[1PJ]∎ Read Free Echoes from the Lost Ones A Scifi Dystopian Adventure Book 2 in the The Song of Forgetfulness Post Apocalyptic Scifi Clifi Series eBook Nicola McDonagh

Echoes from the Lost Ones A Scifi Dystopian Adventure Book 2 in the The Song of Forgetfulness Post Apocalyptic Scifi Clifi Series eBook Nicola McDonagh

Download As PDF : Echoes from the Lost Ones A Scifi Dystopian Adventure Book 2 in the The Song of Forgetfulness Post Apocalyptic Scifi Clifi Series eBook Nicola McDonagh

Echoes from the Lost Ones A Scifi Dystopian Adventure Book 2 in the The Song of Forgetfulness Post Apocalyptic Scifi Clifi Series eBook Nicola McDonagh

Echoes from the Lost Ones is the first volume in a new, young adult dystopian series, Song of Forgetfulness. It is the story of Adara, a teenage girl who leaves the city in which she lives on a quest to recover her brother, who has been kidnapped by the Agros, the ruling caste of this world. The world in which the story takes place is the Great Britain of some hundreds of years hence, following some kind of environmental/genetic/political apocalypse. It is a world populated by all kinds of genetically modified human beings. It is a world with cities, wild forests and desolate wastelands.

The story is told in the first person voice of Adara. Along the way, she acquires companions from among the various groups she encounters. There is Wirt, a rather sensitive, gentle young man who has been living a horrendous life amidst a tribe of brutish men and teens. Eadgard is a Backpacker, some kind of soldier/guardian belonging to the Special Army of the New Territories. Marcellus is a Clonie, one of a caste of mutant, clonal outcasts. Together they set off to find Adara's brother, along with many other children that have been kidnapped. Slowly it becomes clear that the mission on which Adara has set out has much greater ramifications. She begins to understand that she has a key role to play in this, as she develops her own special gifts.

The real strengths of this book are twofold. First, there is the characterisation. Adara's character is beautifully developed and nuanced. Although apparently seventeen years old, she seems younger than this, which is an appropriate reflection of her naivety and inexperience of the world. Wirt is also beautifully developed. Seemingly younger than Adara--I am uncertain of his intended age--he is capable of reckless bravery and sulky pouting. Despite his abuse at the hands of the other men and boys of his tribe, he remains gentle and caring. The friendship between him and Adara is very well drawn. Marcello the mutant clone is also clearly drawn and we begin to detect some of the complexity of his character. He enters the story at a later time, and I suspect his character is not yet fully fleshed out. Again, his growing friendship with Adara is nicely presented. Eadgard remains largely unknown to the reader at this stage. Perhaps his character will acquire more depth and variation in later volumes. Some of the minor characters, particularly among the villains of the piece, are a little more one-dimensional.

The second strength is the idiosyncratic language in which the book is written. This is not restricted to direct speech, but also to Adara's narration. At times, it is like listening to a cross between baby talk and Ned Flanders-speak. Although this may sound strange, it actually works very well. It is beautifully sustained throughout the narrative, but is in contrast to the more adult-sounding speech of some of the older characters (such as Eadgard). It also adds to the seeming youthfulness, particularly of Adara and Wirt. Marcello has his own, unique broken pattern of speech.

The presentation of this world and its history remains a little sketchy at this stage of the series, although this is becoming clearer towards the end. There is enough to keep the reader interested and wanting more. The story itself isn't quite as compelling as it might have been. Perhaps this is because we still do not yet know what the quest is. The author does not yet have me committed to this journey. I think also that the writing lacks intensity at times. This is particularly true at those moments in which our heroine is in jeopardy. These episodes could have been written with stronger language and more variation in pace and style. Although seemingly aimed at a young adult audience, I felt that the author was aiming for the lower end of that age group, and perhaps held back too much on the intensity and feeling. I am hoping that the next volume will make me more committed to the journey, and that the intensity will lift a notch.

This story of a young girl, journeying on a quest across a strange world, through a variety of landscapes, collecting companions and misfits along the way, might be characterised as The Wizard of Oz meets Mad Max. And it's not a bad mix at all. I give this first volume four stars, and look forward to seeing where we go from here.


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Echoes from the Lost Ones A Scifi Dystopian Adventure Book 2 in the The Song of Forgetfulness Post Apocalyptic Scifi Clifi Series eBook Nicola McDonagh Reviews

This volume is Book Two of The Song of Forgetfulness. The author continues with her slangy but quaint diction, appropriate to a distant dystopian future, which was what interested me in this series in the first place. (See my review of the Prequel, Whisper Gatherers.)
We learn a good deal more here about the culture and inhabitants of NotSoGreatBritAlbion (I wonder a bit why the survivors latched onto the archaic, chiefly poetic name “Albion” for the British islands). It seems that after a great famine in 2085, sea level rise caused a tsunami to reduce the size of the British Islands drastically, people fought over the remaining land, and finally the “Agros” and scientists took over, destroyed most books, and began cloning people in 2092. It turns out that almost everybody now alive is a “Clonie.” In a mountaintop monastery, enough books have been preserved to keep this history alive. When the heroine Adara and a collection of companions whom she has acquired go there, they learn what their true mission is – not just to rescue Adara’s brother from the Agros but to rescue all “Meeks,” who were also created by the Agros. I remain a little vague as to exactly what the “Meeks” are, but Adara’s brother, whom we met in the Prequel, seemed to have characteristics of autism.
I was curious about the names of the characters. Wirt seems to have the ability to detect the true names of individuals, although if this ability was ever explained, I missed it. “Adara” is said to mean “Caller of Birds.” “Ryce” is said to mean “Powerful” and “Atyhtan” is “Enticer.” I’m puzzled as to the derivation of these names. Apparently, the evolved English speech has acquired some new connotations, since, for example, if one looks up “Adara” in the website 2000 Names, it’s a Hebrew name meaning “amplitude or largeness” or an Arabic name for “the virgins,” also the brightest star in Canis Major. So historically (up to our own times at least) the name seems to have no connection to birds.
This book has some formatting and stylistic issues (although some of the formatting may be purposeful as part of the future language). One thing that bothered me a little was the dearth of commas, which occasionally creates confusion (and sometimes a comma occurs where it’s not needed). Also, the author seems to eschew the use of “Adara said” or “Wirt asked.” When there are several persons engaged in dialogue, it’s easy to lose track of who is speaking. It’s not a problem if only two people are involved. Easing the reader’s way should always be a goal of an author.
However, I enjoyed the book enough to give it four stars. The author displays a lot of imagination and the plot and characters have great originality. I love the innovative use of language (a single example “I sighed and saw the false monk’s eyelid twitch. Quick as a scatter bug, I crouched by his motionless bod, leant close to his ear, and gave forth a whispered tune. Quiet, so only he could hear. The melody was oddly indeed, and I was glad the others were far enough away so that they could not discern the spooky notes that issued from my slightly parted gob.”
At the end of the book, Adara and her companions have headed out to take on the Agros and rescue the Meeks. All is never quite as it seems in these books, and so I have purchased Book Three and intend to read it soon!
Echoes from the Lost Ones is the first volume in a new, young adult dystopian series, Song of Forgetfulness. It is the story of Adara, a teenage girl who leaves the city in which she lives on a quest to recover her brother, who has been kidnapped by the Agros, the ruling caste of this world. The world in which the story takes place is the Great Britain of some hundreds of years hence, following some kind of environmental/genetic/political apocalypse. It is a world populated by all kinds of genetically modified human beings. It is a world with cities, wild forests and desolate wastelands.

The story is told in the first person voice of Adara. Along the way, she acquires companions from among the various groups she encounters. There is Wirt, a rather sensitive, gentle young man who has been living a horrendous life amidst a tribe of brutish men and teens. Eadgard is a Backpacker, some kind of soldier/guardian belonging to the Special Army of the New Territories. Marcellus is a Clonie, one of a caste of mutant, clonal outcasts. Together they set off to find Adara's brother, along with many other children that have been kidnapped. Slowly it becomes clear that the mission on which Adara has set out has much greater ramifications. She begins to understand that she has a key role to play in this, as she develops her own special gifts.

The real strengths of this book are twofold. First, there is the characterisation. Adara's character is beautifully developed and nuanced. Although apparently seventeen years old, she seems younger than this, which is an appropriate reflection of her naivety and inexperience of the world. Wirt is also beautifully developed. Seemingly younger than Adara--I am uncertain of his intended age--he is capable of reckless bravery and sulky pouting. Despite his abuse at the hands of the other men and boys of his tribe, he remains gentle and caring. The friendship between him and Adara is very well drawn. Marcello the mutant clone is also clearly drawn and we begin to detect some of the complexity of his character. He enters the story at a later time, and I suspect his character is not yet fully fleshed out. Again, his growing friendship with Adara is nicely presented. Eadgard remains largely unknown to the reader at this stage. Perhaps his character will acquire more depth and variation in later volumes. Some of the minor characters, particularly among the villains of the piece, are a little more one-dimensional.

The second strength is the idiosyncratic language in which the book is written. This is not restricted to direct speech, but also to Adara's narration. At times, it is like listening to a cross between baby talk and Ned Flanders-speak. Although this may sound strange, it actually works very well. It is beautifully sustained throughout the narrative, but is in contrast to the more adult-sounding speech of some of the older characters (such as Eadgard). It also adds to the seeming youthfulness, particularly of Adara and Wirt. Marcello has his own, unique broken pattern of speech.

The presentation of this world and its history remains a little sketchy at this stage of the series, although this is becoming clearer towards the end. There is enough to keep the reader interested and wanting more. The story itself isn't quite as compelling as it might have been. Perhaps this is because we still do not yet know what the quest is. The author does not yet have me committed to this journey. I think also that the writing lacks intensity at times. This is particularly true at those moments in which our heroine is in jeopardy. These episodes could have been written with stronger language and more variation in pace and style. Although seemingly aimed at a young adult audience, I felt that the author was aiming for the lower end of that age group, and perhaps held back too much on the intensity and feeling. I am hoping that the next volume will make me more committed to the journey, and that the intensity will lift a notch.

This story of a young girl, journeying on a quest across a strange world, through a variety of landscapes, collecting companions and misfits along the way, might be characterised as The Wizard of Oz meets Mad Max. And it's not a bad mix at all. I give this first volume four stars, and look forward to seeing where we go from here.