Antauge

by Sarah Parker Morris

[Rinn]

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

As a student of ancient history, I was drawn to this book because of its links with mythology. However, it had less to do with Greek mythology than I initially imagined. The concept is original, especially in an age of paranormal young adult fiction linked to vampires - however, the Antauges did remind me of vampires in a way. Their need to 'feed' off of humans, their super speed and strength, their societies and even their 'headquarters' within America being New Orleans. But to give credit to Sarah Morris, the concept of 'Antauges Phleps' is an original and interesting one. I would, however, have preferred more background information on why and how the Antauges exist - but as this is book one of a trilogy, I am hoping she'll go into more detail of their history in the next two books.
The characters did not seem tremendously well developed - it was hard for me to develop any sort of attachment to any of them, because I wasn't really sure what they were like. To me, the most developed character was possibly Isabel - I got the impression that she is a very caring person, and even if something terrified her she would stand up to it to defend her friends, and there was a small background story to her as well.

Overall, the concept was creative and fresh, I'm sure Morris could easily have used a typical paranormal theme, but then the book wouldn't be half as interesting as it was. However the pacing seemed a bit odd to me - there wasn't much going on, and then suddenly the end was rather rushed - I felt the penultimate scene could have been much longer. For something labelled as 'young adult' or 'teen', I was also relieved to noticed a complete lack of teenage slang or colloquialisms, making the book more accessible to other ages. I would read the next two books in the trilogy, as I am interested in finding out more of the history of the Antauges.