I’m pleased to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the excellent Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North. Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Orbit Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful and thought provoking book.
About the book:
The award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K returns with her most powerful and imaginative novel yet. This captivating tale puts an utterly original new spin on dystopian fiction.
Ven was once a holy man, a keeper of ancient archives. It was his duty to interpret archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the heretical ideas of the Burning Age – a time of excess and climate disaster. For in Ven’s world, such material must be closely guarded, so that the ills that led to that cataclysmic era can never be repeated.
But when the revolutionary Brotherhood approaches Ven, pressuring him to translate stolen writings that threaten everything he once held dear, his life will be turned upside down. Torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he’s willing to go to save this new world, and how much he is willing to lose.
About the author:
Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose debut novel was written when she was just fourteen years old. Her first book published under the Claire North pen name was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which became a word-of-mouth bestseller and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The follow-up Touch received widespread critical acclaim and was described by the Independent as ‘little short of a masterpiece’. Her next novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope won the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and her recent book The End of the Day has been shortlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. She lives in London.
My Review:
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North is a compelling and imaginative story that captured my imagination from the very first page. I love this author’s writing and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her latest novel, which I’m pleased to say did not disappoint! There’s a quirkiness to it that I really liked, drawing me into what is essentially a post-apocalyptic thriller with a strong, complex plot and well developed characters that you can’t help but care about from the outset.
Ven, who was once a holy man, has been tasked with interpreting archaic texts, sorting useful knowledge from the time of the Burning Age, a time of excess and Climate Change. He must guard the material as closely as he can, so that the past can never be repeated. But when the Brotherhood approach Ven and pressurise him into translating stolen writings, everything he holds dear is suddenly under threat, turning his life upside down. Not knowing which way to turn and torn between friendship and faith, Ven must decide how far he’s willing to go… and just how much he is willing to lose.
Claire North’s writing is extraordinary, with her attention to detail and inventive storyline bringing this book vividly to life. Her world building is wonderful and I soon became completely caught up in what was happening on the page, the story as thrilling as it is fantastical. A must read for any fan of fantasy fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed Notes from the Burning Age and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone who loves dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction.
Recommended.
Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North is available to purchase now.
Check out what these other lovely bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 