Review: Spirits Of Glory by Emily Devenport

Spirits Of Glory by Emily Devenport

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Review: Author's request


How lovely to read about a girl who isn't tall, beautiful, and stunning in every which way. Far from it, Amber (Hawkeye) is a cripple though she does describe herself as 'a prettiness that surprised her'. She's clever and smart but unique.

Synopsis:
One morning the people of the North woke up and the people of the South were gone. That s the first thing every child learns on the colony world of Jigsaw. But for one girl, knowing about The Disappearance is not enough. Hawkeye wants to know why.

That's why she spent half her life researching The Disappearance. And that's also why eight Neighbors show up on her doorstep, demanding that she accompany them into the Forbidden Cities ruled by the Southern gods to speak with the Spirits of Glory. Everyone thinks Hawkeye is an expert on Neighbors, these almost-humans who move, talk, and think as if they were born inside one of the Time Fractures. But she can't imagine what they want to ask the ghosts of their ancestors, or why they need her to go along. The Southern gods caused every human inhabitant of the Southern cities to disappear overnight :&emdash; what else might they do?

But the Northern gods say Hawkeye should go and her curiosity won't let her refuse, even though she's going into more danger than she can imagine. Pain and puzzlement wait along the broken interstate, along with scavengers who want to kill them all. Hawkeye's questions only generate more questions as they move farther and farther into the South, right into the heart of the Disappearance, until Hawkeye's questions have all been answered.
Even the ones she was afraid to ask.

Review:
The first thing I'll say is that if you don't like Sci-Fi then this book isn't for you. Personally I LOVE Sci-Fi and this author's attention to detail is so far advanced that many inferior writers can never match it.

The blend of sentences and words wisping around to create this magical word of Jigsaw is very unique, almost akin to classic Sci-Fi more than modern but among those words and sentences is a story that will grab you in so you don't want to let go.

While I read it chapter by chapter I formed various ideas in my head as to what would happen at the end of the journey, and what twist Devenport would spring on us but I was wrong in each idea.

The characters are all crisp and well formed. I particularly liked the assistance animals and how much they helped Hawkeye, with the soft touch of her reading them 1001 Arabian Nights to go to sleep.

There isn't much dialogue in the story, and only a hint of romance near the end although Bertie does play a prominent part in Hawkeye's perception of things. But this is about the growth of one girl and how her world changes on her last journey.

A thoroughly wonderful read, I beg anyone to read it and enjoy.

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