This book has a lot of things going for it. It's got a cool setting and an interesting premise. It’s got a very diverse set of characters, none of whom are really “good” or “evil” in the traditional sense (though certainly some are better people than others). It’s set over a short period of time - literally a single night - which is a thing I’ve come to realize I really love. I didn’t end up enjoying it quite as much as I expected I would, but it’s still a good, fun read.
The premise here is that, a generation prior to the book, the goblins conquered the fae after centuries of being subjugated by them. The fae are not quite slaves, but they only just miss the mark. Their lives are absolutely dominated by the goblins. The fae population all live in the Iron City, which the goblins built after their conquest. The entire city is surrounded by a thick wall of iron, keeping the fae trapped and cutting them off from the natural world and, by extension, their magic.
The book is about an uprising. It’s not the first by any stretch, though all the ones so far have been swiftly and brutally crushed by the goblins. There are a lot of elements at play here, though.
The center of the book is a narcotic known as Dust. When on Dust, the fae regain access to their magic. They can make flowers grow, healers can use their powers to fix injuries, and (of particular interest to the rebels) they can use their magic for war. Dust is, however, a narcotic; taking enough to do anything of significance has serious consequences, and the tenements of the Iron City are filled with junkies in search of that next magical high.
The rebellion hopes this uprising will be different, thanks to the massive amount of Dust they’ve smuggled into the city. Enough that, if a fae were willing to sacrifice themself, could be used to annihilate the goblins. This block of Dust is the center of the story: most of the action is driven by the efforts of all sides in the conflict to gain control of it.
The cast of POV characters include: a low-level Dust dealer who has seen his parents destroyed by their addiction; his artist brother, who hopes to inspire change in the Iron City through his work; assorted young revolutionaries, who reluctantly interrupt their arguments about theory to fight goblins; the organizers of the rebellion; a goblin princess, who sincerely wants to make things better for everyone; her half-goblin-half-fae bodyguard, who both sides see as alien; and the elderly dowager of one of the goblin houses, determined to return to the center of power.
This entire book has the feel of both a noir film and Les Miserables. The parallels of Dust to heroin (or other drug of choice) are obvious; several of the characters want it simply because that much pure Dust is worth a whole, whole lot of money. Oakes does a good job of telling out the story, gradually spinning out the layers and layers of the tale and gradually letting the reader find out all the intricacies of the assorted plots as they unfold. There’s violence, people die, and the ending is ultimately a satisfying one. It’s standalone, though the world has room for a sequel if Oakes wants to make one. Overall, though, I hope he resists that temptation; I’d rather leave things wrapped up where they are.
This is Oakes’ debut, and I’m interested to see what comes out next.
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