Magic belongs to the women. To the men—only death.In the city of Merilaad, any boy displaying magical ability is swiftly executed. Elena, an apprentice mage with powers she resents and a past she’d rather forget, knows it has to be this way—to protect them all. To keep them safe.
But when the boy she loves suddenly and unexpectedly develops magical powers, Elena finds herself faced with a … herself faced with a dangerous choice—should she report Jascha and sentence him to certain death, or risk everything to keep his abilities hidden?
As the two of them struggle with their deadly secret, they uncover more deception, lurking just beneath the surface of their peaceful, idyllic city. Can they reveal the truth before it’s too late…or will they plunge Merilaad back into its bloody past?
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The Last Culling (Book of Sigils 1) Kindle Edition
by Rachael Vaughn
Thank you to Rachael Vaughn, the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary reviewer’s copy. I am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
Like many of the dystopian novels that have appeared following the 2016 election, The Last Culling held a great deal of potential. Set in a world where women alone are mages and any male caught with magic is culled, Elena, an apprentice mage with levitation abilities, finds out that her friend, Jascha has magic. In order to protect him from culling, she helps him hide his abilities.
Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its billing. The world-building is confusing. While the world Ms. Vaughn built is set in a time and place with magic appears to be separate from ours and lacking science, phrases such as “Dodged a bullet” appear. Yet, there are no guns. Days of the week are the same, yet there doesn’t seem to be any connection to our world. There is no explanation given as to why this happened.
But there are a lot of other explanations given. So much so that the first half of the novel has almost no action, just a lot of talking. Ms. Vaughn makes the cardinal sin of writers – a lot of telling an very little showing. This impacts the story negatively as there is no apparent danger for Jascha. Ms. Vaughn doesn’t show any consequences for him. There is no tension, no action for the first half of the book. This draws the reader’s interest far away from the story. In fact, I found myself skimming the story, trying to care about what was happening and trying to find any connection to the characters.
Too much of the story is told by characters instead of being given the readers in action scenes. The story moves way too slow. The book misses the entire point of dystopian literature – to shine a light on the darkest corners of our world and to warn us of things to come.
The worst example is when the worst possible thing happens to Jascha. Instead of seeing it through his eyes, we are told by his younger brother.
Truly a disappointing read and truly not worth the price I paid and definitely not worthy of the time it took to read.
1 star out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Culling-Rachael-Vaughn-ebook/dp/B07RL44HD3/
I really loved this! A fantastic fantasy read where only females are allowed to have magic, if men develop magic they are executed immediately! The world building is fantastic, the storyline gripping and exciting and the characters relatable and intriguing. Danger, deception, secrets, magic and twists and turns makes me eager to read book two!
This book delves into the crux of the storyline immediately, as a family is forced to watch the Culling of one of theirs. In a time, way in the past, apparently male mages wrought havoc, they abused their power and by using mind control on the populace, they subdued them and forced them to conform to their will. Until the people rebelled. A council was formed to prevent this from happening again and the council decided that male mages were a scourge and too dangerous to allow. Thus they came up with the Culling, every male who manifests magic, is killed to curb this slight. Elena finds it difficult to come to terms with losing her brother in such an appalling manner, even when she herself manifests magic. As resentful as she is, she attends the Academy, and her future. Until her friend suddenly develops power. From that moment on, Elena’s life takes a dramatic turn. As she helps Jascha control his magic, for fear of him being Culled, they uncover an unimaginable truth. The adventure to elude the council ensues and with the help of her aunt, the true horror comes to light. It was a very enjoyable fun read. It was an evenly paced, light read. I thought the characters developed nicely, and the plot progessed steadily. There definitely is a beginning, a middle and an end to this book, which, as a reader, I appreciated. No confusing events, all follow perfectly as the puzzle takes shape, but in no way predictably. The ending is particularly satisfying, even though this is the start of a series, this book could easily be a standalone novel. Great read