The chance to attend college is just what Alexa Daegberht needs to break out of the mold of her caste. If she can become a Bach, she can escape the poverty she’s endured ever since her parents died when she was five. Only through education can she rise above her birth caste–and she knows it.All of her plans fall to dust when she opens a portal within her refrigerator, turning her macaroni and … macaroni and cheese casserole into a sentient being. By dawn the next day, the mysterious dae have come to Earth to stay. Hundreds of thousands of people vanish into thin air, and as the days pass, the total of the missing number in the millions. Some say it’s the rapture of the Christian faith.
Alexa knows better: their dae ate them, leaving behind nothing more than dust as evidence of their hunger.
As one of the unawakened, she doesn’t have a dae, nor can she manifest any forms of magical powers. She’s lacking the innate knowledge of what the dae are and what they mean for the world. Now more than ever, she is an outsider. Her survival hinges on her ability to adapt to a world she no longer understands.
Unfortunately, one of the dae has taken notice of her, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. Alexa’s problems pile up as she’s forced to pick her allegiances. Will she submit to the new ways of the world? Will she become some monster’s pawn? Or, against all odds, can she forge her own path and prove normal humans can thrive among those gifted with powers once the domain of fantasies and nightmares?
more
disclaimer on this one. that’s new for me:…… So yeah, I preordered the second book but not the first (before either had come out). When the author found out she sent me an advance reading copy of this one. The version I read had some typos and passages that are changed in the current release. So some of my info is out of date. Anyhow, there was no agreement to leave a review but I’m doing so anyway
First off: LOVED the book. Difficult to classify – it’s a futuristic, dystopian, apocalyptic alien invason fantasy. Not a comedy book, but with sense of humor nonetheless.
This is definitely not cyberpunk. The tech level is practically identical to current day (except for self driving cars). But it is near(ish) future and therefore similar to cyberpunk. Also, in cyberpunk there is a tradition of doing very minimal worldbuilding and leaving the reader to puzzle out the difference from brief hints. The author uses this same technique. In fact, there’s more worldbuilding in the online description than in the book. Normally this could be bad but The author’s world is fully developed, just not fully described – probably leaving that for future books.
The book is set in a future version of Baltimore in the US. Apparently the current gov’t has toppled and been replaced by a new system. This far enough in the past that the truth of it has been suppressed from all but a few academics. The new United States is heavily caste based, our protagonist being from the lowest caste, but trying to work her way up to the only merit-based caste by earning her “Bach” (college degree?). So far it sounds pretty close to cyberpunk. and the first bit of it really could be. Until all the weirdness starts.
The “weirdness” is already described in the book blurb so I won’t bother to repeat.But the transition from cyberpunk dystopia to Gaiman-esqu wonderland is seamless and believably astounding. An amazingly clever romp through hell in revolt.
Of course there’s a plot too. You know, that bit where she’s beset by danger on all sides, doesn’t know who to trust, and has to find the information she needs and track down a killer – all while still trying to learn the new rules in a world where everybody has magical powers except her. And the plot is complete too. actually ends when the book ends. No ugly cliffhanger – Except that there are still unanswered questions about what all the Dae are and why it all happened. But that’s not important anyway, right? (Heh..just keep teling yourself that. Then you might not go nuts waiting for the next book).
Really though. Great book. well written characters. Interesting world. Engrossing action. Even a little bit of romance. What’s not to love?
Really, the level of creativity here is well above the norm. This is not formula fiction. The author takes a lot of chances, At times it seems she is writing more for herself than the reader. and in my opinion, she succeeds brillantly.