Years ago, the world became a barren wasteland, survivable only in the Kerinas, where people with Talents protect the populace from the fierce storms, as well as take care of almost everything else. The Talentless, whose numbers are growing yearly, are barely tolerated in some Kerinas, while completely banned from others. Jin-Liu in some ways is one of the lucky ones; sure, she has the most dangerous job in the wasteland, but at least it helps her keep her Talentless mother reasonably comfortable. As a magebike courier, one of the few who venture outside the domed cities on motorcycles powered by magic, she braves the wasteland’s dangers—deadly storms, roving marauders, and territorial beasts—to deliver her wares.
But her most valuable cargo? Kadrin, a Talentless prince’s, love letters addressed to Yi-Nereen, the Talented princess of another Kerina. Too bad Jin is desperately, hopelessly, in love with both of them. But when Yi-Nereen’s begs her for help in escaping the clutches of her abusive family and soon-to-be husband to get to Kadrin’s side, how can Jin-Liu refuse? So thus starts there journey across the wastes, pursued by Yi-Nereen’s furious father, her scheming betrothed, and a bounty hunter with mysterious powers.
But when the secrets of the mana come to light, will Jin’s heart have finally dragged her into a danger she can’t escape?
To be honest, I’m not one-hundred percent sure what I thought about this book. Hell, I’m not one-hundred percent sure what I think of any of the characters. Almost everyone has hidden motives, and selfish ones at that. Yi-Neeren is manipulative (but that’s okay! She turns out to actually be in love and not just manipulative! Just extremely emotionally damaged!), Kadrin is dyslexic (and self-pitying, and secretive with his emotions, and overcompensating) Sou-Zell (the scheming betrothed) has no real empathy chip, Jin-Liu has major trust issues (and is apparently in love with three different people simultaneously), and Falka (mysterious character with really badly patched-together back story) is so broken she’s nuts. Family sucks in this book (other than Kadrin’s sister Eliesen and Jin’s mother Eomma; so on second thought, it may just be fathers that suck here. But let’s not ignore that Eliesen is written as a bisexual slut flirt, so there’s that intriguing trait to round her out.) Out of all the characters, Faolin and Screech the pteropter were my favorites, and I doubt we’ll see either of them in Book Two. Though let us not forget the villain, a character that will hopefully appear in the second book of the duology, otherwise what exactly was the point of him? And the climatic battle/problem? Shows that apparently mass-murder is as easy to be talked out of as it is to be talked into. This was described as a “queer Mad Max: Thunder Road“, and maybe if I had seen one Mad Max movie, never mind that one, it would have made more of an impact. Not completely what I expected from the blurb on the back of the book. There were some good parts: the letters between chapters that showed how Kadrin and Yi-Nereen got to where they are were a nice touch, and the apparent rapid quitting of mana-cigs that Jin goes through should be encouraging to anyone who is trying to give up smoking. Plot felt like nothing happened, a lot happened, it dragged on, it rushed by, and that what happens between the bounty hunter and Yi-Nereen should have happened closer to the end of the book, all simultaneously. And that ending? Let’s kick one of the main characters up the ass, and shoot down the conclusion the book promised and we’ve been aiming towards the entire plot. I’ll probably buy the second book, if for no other reason than to see how it all ends and if they get their HEA (and if there’s more Screech.) But this was the first book in a while that I have absolutely no clear picture in my head of what I think any of them look like; all I get is Jin-Asiatic snarky punkk biker, Kadrin-earnest, Yi-Nereen- smoky-eyed and veiled.
And I had really been looking forward to this book. All I can say is that pick it up if queer, polyamorous Mad Max with magic and dinosaurs are your cup of tea. I guess I can halfheartedly recommend it.
