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the_bard's review
4.0
This had all the things I loved about the first book and then added even more stuff I love, like Art Deco designs, retrofuturistic technology, and weirdness that just gets weirder. I'm enjoying this series a whole hell of a lot.
wlreed312's review against another edition
3.0
This might have been my favorite of the trilogy. There are some interesting new characters. Lane and Cael have at least one genuinely great conversation. We learn more about the Sleeping Dogs, as well as some tantalizing bits about a group named the Sawtooth Seven. We get to know both Gwennie and Meralda better. Not my favorite series, but enjoyable.
maddyd51's review
4.0
Blightborn takes off like a bullet in the first few chapters and does not let up. The second installment moves the story forward very quickly and we get to learn more about characters that are only minor in Under the Empyrean Sky. I kept finding excuses to sneak away to read this one!
hccummings's review against another edition
4.0
Blightborn picks up pretty much where Under an Empyrean Sky leaves off. Since I read this back-to-back with The Harvest, I won’t go as in depth as I normally might because the details blur together. Our main cast has been split up (which seems to be pretty standard for these kinds of stories; I’ve done it myself) and situations escalate. Everything proceeds very logically and the characters’ flaws often come back to bite them in the ass.
The story is done well-enough that by the time I got to book two in the series, it felt less like a dystopian story (though it clearly is) and more like rural fantasy. I guess there’s no reason it can’t be a rural fantasy set in a future dystopia. The Heartland could be the American Great Plain at some specified point in the future, but it doesn’t have to be and this is a strength. I don’t think the more fantastical elements of the story (and the Blight is definitely more like fantastic nature magic than a real-world mutation or disease) would work as well if one could pinpoint where and when in the real world this story is supposed to have taken place.
By the time I was 3/4 of the way through the story, I started to get annoyed that some of the characters were making the same mistakes and I thought “Are these people stupid?” Well, no. Well, some of them are, but what I mean is: they’re young. It’s easy to forget that these characters are still teenagers. I don’t think any of the main characters are yet twenty. Most teenagers think they’re invincible and really need to be hit on the head before they learn a life lesson. So, it might get annoying, but it is realistic. More on that in The Harvest review.
Blightborn is a good necessary follow-up to Under an Empyrean Sky. Even more than its predecessor, when you reach the end, you’ll want to jump right into The Harvest.
So I did.
The story is done well-enough that by the time I got to book two in the series, it felt less like a dystopian story (though it clearly is) and more like rural fantasy. I guess there’s no reason it can’t be a rural fantasy set in a future dystopia. The Heartland could be the American Great Plain at some specified point in the future, but it doesn’t have to be and this is a strength. I don’t think the more fantastical elements of the story (and the Blight is definitely more like fantastic nature magic than a real-world mutation or disease) would work as well if one could pinpoint where and when in the real world this story is supposed to have taken place.
By the time I was 3/4 of the way through the story, I started to get annoyed that some of the characters were making the same mistakes and I thought “Are these people stupid?” Well, no. Well, some of them are, but what I mean is: they’re young. It’s easy to forget that these characters are still teenagers. I don’t think any of the main characters are yet twenty. Most teenagers think they’re invincible and really need to be hit on the head before they learn a life lesson. So, it might get annoying, but it is realistic. More on that in The Harvest review.
Blightborn is a good necessary follow-up to Under an Empyrean Sky. Even more than its predecessor, when you reach the end, you’ll want to jump right into The Harvest.
So I did.
mmelibertine's review against another edition
5.0
This book, this SERIES, is so good I think I'm going to be sick. I didn't want it to end, least of all where it DID. Lane, sweet Lane, WHAT HAPPENS, I MUST KNOW.
In all seriousness, BLIGHTBORN is as well paced and tightly plotted as its predecessor. The characters are remarkable. They're deep and complex and difficult, and they tug at my heartstrings and surprise me in the best and most painful of ways.
I have to comment on the wonderful representation in the book, too. There's no punching down to be found here. There's a fat kid who isn't craven and cowardly, but brave, steadfast, strong, and a quick thinker. There's a gay kid who's multidimensional and not demonized or mocked by the narrative (though yes, he does face the fears and lashing-out of those who don't understand). And people of color! Who aren't cannon fodder! Confetti everywhere!
I'm literally salivating over the thought of the next book. I can't even deal, you guys.
In all seriousness, BLIGHTBORN is as well paced and tightly plotted as its predecessor. The characters are remarkable. They're deep and complex and difficult, and they tug at my heartstrings and surprise me in the best and most painful of ways.
I have to comment on the wonderful representation in the book, too. There's no punching down to be found here. There's a fat kid who isn't craven and cowardly, but brave, steadfast, strong, and a quick thinker. There's a gay kid who's multidimensional and not demonized or mocked by the narrative (though yes, he does face the fears and lashing-out of those who don't understand). And people of color! Who aren't cannon fodder! Confetti everywhere!
I'm literally salivating over the thought of the next book. I can't even deal, you guys.
errantdreams's review against another edition
4.0
Cael has the Blight, and is starting to hear a voice in his head. I’m so glad we get to see more of the Blight in this volume–it’s creepy, horrific, and fascinating. Not all of our questions about it will be answered, but we do get to meet the Maize Witch and see more of what the Blight is capable of.
The love interests in this volume are getting awfully complicated. Gwennie was with Cael, then she was Obligated to Boyland, and now there might or might not be some sort of attraction between her and Balastair Harrington, the Empyrean who’s in charge of her. (But he kinda still has a thing for Cleo, his old fiancee, who is shacked up with a rival of Balastair’s, but maybe is moving on?) Wanda still wants to be with Cael. Boyland wants to be with Gwennie. Cael wants to be with Gwennie… but is he starting to have feelings for Wanda? Merelda believes she’s in love with the man she’s mistress to, but he’s quite satisfied with his marriage the way it is. Or does he love her after all? And as for Lane… well, poor Lane. Relationships don’t seem to work out so well for him.
For the most part, the Empyreans are every stereotype of the ruling society lording it over the dystopian wasteland. They’re catty, they’re political, they adore parties and luxuries, they enjoy making others miserable, and so on. They even treat people on the equivalent of death row as a tourist attraction. Luckily there are a few individuals (such as Balastair) who break the mold, otherwise it would be a bit much. The fact that only the Empyrean is okay with same-sex or otherwise non-standard relationships is unfortunate; if it weren’t for one sympathetic gay character on the Heartland side, that would seem to send the message that those relationships were the product of a decadent and dissolute society. If the Empyreans had been depicted as less one-sidedly, well, sinful frankly, I wouldn’t even be noting that as a problem (this is why I don’t like monolithic societies–they tend to create ‘problematic’ traps).
We do get to find out more about Cael’s Pop’s history, which is excellent. Little dribs and drabs of his background come out, particularly when the Raiders and Eben show up. I’m not wholly pleased with how Gwennie starts out–she’s supposed to be the level-headed figure in Cael’s crowd, but she immediately jumps to the conclusion upon seeing Merelda that Merelda is a traitor to the Heartland. This leads directly to a continuation of the theme from the previous book, where it seems like young women cannot be friends with or even just rely upon each other.
The level of tension and action in here is delightful! I was pulled in quite quickly by Cael, Lane, and Rigo’s flight from their home, their encounter with Eben, the Raiders, Boyland and Wanda’s tracking of the boys, and so much more. There are some fantastic battles and encounters toward the end. The plot is enthralling as Cael works to save Gwennie, Merelda tries to save herself, Gwennie tries to save her family, and the Maize Witch… well, she has her own goals. Despite the things that didn’t entirely sit well with me, I’m still looking forward to reading the final book in the series.
Consider my rating a 3.5
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/12/review-blightborn-chuck-wendig/
The love interests in this volume are getting awfully complicated. Gwennie was with Cael, then she was Obligated to Boyland, and now there might or might not be some sort of attraction between her and Balastair Harrington, the Empyrean who’s in charge of her. (But he kinda still has a thing for Cleo, his old fiancee, who is shacked up with a rival of Balastair’s, but maybe is moving on?) Wanda still wants to be with Cael. Boyland wants to be with Gwennie. Cael wants to be with Gwennie… but is he starting to have feelings for Wanda? Merelda believes she’s in love with the man she’s mistress to, but he’s quite satisfied with his marriage the way it is. Or does he love her after all? And as for Lane… well, poor Lane. Relationships don’t seem to work out so well for him.
For the most part, the Empyreans are every stereotype of the ruling society lording it over the dystopian wasteland. They’re catty, they’re political, they adore parties and luxuries, they enjoy making others miserable, and so on. They even treat people on the equivalent of death row as a tourist attraction. Luckily there are a few individuals (such as Balastair) who break the mold, otherwise it would be a bit much. The fact that only the Empyrean is okay with same-sex or otherwise non-standard relationships is unfortunate; if it weren’t for one sympathetic gay character on the Heartland side, that would seem to send the message that those relationships were the product of a decadent and dissolute society. If the Empyreans had been depicted as less one-sidedly, well, sinful frankly, I wouldn’t even be noting that as a problem (this is why I don’t like monolithic societies–they tend to create ‘problematic’ traps).
We do get to find out more about Cael’s Pop’s history, which is excellent. Little dribs and drabs of his background come out, particularly when the Raiders and Eben show up. I’m not wholly pleased with how Gwennie starts out–she’s supposed to be the level-headed figure in Cael’s crowd, but she immediately jumps to the conclusion upon seeing Merelda that Merelda is a traitor to the Heartland. This leads directly to a continuation of the theme from the previous book, where it seems like young women cannot be friends with or even just rely upon each other.
The level of tension and action in here is delightful! I was pulled in quite quickly by Cael, Lane, and Rigo’s flight from their home, their encounter with Eben, the Raiders, Boyland and Wanda’s tracking of the boys, and so much more. There are some fantastic battles and encounters toward the end. The plot is enthralling as Cael works to save Gwennie, Merelda tries to save herself, Gwennie tries to save her family, and the Maize Witch… well, she has her own goals. Despite the things that didn’t entirely sit well with me, I’m still looking forward to reading the final book in the series.
Consider my rating a 3.5
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/12/review-blightborn-chuck-wendig/
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Notes:
3.5 Stars for Story
4.5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
A few fun twists but overall progression felt chunky. I'm looking forward to seeing how the trilogy will (explode) end.
3.5 Stars for Story
4.5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
A few fun twists but overall progression felt chunky. I'm looking forward to seeing how the trilogy will (explode) end.
nezbots's review
1.0
I actually had to stop midway through this book. Not that it was lacking action or anything, but the treatment of the female characters made me too uncomfortable. I realize it's all dystopian so poor people clearly must be depraved and HORRIBLE to each other, but the situations he put them in didn't really seem necessary for the plot to move along, and it wasn't taken seriously enough for me to handle continuing to read it. It may be a personal issue, but I still couldn't do it. Also, the perspective changing every 3 paragraphs made it very hard to get into any one person's story.
So sorry, but not my thing!
So sorry, but not my thing!
leifw's review
4.0
Unique yet relatable yet unpredictable. Surprisingly good for a second novel of a trilogy.
hannah_a_r_teatalksbooks's review
4.0
Advance copy provided by NetGalley
I am sick to death of dystopian fiction. I read a surfeit of it as a teenager, and sometimes it seems like there’s very little besides paranormal romance and dystopias available in the YA section. So I’d pretty much sworn not to read any more. And yet. I read this despite the blurb describing it as a "chilling post-apocalyptic adventure” and I loved it.
I’d actually intended to read the first book in this trilogy first - I went ahead and bought the Kindle version and everything! - but between one thing and another forgot what I was doing and ended up reading Blightborn and then Under the Empyrean Sky. A perfect example of things-never-come-out-as-planned-when-you-do-them-while-tired.
Interestingly, it actually makes very little difference to the story. Wendig’s writing is strong enough that in all honesty Blightborn could be a standalone novel. There was one section at the beginning of the book when Cael was talking about his wrecked boat that I didn’t understand, but other than that? It’s perfectly understandable and a good read. Not that it’s not a better read when you do read the first one, but it isn’t necessary to do so.
For those with zero exposure to the series, it takes place in a world divided, where the rich, known as the Empyrean, live in floating cities and the poor live in the Heartland, an endless expanse of the hungry, sentient corn that is all the Empyrean allows the inhabitants of the Heartland to grow, subject to drifting storms of virulent pollen and deprived of all but the most basic necessities. They’re also prey to proscriptive cultural traditions, such as Obligation, and traditions that sound good but aren’t, like the Lottery (which isn’t quite as bad as Shirley Jackson’s short story of the same title, but definitely isn’t the windfall it’s made out to be). In Under the Empyrean Sky, Cael McAvoy is fed up with surviving his life instead of living it, and he’s determined to make a stack of ace notes, get the girl of his dreams, and maybe if he’s lucky find something to make his tumor-ridden mother’s life more comfortable. What he gets is not quite what he had in mind. The sequel, Blightborn, follows up on the consequences of his actions and those of his family and friends.
The Heartland trilogy is one of resistance and rebellion. In the first book, Under the Empyrean Sky, it was against local figures of authority and constricting traditions (and a wee little bit against genetically modified crops). Blightborn takes the theme and broadens it. It’s not merely the personal manifestations of oppression that need resisting but the institution that imposes them in the first place. And as the story progresses, precisely whom and what to resist becomes the real question.
Who, precisely, is the hero of the story is another question, and one that I’m not sure I can answer. Is it Gwennie, who won the Lottery to escape the Heartland, found that all it meant was more drudgery, and decided to do something about it? Is it Cael, desperate to rescue his beloved Gwennie and his runaway sister Merelda from the Empyrean, all the while fighting a curse of his own? They, and several other characters, all get a chance to narrate, and while this could seem clumsy in the hands of a less experienced writer, Wendig keeps all the perspectives distinct and the pace brisk. One thing that I particularly like is that even his minor characters all have heroic qualities - we have Merelda, who makes her dreams reality but finds them hollow; Lane, who wrestles with homophobia and the clay feet of his idols; Rigo, who loses his leg but finds his strength; Davies, whose daughter is worth more than his revenge; Balastair, whose past is full of secrets and whose present is a seemingly-impenetrable wall of frustration; even Boyland and Proctor Agrasanto (reminded me of Monsanto, which is probably a coincidence…), whose antagonistic natures contain seeds of loyalty, devotion, and self-sacrifice. Every one of them has a character arc I’d be willing to spend a whole novel following.
One facet of the novel that I particularly enjoyed was the gradual revelation of the extent of the Empyrean’s villainy and the equally gradual revelation of the horrific extent of the resistance’s - the Sleeping Dogs - grand plan to bring them down. While at first it seems like, in the grand scheme of oppressive dystopian rule, the Empyrean is no Capitol (from the Hunger Games), by the end of the book it becomes clear that they have a feat of horrific utilitarianism in mind. Similarly, the Sleeping Dogs aren’t content to end the rule of the Empyrean - most of them are planning blood for blood, and they’ve got a plan for that that just might work. Little does everyone know that there’s a third player in the game which would be more than happy to pick up the pieces after the Sleeping Dogs and the Empyrean have ripped each other to shreds, and while we don’t learn precisely what the Maize Witch has in mind, there’s a definite suggestion that it too may well be less than benevolent.
There was very little about this book and the preceding book in the trilogy that I didn’t like. The form of environmental devastation Wendig chose was particularly apt; monoculture, overcultivation, and pesticides are very real problems, and ones that many teenagers may be less familiar with than oppressive governments, nuclear devastation, global conflict, and global warming. On the other hand, I’m not sure that GMO farming deserves quite that much hate. In the end, my biggest problem is that the societies themselves are not as fully developed as they could be. The Empyreans seemed sort of sketched out and unoriginal. It’s your typical vaguely steampunk largely indifferent aristocratic degeneracy with a thin veil of underdeveloped religiosity. Given that it’s the main bad guy, it’d be nice to have something definite to hate. The Sleeping Dogs are a fairly standard resistance group with fairly standard biases and desperate plots, too, and the Heartland is fairly typically rustic-regressive, with their arranged marriages and small-minded local politicians. It’s not that any of these are badly done, exactly, but the blandness of them is what’s keeping this series merely good. It definitely has the potential to be great, and I would like to read more of Wendig’s work - and am eagerly anticipating the concluding volume of this trilogy - but it’s not one I’m going to return to over and over.
tl;dr - A fun read with memorable, well-written characters with almost a superfluity of excellent character arcs, a nicely-balanced plot, and a fairly solid premise - this is a YA dystopia for people who don’t like YA dystopias as well as for those who do! It does get a bit gory in places, and if you have problems reading about characters struggling against homophobia, you may want to skim a couple of pages.
I am sick to death of dystopian fiction. I read a surfeit of it as a teenager, and sometimes it seems like there’s very little besides paranormal romance and dystopias available in the YA section. So I’d pretty much sworn not to read any more. And yet. I read this despite the blurb describing it as a "chilling post-apocalyptic adventure” and I loved it.
I’d actually intended to read the first book in this trilogy first - I went ahead and bought the Kindle version and everything! - but between one thing and another forgot what I was doing and ended up reading Blightborn and then Under the Empyrean Sky. A perfect example of things-never-come-out-as-planned-when-you-do-them-while-tired.
Interestingly, it actually makes very little difference to the story. Wendig’s writing is strong enough that in all honesty Blightborn could be a standalone novel. There was one section at the beginning of the book when Cael was talking about his wrecked boat that I didn’t understand, but other than that? It’s perfectly understandable and a good read. Not that it’s not a better read when you do read the first one, but it isn’t necessary to do so.
For those with zero exposure to the series, it takes place in a world divided, where the rich, known as the Empyrean, live in floating cities and the poor live in the Heartland, an endless expanse of the hungry, sentient corn that is all the Empyrean allows the inhabitants of the Heartland to grow, subject to drifting storms of virulent pollen and deprived of all but the most basic necessities. They’re also prey to proscriptive cultural traditions, such as Obligation, and traditions that sound good but aren’t, like the Lottery (which isn’t quite as bad as Shirley Jackson’s short story of the same title, but definitely isn’t the windfall it’s made out to be). In Under the Empyrean Sky, Cael McAvoy is fed up with surviving his life instead of living it, and he’s determined to make a stack of ace notes, get the girl of his dreams, and maybe if he’s lucky find something to make his tumor-ridden mother’s life more comfortable. What he gets is not quite what he had in mind. The sequel, Blightborn, follows up on the consequences of his actions and those of his family and friends.
The Heartland trilogy is one of resistance and rebellion. In the first book, Under the Empyrean Sky, it was against local figures of authority and constricting traditions (and a wee little bit against genetically modified crops). Blightborn takes the theme and broadens it. It’s not merely the personal manifestations of oppression that need resisting but the institution that imposes them in the first place. And as the story progresses, precisely whom and what to resist becomes the real question.
Who, precisely, is the hero of the story is another question, and one that I’m not sure I can answer. Is it Gwennie, who won the Lottery to escape the Heartland, found that all it meant was more drudgery, and decided to do something about it? Is it Cael, desperate to rescue his beloved Gwennie and his runaway sister Merelda from the Empyrean, all the while fighting a curse of his own? They, and several other characters, all get a chance to narrate, and while this could seem clumsy in the hands of a less experienced writer, Wendig keeps all the perspectives distinct and the pace brisk. One thing that I particularly like is that even his minor characters all have heroic qualities - we have Merelda, who makes her dreams reality but finds them hollow; Lane, who wrestles with homophobia and the clay feet of his idols; Rigo, who loses his leg but finds his strength; Davies, whose daughter is worth more than his revenge; Balastair, whose past is full of secrets and whose present is a seemingly-impenetrable wall of frustration; even Boyland and Proctor Agrasanto (reminded me of Monsanto, which is probably a coincidence…), whose antagonistic natures contain seeds of loyalty, devotion, and self-sacrifice. Every one of them has a character arc I’d be willing to spend a whole novel following.
One facet of the novel that I particularly enjoyed was the gradual revelation of the extent of the Empyrean’s villainy and the equally gradual revelation of the horrific extent of the resistance’s - the Sleeping Dogs - grand plan to bring them down. While at first it seems like, in the grand scheme of oppressive dystopian rule, the Empyrean is no Capitol (from the Hunger Games), by the end of the book it becomes clear that they have a feat of horrific utilitarianism in mind. Similarly, the Sleeping Dogs aren’t content to end the rule of the Empyrean - most of them are planning blood for blood, and they’ve got a plan for that that just might work. Little does everyone know that there’s a third player in the game which would be more than happy to pick up the pieces after the Sleeping Dogs and the Empyrean have ripped each other to shreds, and while we don’t learn precisely what the Maize Witch has in mind, there’s a definite suggestion that it too may well be less than benevolent.
There was very little about this book and the preceding book in the trilogy that I didn’t like. The form of environmental devastation Wendig chose was particularly apt; monoculture, overcultivation, and pesticides are very real problems, and ones that many teenagers may be less familiar with than oppressive governments, nuclear devastation, global conflict, and global warming. On the other hand, I’m not sure that GMO farming deserves quite that much hate. In the end, my biggest problem is that the societies themselves are not as fully developed as they could be. The Empyreans seemed sort of sketched out and unoriginal. It’s your typical vaguely steampunk largely indifferent aristocratic degeneracy with a thin veil of underdeveloped religiosity. Given that it’s the main bad guy, it’d be nice to have something definite to hate. The Sleeping Dogs are a fairly standard resistance group with fairly standard biases and desperate plots, too, and the Heartland is fairly typically rustic-regressive, with their arranged marriages and small-minded local politicians. It’s not that any of these are badly done, exactly, but the blandness of them is what’s keeping this series merely good. It definitely has the potential to be great, and I would like to read more of Wendig’s work - and am eagerly anticipating the concluding volume of this trilogy - but it’s not one I’m going to return to over and over.
tl;dr - A fun read with memorable, well-written characters with almost a superfluity of excellent character arcs, a nicely-balanced plot, and a fairly solid premise - this is a YA dystopia for people who don’t like YA dystopias as well as for those who do! It does get a bit gory in places, and if you have problems reading about characters struggling against homophobia, you may want to skim a couple of pages.