An experiment in survival awaits estranged twin sisters in a thrilling science fiction adventure by the authors of The Rule of One series.
Is fear the killer of dreams?
It’s been twelve years since the 2040 Quake rocked the Golden State, fracturing Los Angeles and the fortunes of millions. It’s been six years since tech billionaire Damon Yates founded his elite academy, giving Unfortunates from the wrong side of his hyperloop tracks a new future at Quest Campus, tucked away in the Santa Monica Mountains. But an endeavor that sought to bridge a divide only tore eighteen-year-old twin sisters apart.
Jade is a street-savvy adrenaline seeker ruling the city’s downtrodden eastside. Crys is an influential socialite ensconced in Yates’s westside mansion—every bit her adoptive father’s daughter. After the mysterious murder of one of the academy’s brightest, Jade sets out with her factious band of exiles to prove there’s something sinister going on behind the walls of Yates’s exclusive empire. But to expose the earthshaking truth, Jade needs her estranged sister back on her side.
There’s a big problem, though: Crys is inexplicably terrified of her own twin’s face.
Combining a thrilling mystery with an examination of class difference, Exiles is an explosive coming-of-age adventure about living in—and doing anything to survive—the technologically advanced metropolis of the unshakable City of Dreams.
Solid Setup But With Slight Torture Of English Language. This is a tale that manages to tell its own complete tale... and yet also manages to setup a new trilogy for the Saunders twins that is perhaps at least as compelling as their debut trilogy had been. Once again, these twins writing together focus on twin primary characters, and once again having that real world dynamic really helps with the in-world dynamic. Reading the author note about their extreme aversion to twin studies as teens and seeing what they put the twins through here was particularly relevatory, but the social commentary on homeless camps here was also thought provoking and compelling, without coming across as overly preachy in real-world terms. The *one* irritating thing about this read was the presence of the trans character and the torture of using the singular "they" repeatedly - showing in novel form why a completely different and new pronoun really is needed there (perhaps "ze" instead, as some promote?). Note that the trans character itself wasn't the problem, the singular "they" was, particularly as often as was used here - to the level of almost reading more as a sudden dose of dialect rather than the usual tone of the writing. Overall another great book from the Saunders Twins, and I for one am looking forward to the next entry in the trilogy. Very much recommended.
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27 August, 2022:
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27 August, 2022:
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