Book Review: First Light

First Light by Rebecca Stead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For better or worse, this book reminded me of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. And not in any way except that Stead created a secondary world that was entirely science fiction and entirely believable. A world that was more advanced than ours in ways but held onto a primitive ideal at the same time. A cold world. With humans and wild creatures as intimate companions.

But there's where the similarities ended. Stead has no agenda. She's simply telling a story. A very, very good story. She's a fine writer and I look forward to more from her pen.

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On second reading, 9 years later, HOW DID I MISS THE AGENDA?!?!?!? Global warming. The world Stead describes is going to disappear. And the denizens of the world are fighting a pitched battle between chosen ignorance preached by a leader who wants to hold on to power or plain fact that will embroil the world in changes that will end it in another way.

Entirely believable. Again.


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