The Fever King by Victoria Lee

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.

Reviewed by layawaydragon on

3 of 5 stars

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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.


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  • 13 April, 2019: Reviewed