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A review by okevamae
Citadel by C.M. Alongi
5.0
Citadel is the lone human civilization on the planet Edalide. The people there worship the Hundred-Faced God and carry out the mission that a prophet set before them generations ago: wipe out the demons of the forest, in order to regain access to Heaven. Olivia’s never been one for religion, though – she's more science-minded, and one day on a scientific excursion to the forest, she makes an incredible discovery: the “demons” are sentient beings, not the bloodthirsty monsters that Scripture and the city's authorities have led everyone to fear and loathe. But Olivia, who is nonverbal and a known atheist, is already on the margins of society. How can she broker peace between the two societies?
I really loved this book! It’s a fast paced, highly enjoyable story, set in a dystopian future on another planet in which humanity has regressed to a low-tech society where a fascist theocracy has a stranglehold. The worldbuilding is vivid, as is the characterization. I loved Olivia as our protagonist, and the accompanying occasional chapters from Riley and Ormus created a well-rounded narrative from two characters with very different points of view. I don’t know if this is meant to be the first in a series or not (I hope it is!) but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for anything new by this author, whether it takes place in this world or not.
Representation: Nonverbal autistic main character, POC characters, asexual character?
CW: alcoholism, mention of suicide, mention of homophobia, intolerant theocracy and all the abuses that go along with it
I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved this book! It’s a fast paced, highly enjoyable story, set in a dystopian future on another planet in which humanity has regressed to a low-tech society where a fascist theocracy has a stranglehold. The worldbuilding is vivid, as is the characterization. I loved Olivia as our protagonist, and the accompanying occasional chapters from Riley and Ormus created a well-rounded narrative from two characters with very different points of view. I don’t know if this is meant to be the first in a series or not (I hope it is!) but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for anything new by this author, whether it takes place in this world or not.
Representation: Nonverbal autistic main character, POC characters, asexual character?
CW: alcoholism, mention of suicide, mention of homophobia, intolerant theocracy and all the abuses that go along with it
I received an advance copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.