Review of Aphrodite’s Dawn by R. B. Harkness
5 stars
Garrett lives Inside, in a community called “Aphrodite.”
Imagine, if you will, something like a factory building that stands six stories
high, with decaying machinery, and five hundred individuals contained inside
the building. There are no windows, there are no exit doors; why should there
be, when there is no “Outside”? Outside is a myth, or a children’s tale, like
monsters under the bed. There is just Aphrodite: one stamped cake per person
per meal, and Duty: the Duty to maintain Aphrodite, to continue the machines
which recycle and manufacture, on into infinity.
Garrett has just finished school, and is waiting (not
impatiently) for “induction,” when he will take his first real job. As son of
the Chief Foreman, he will be expected to start “at the bottom” with the big
tanks. Capability doesn’t matter; interests aren’t important. Just Duty. All is
Duty. But Garrett is not everyone: he has a voice in his head; and no, he isn’t
schizophrenic. What he is, is an Emissary, predicted by the Stories which
comprise the compound’s oral history. He has a mission, and only the voice in
his head to guide him-if he is brave enough (or foolish enough) to begin.
“Aphrodite’s Dawn” is intriguing, compelling, and
suspenseful. Even as I was cringing over the symptoms of this truly dystopian
society, I was enjoying the characters, the situations, and the backstory.
Garrett is a rock-solid protagonist, and his “sidekick,” Pitr, is adorable and
such a sturdy friend.
I reviewed an e-book copy provided by the author in return
for my fair and impartial review, via the Goodreads Group Making Connections YA
Edition.
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