Juliette Wade

I read the author's Big Idea on John Scalzi's blog and immediately put a hold on the book from my library. That was in February 2020 and by the time the book came to the library the whole library system in my city was closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. So it wasn't until this summer that I was finally able to read the book and by that time I had forgotten what Wade had said in her Big Idea. I have now reread it and it's such a great discussion of the book that I wish I could just copy it. I'm sure this is the first book in a series set on the world of Varin so it behooves me to make cogent enough notes that I will remember the book when the next one comes out. Because, yes, I will be reading the next one.

Varin is a planet where almost all the people live in underground caverns. It's never completely explained why everyone dwells under the surface of the planet but from discussions about the surface it seems like it is a pretty hostile environment. Except food is grown on the surface and the lower classes must go to the surface to plant and harvest and care for the crops and animals. There are seven classes of people on Varin ranging from the nobles who are called Grobal to the underclass called Akrabitti. The nobles live in luxury and control all the rest of Varin's inhabitants but they are susceptible to a disease called Kinders fever which kill almost everyone who falls sick with it. As the book opens the supreme leader collapses on stage as he is about to give a speech and he dies. Everyone in attendance flees to the safety of their own homes but many fall ill. The designated heir takes power and immediately a competition to appoint the next heir starts. One man from each of the twelve noble families enters the competition. Tagaret, the main character, a seventeen-year-old elder son of a noble family is chosen to represent the First Family. Before he can continue he falls ill with Kinders fever. He survives thanks to the ministrations of Aloran, the servant hired to guard Tagaret's mother who is trained in the arts of healing. While he is ill, however, the competition for heir continues and Tagaret's younger brother, Nekantor, takes his place. Nekantor has mental health problems that have been successfully hidden most of his life but Tagaret is quite aware of his issues. When he recovers he is horrified to learn that Nekantor may become the next heir and he tries to prevent that. To add to the complexity of his life he has fallen in love with Della, a young noble lady who has been promised in marriage to one of the other contestants for heir. And then there's the violence his father, Garr, perpetrates against his mother, Tamelara, because in this society women have no rights.

As Wade said in her Big Idea article the society is a maze and every person is trying to find the correct path through the maze. Tagaret sometimes takes a wrong turn but at least he is trying to do the right thing when he does. Nekantor has an almost uncanny ability to see the path through the maze but his rationale is anything but altruistic. It's a fascinating beginning to a series.… (altro)