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A review by tonyfrobisher
A Whisper of Horses by Zillah Bethell
5.0
Big Brother inside the Emm Twenty-five
Zillah Bethell writes of a future, dystopian, yet scarily familiar. A beautifully written novel set initially with the walled confines of Lahn Dan, ringed by a barrier encircling the capital of Grey Britan, where the Emm Twenty-five once roared with a teeming population.
Yet life for Serendipity, who has recently lost her mother and has no family, is one of dull drudgery and fear. Controlled by The Minister and his Big Brother-esque edicts. A world where people are born into working, middle and elite class with consequences swift and severe for those who transgress or dissent to the control exercised over them.
A world changed by an apocalyptic catastrophe, The Gases, that wiped life as we know it almost to extinction and for the survivors reset humanity to zero.
Serendipity discovers a map her mother left her, setting off to try to escape from Lahn Dan and travel west to where she believes horses still roam.
I loved A Whisper of Horses. Zillah Bethell creates wonderful characters, heartfelt and believable, developing deep and meaningful relationships between the characters themselves and you as the reader. You are quickly drawn into her narrative, buoyed along by the events and the twists.
I enjoyed the echoes of Orwellian dystopia, a world controlled by a power hungry elite that fear change and the truth. I also enjoyed the journey west through landscapes and places both familiar, yet detached by the pervasive changes The Gases had effected.
But at its heart is a story of compassion and belonging, and of a hope for the world to avoid being drawn into such a nightmarish scenario.
We all need to unshackle ourselves and set out on our own journeys, to chase dreams and freedom. If you follow Serendipity, it may lead you to horses, but first you'll have to take the decision to leave.
Highly recommended.
Zillah Bethell writes of a future, dystopian, yet scarily familiar. A beautifully written novel set initially with the walled confines of Lahn Dan, ringed by a barrier encircling the capital of Grey Britan, where the Emm Twenty-five once roared with a teeming population.
Yet life for Serendipity, who has recently lost her mother and has no family, is one of dull drudgery and fear. Controlled by The Minister and his Big Brother-esque edicts. A world where people are born into working, middle and elite class with consequences swift and severe for those who transgress or dissent to the control exercised over them.
A world changed by an apocalyptic catastrophe, The Gases, that wiped life as we know it almost to extinction and for the survivors reset humanity to zero.
Serendipity discovers a map her mother left her, setting off to try to escape from Lahn Dan and travel west to where she believes horses still roam.
I loved A Whisper of Horses. Zillah Bethell creates wonderful characters, heartfelt and believable, developing deep and meaningful relationships between the characters themselves and you as the reader. You are quickly drawn into her narrative, buoyed along by the events and the twists.
I enjoyed the echoes of Orwellian dystopia, a world controlled by a power hungry elite that fear change and the truth. I also enjoyed the journey west through landscapes and places both familiar, yet detached by the pervasive changes The Gases had effected.
But at its heart is a story of compassion and belonging, and of a hope for the world to avoid being drawn into such a nightmarish scenario.
We all need to unshackle ourselves and set out on our own journeys, to chase dreams and freedom. If you follow Serendipity, it may lead you to horses, but first you'll have to take the decision to leave.
Highly recommended.