I enjoyed it and I will read the next in the series, but I didn’t love it. I don’t really know why.
This is the first in the Books of Mortals trilogy. It has a very interesting premise – a future where the people of earth are living completely without any emotions except fear. The world has been at peace for 450 years, with everyone following a code of behaviour called Order, and ruled benevolently??? by a small group of people called Royals.
Of course, all is not really great in this future world, even though everyone is oblivious. All creative thought is gone. Any elderly, sick, injured, or otherwise imperfect person is simply killed as being against Order. Fear drives everyone to obey and to report anyone who doesn’t. There is just stasis and fear.
Now the plot.
Some Royals have an agenda to seize power. It is a closely held secret that emotions were eradicated on purpose by a virus that altered DNA. The plotting Royal scientists have developed a serum to restore the dark emotions, like anger and jealousy. They give the serum to a Royal named Saric who is very close to the King. The idea is that the Saric’s new passions will allow him to overthrow the King.
Countering this group of Royals is a young man named Rom who encounters a member of a secret group and is entrusted with a vial of serum that will restore all emotions, and a quest to find a boy whose blood holds the key to restoring emotions to everyone. Rom and a small group of friends have to race to find the boy.
I enjoyed more a book from Ted Dekker’s Circle series – Green – with another volume from that series on my shelf right now.
Lesley Just Read 