Jax and her brother get by in a shattered world, where
most
of Earth's population was killed off by germ warfare.
Those
who are left live on simple fare, as Jax and Jace did
until
recently, or move into fortified towns, as they've now
done
for protection from bandits. Fretting about having to be
married off and live a docile life, Jax forgets about the
other danger outside the Bridgelake walls.
BROKEN SKIES picks up the adventure as Jax and Jace
encounter a small alien craft. While the E'rikon
intruders
who moved into the vacuum normally leave Earth people
alone, today that's not the case. Jace is grabbed by a few
aliens as he tries to distract them from Jax, who is
caught
anyway by a young man. The other group takes off, bringing
Jace back to their city and Jax is desperate. She bargains
with Lir, the young E'rikon man, who has been left without
his tech and weaponry. If she helps him reach the city on
foot, he must get her inside. She doesn't know if she can
trust a guy with green hair, and he's got the worst
attitude towards humans, but what choice does she have?
I was interested to compare this post-apocalyptic society
with Breeder by KB Hoyle, as the themes have a lot in
common. Just as in Breeder, when population numbers are
low women's rights go out the door. Jax is going to be
promised to some Bridgelake man without her consent. In
this book it's the strong girl who has the survival skills
she needs for a trek across country, while the remnant
populations she encounters are anything but co-operative.
The alien arrivals are rumoured to be attacking human
settlements; E'rikon are strong and difficult to kill by
lightly armed defenders. Lir has his own reasons for
distrusting humans, as we'd expect.
What with snakebites and stitching wounds, desperate
defences and two colours of blood, this isn't one for the
squeamish. The details are well presented, though the
level
of tech is generally simple, and we get thoroughly
involved
in Jax's courageous struggle. The story threads get more
complex, along with the culture clash. I did think that
Jax passes out more often than the average teenage girl as
several chapters end that way. Theresa Kay has given us a
tale full of landscape and longing, adventure and
alienation. BROKEN SKIES is an exciting, heart in your
mouth read for imaginative young adults.
After the Collapse wiped out more than 90 percent of
humanity, the aliens arrived. Known as the E’rikon, they
sit
within a shielded city, content to ignore the dwindling
human settlements. Seventeen-year-old tomboy Jax Mitchell
and her twin brother, Jace, are among the survivors,
living
within the community of Bridgelake.
When a terrified yet defiant Jax watches the E’rikon
kidnap
Jace, she decides to rescue him on her own. Wracked by
crippling nightmares and panic attacks, Jax finds an ally
in
Lir, a handsome teenage E’rikon who was left behind by his
ship. The two of them form an unlikely partnership, with
Jax
guiding Lir through human territory while the alien
promises
to sneak her into the E’rikon city. But as Jax’s
connection
with Lir intensifies, she discovers a shocking secret—one
that could have catastrophic effects on humans and aliens
alike.
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