Blood Red Road by Moira YoungPublished: June 7, 2011
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
arc from ssgg (thanks!)
Of all of the books I was most looking forward to this year, this book was at the top of the list-right above Divergent.
What can I say about this story? It is better than great. But why? Let's break it down. We have a family, far from the rest of civilization, isolated and protected, and something happens to trigger a quest of almost epic proportions. I was amazed while reading it, there is very little here that I have not seen before (I read a great deal of dystopian lit). The magic comes in how Young pulled all of these elements together. Sometimes, the book felt as though we were in ancient Rome. Sometimes, the Wild West. The effect is one that feels familiar, but seen through new eyes.
As a kid who grew up on Mad Max, we see many of the same elements here: brutal and primal human behavior. At the same time we see our kindly Western heroes, our Amazon princess warriors, and through it all we have a girl who could be any of us. She has a mission, and nothing will distract her from it (thank you for not letting romance screw this story up-it would not have fit, it was handled very well).
A note on the dialect:
The book is written in a strange vernacular, it took me a bit to get used to it, but I think it was realistic. This strange world (after us, the Wreckers) would have different dialects, different customs. I can't wait for the sequel and to continue on with this group of warriors/survivors. I can't wait to see what is next.
Recommended for readers of dystopian lit and readers of historical fiction.
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