a bit of reality thrust upon her.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Buckell (Hurricane Fever) explores the consequences of book banning in this atmospheric postapocalyptic sci-fi fantasy. In a far future in which humanity has "crossed the great, dark void" of space to colonize a new planet after the ecological collapse of Earth, it is believed that "the gods delivered us from strife and pain, starvation and struggle, plagues and destructive weather. All we had to do was to give up knowledge." For this reason, all books are banned in the city of Ninetha. When Lilith, the daughter of the city's dictator, discovers that her family hides a book, it upends everything she thought she knew. She foolishly trusts Kira, her ruthless trainer, with her discovery--leading to a bloody insurrection that kills all of Lilith's family. With the help of outlaw librarian Ishmael, Lilith flees Ninetha to the strange world outside the city, where she's shocked to learn that very different attitudes about books persist. While the conceit feels familiar, Buckell elevates his take on it with unexpected twists and a kindling sense of wonder in the world beyond Ninetha's walls. The message about the importance of literacy could not be more timely, and Buckell's sure-handed plotting keep the pages flying. Readers will be hooked. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Lilith of Ninetha believes that she knows all that she needs to and that all of it is true. Then a stranger reaches Ninetha through the trackless desert, bearing forbidden knowledge of the world beyond the city's walls, which Lilith burns to experience. But as she lives in a world where the highest law is "You shall not suffer a librarian to live," the moment Lilith steps on the path of learning, she presents a deadly threat to everyone and everything she knows and loves. Her journey across the desert and into the secret at the center of her world brings a truth that sets her free and simultaneously breaks her heart. Lilith's coming-of-age is a quest through hardship and deception to learn that the truths she has been told are lies designed to keep her world and its people in chains. VERDICT In World Fantasy Award winner Buckell's (The Trove) latest, Lilith undergoes a journey from innocence to terrible experience. Recommended for readers who enjoy stories that reveal in layers and any who liked the postapocalyptic, flawed reconstruction of knowledge in The Starless Crown by James Rollins.--Marlene Harris
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In a world where books are sacrilegious, a musketress and a librarian search for the truth. Lilith and her 12 brothers and sisters are musketeers of Ninetha, a walled city. Their family controls the cornucopia, which gives them enough to survive, though they must constantly monitor the common people so that their city does not collapse on itself. Then a librarian arrives, carrying with him the unthinkable: a book. Kira, who sometimes acts as Lilith's bodyguard, sometimes as her teacher, and sometimes almost as a mother figure, wants to execute the librarian at once, but though Lilith knows that books are forbidden, she also wants to honor the rare appearance of a traveler and feels responsible for the man's fate. The librarian's arrival heralds a rupture in Lilith's own life as she witnesses her city and family in turmoil. Ultimately, Lilith journeys beyond the city walls, accompanied, unexpectedly, by the librarian. Despite their differences, the two must rely on each other to survive in a world stranger than either of them could have imagined. While the worldbuilding and mystery surrounding technology and books are fascinating, a constant distance from Lilith's emotions and sometimes even from the action utterly disrupting her life makes the story less than fully engaging. Though the stakes should be high, only Lilith's unknowing journey to stumble upon the central conceit of her world propels the story to its singular revelation. A worthy concept that struggles with its execution. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
