The Fever King (Feverwake, #1)

by Victoria Lee

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

• ISBN10: 1542040175
• ISBN13: 9781542040174
• Publish Date: 1 March 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Imprint: Skyscape
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[tweetybugshouse]

This is a book that needs to be read by everyone and is totally relevant to the times we are living in 2020. Immigration and refugee crisis form the crux of this story that is mixed in with this concept of fever madness caused by magic virus in your veins. Noam is our main character and he is classic character he the child of undocumented immigrants and knows what the meaning of poverty is.

He a classic character cause even though he gets moved up in life by joining the government elite magical training program he never forgets where he came from and who continues to keep those like him in the trenches of poverty. His character is well developed and we get to see all sides of this character throughout this novel. We all want to root form him and hope he does not end up going down a dark path. He a very complex character that you really feel coming through the pages of this novel.

The author develops a potent relationship between Dara and Noam that is in no way a insta love she takes her time developing it and all really comes into to play as the novel comes to a close. The relationship feels natural and well developed.

All of this is set against a political upheaval that is brewing below the surface and the ending will leave you wanting to jump right into book two. Hats off to the author for developing such a unique story that is so close to what is brewing in our world now. Heck we even have our own virus brewing here now to. What a scary world we live in.

[layawaydragon]

Received a free copy from Netgalley to review for the FFBC blog tour. I didn't post this during the tour because it's, uh....You'll see.

Content Warning: Xenophobia, War Crimes, Gun Violence, Ghettos, Mass Death, Death by Suicide, Ephebophile “Relationship” (older person preying on a young teen), Self-Destruction, Protest Repression (like Ferguson), and a bunch of awful dystopian shit.

TL:DR: I don’t know how I feel about this. I was hooked on reading & will be continuing the series most likely. But

I thought it was a clear metaphor with Hitler and anti-semitism. But then the person coded as Hitler turns out to be Jewish? So instead they were the Jewish uprising (and German because Jews were/are German still), and the original USA was Hitler's Germany? But then the Jewish lead is Evil Mastermind and the Jewish Noob has to save the day? So...power corrupts?!? IDK. I think my preconceptions fucked me over hard here. Don’t be like me.

--Very mature YA.
--Lots of shit to watch out for all ages.
--I like the magic virus and abilities stuff based on knowledge.
--If MC was a girl, I wouldn’t like her to rescue/save the self-destructo boy and jeopardize the cause.
--I get why Dude was so self-destructive, but damn was it hard to read
--Hard drinking & some drugging
--I don’t know how I feel about the assassination attempt/accidental murder/self-defense turned out.

[kalventure]

✨ The Fever King made my list of favorite reads in 2019!

“I would rather die than do nothing.”

Friends, there are some books that just suck you into their pages from the start and stay with you after you finish. The Fever King is one of those rare books. I was captivated from the first page and filled every spare moment I had with reading this amazing debut novel. For two days I started and ended my day reading The Fever King, and actually went to work an hour later than normal so I could finish the book yesterday. (and I absolutely hate having to stay after it gets dark!)

I honestly have no idea how to even find the words to review this book. The Fever King is an amazing debut fantasy/speculative fiction novel that takes place in the year 2123 in an alternative United States. I think for me the thing that stuck out the most about this was that the point of divergence into this possible future was 2019, and even though we don’t have outbreaks of magic spreading (that we know of) it feels so incredibly authentic. And that’s terrifying to me, and the best parts of science fiction. In this 2123 new countries exist but there is still the same hatred and nationalistic rhetoric that we are experiencing today.

Our protagonist is Noam Álvaro, immigrant’s rights activist and 16-year old son of undocumented immigrants living in the refugee slums of Carolinia. His world is turned upside down when he survives the outbreak of viral magic and becomes a witching. His survival and blood tests bring him under the attention of hero and Minister of Defense Calix Lehrer, who brings him under his wing and into Level IV to train.

“He was finally where he needed to be. Where he could use whatever powers the witchings taught him to undermine the foundations of their world and rebuild it into something new. Something better.”

Thrust into a world Noam not only doesn’t belong in but has openly fought against, he finds himself in a position to use his position to further the cause. This book offers a nuanced conversation about activism, nonviolent and violent protest, and how the line becomes blurred between acts of terror and revolution depending on who wins. I really liked how realistic this feels with the stakes of trusting people and possibly putting that trust in the wrong person. But the desire to do something. Anything. To help his people, and taking a chance.

“Everything worth doing had its risks.”

A major theme of this book is utilitarianism and whether the ends can justify the means. Caught between his head and his heart, Noam acts very much like I imagine 16-year old me would act in this situation: full of idealism and willing to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place. But he also struggles with it and starts to feel disillusioned as well. I like when my protagonists struggle and don’t act as if they have all the answers, and all of the character decisions felt authentic to me.

I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and how Lee slowly reveals information to the reader through the plot as well as the addition of some historical newspaper clippings and interviews to provide additional historical context so it doesn’t bog down the action of the present. She manages to toe the line perfectly, giving the reader enough to crave more but never too little to feel lost in a sea of details.

I cannot write a review about The Fever King without talking about the wonderful characters. All of them are three-dimensional and feel like real people. Even though one of his Level IV roommates, Taye, doesn’t have much of a role in this installment, he still felt just as real as the rest of the characters. Dara is a precious bean and must be protected at all costs.

“This had been his life. This had been his father’s life, and now it meant nothing. Noam had magic. He was one of them now.”
“Right. Because Dara had the luxury of finding such things surprising.”

The Fever King addresses privilege incredibly well. The circumstances of Noam’s survival and witching status brought him into a world that he didn’t belong in, and the differences were stark. His roommates all had been trained from a young age, are Carolinian, and generally come from more affluent backgrounds. Noam grew up in an old bookstore in the refugee zone and dropped out of school after the eight grade. They are from different worlds and through Dara’s eyes Noam sees how different they truly are.

“And Noam might pass for white, but Dara sure as hell didn’t, which, yeah.”

But despite that privilege, intersectionality also comes into play. I found it to be rather impactful to see this issue of race come into play, and how just because one may have had all sorts of benefits afforded to them in one area, it doesn’t mean that everything is easier or erases other struggles. It’s subtle in the narrative but was something I really appreciated.

“And I meant it when I said I wasn’t gay,” Noam said. Ames looked disbelieving, but she didn’t pull away. Noam smirked. “Bisexual isn’t gay.”

This book has a m/m romance, but I was so pleased to see Noam is bisexual and that the narrative succinctly touches on the fact that being with a person of one sex doesn’t erase bisexuality.

Overall this book is everything that I hoped it would be and more! The infection and outbreak reminded me of The Hot Zone, the nuance of trying to enact social change and creating a better world reminding me of The Handmaid’s Tale, and characters that I need to protect with all of my being. I liked that I never really knew who to trust and it felt like I was along for the ride alongside Noam… and that meant that as the stakes got higher, so did my anxiety! I cannot recommend this book enough.

What I hope to see explored in the next book:
– I want to know more about the Catastrophe. Why did Lehrer abdicate? (Like really?)
– How are additional abilities developed? I just don’t get Lehrer in this context.
– I kind of wish i knew what the limits of magic were, how it works, where the virus itself comes from.
– Why aren’t they working on a cure?
– Wait apparently they occupied Atlantia?

I purchased an early copy of this eBook as part of the Amazon First Reads program. If you are in the US, you can get this book early for $1.99 (free if you are a Prime member) before February 28, 2019! The Fever King will be available in the US on March 1, 2019!

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