Magpie's Song far from average dystopian fantasy
Magpie's Song by Allison Pang Indie Literary Fiction , Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 08 Aug 2017
Review
Great books linger in your thoughts long after the last page is turned. Magpie’s Song is such a book, and I am eager to read the next book in the series. The world of Magpie’s Song is divided in three. Meridian, the city of luxury and technology flies above. It rules Brightstone, the city below with an iron fist. Brightstone fears the Rot, a flesh eating plague that randomly attacks members of the population, and turns others inexplicably into Moon Children, silver haired, capable of great physical prowess and immune to the Rot. They are the Sineaters of Brightstone, looked down upon and often sent to the Pits where the plagued are isolated.
Raggy Maggy is a scavenger of scrap, struggling to meet her quota. When she and her friend discover a clockwork dragon, a series of cascading events leads her to become a wanted criminal involved in a conspiracy to discover the source of the Rot and ultimately end Meridian rule. Magpie (Maggy) is a compelling narrator in a world where allegiances can not be taken for granted and trust is a rare commodity. To find out the truth, Magpie must enter the Pits - a place no one has ever returned from.
Magpie’s Song will appeal to those who enjoy dystopian fantasy. Magpie is a strong character, slightly feral, and capable of acknowledging weakness without whining. Angst and mooning about romance have no place in her life or in Magpie’s Song. The supporting characters are equally fascinating and I look forward to learning more about them as the story progresses.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Magpie’s Song from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Description
In the slums of BrightStone, Moon Children are worth less than the scrap they must collect to survive. It doesn’t matter that these abandoned half-breeds are part-Meridian with their ancestors hailing from the technologically advanced city that floats above the once-thriving, now plague-ridden BrightStone. Instead they are rejected by both their ancestral societies and forced to live on the outskirts of civilization, joining clans simply to survive. Not to mention their role as Tithe, leading the city’s infected citizens deep into the Pits where their disease can be controlled. Nineteen-year-old Raggy Maggy is no different, despite the mysterious heart-shaped panel that covers her chest. Or at least she wasn’t… Not until her chance discovery of a Meridian-built clockwork dragon—and its murdered owner. When the Inquestors policing the city find Maggy at the scene of the crime, she quickly turns into their prime suspect. Now she’s all anyone can talk about. Even her clan leader turns his back on her, leading her to rely on an exiled doctor and a clanless Moon Child named Ghost to keep her hidden. In return, all she has to do is help them find a cure for the plague they believe was not exactly accidental. Yet doing so might mean risking more than just her life. It also might be the only key to uncovering the truth about the parents—and the past—she knows nothing about.
