Book Review: Escapement

Title - Escapement 

Author - Ciara Knight

Series - The Neumarian Chronicles #1

Genre - Dystopian Sci Fi Fantasy 

Published - February 26th 2013 

Publisher - Smashwords

Format - Kindle Review copy

(Goodreads)(Amazon)

Synopsis

Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen’s reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother’s empire. When my own erratic powers surface I’m captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death. 

Review

I received Escapement in return for an honest review. It’s been ten years since earth was all but destroyed by war and the Queen has rising up as the new leader. Her daughter Semara has returned but isn’t up to doing everything that her mother has in store for her. When she starts to develop powers like the Nuemarian that her mother considers parasites Semara knows she’s in trouble. On her sixteenth birthday in order to take her place among the council she will need to sacrifice a Nuemarian and her mother has just the one. Force to go against her mother Semara takes off with Raeth the girl she befriended and left for dead in the desert instead of disposing of her.

Now fleeing from her mother Semara and Raeth are joined by her brother Ryder knowing that if they have any chance of stopping Mother they will have to travel across the country to the ocean where the rebellion will be waiting. The trio set out on a treacherous journey risking their lives to save their people finding alleys in unlikely places and learning more about themselves. Semara finds that maybe she can have a happy ever after with Ryder if only he knew the truth about what part she played in Raeth’s torture. Will they make it to the ocean or be eating by spiderats or captured by scavengers and what about the father she thought was dead?

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Semara but as the story progressed I liked her more and more. She has issues which I found made her more likeable and she learns to overcome her abilities and use them to her advantage. I like a character who isn’t afraid to get her hands wet and she is willing to risk her life to save those she loved she felt very real to me. I loved Raeth she’s a sweetheart even though she also has issues but she had a very unique way of dealing with them. What’s not to like about Ryder he’s very supportive of his sister and puts her above everything else. He’s a good guy who is fighting to save his people what’s not to love. We also had a little glimpse of Maggie I hope to see more of her in a future book while we didn’t get a lot she caught my attention.

I’ve had this book sitting on my kindle for months way longer than I should have but I’ve not been in a dystopian mood until recently so of course I knew it was the book for me. Escapement is set into the future after a war that decimated much of the counter people have evolved into three kinds the traditional humans, slags which are humans with metal parts and Nuemarian who are humans who have abilities that make them a threat to the Queens rule. The author has taken the dystopian concept and put her own unique spin creating a captivating story that I found hard to put down. I found the story well written it flows along smoothly action packed, loaded with suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat and just enough romance to tease me. I have very much enjoyed the characters they are easy to connect with and I loved Semara and Raeth. This is my first book by the author but I don’t plan on it being the last. I have the rest of the series on my kindle and look forward to finish it over the next week it’s hard to put down. Escapement is a novel that teens as well as adults will enjoy.