SERIES THURSDAY: The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
ABOUT THE BOOK
Every nation that invades the City gives it a new name. But before long, new invaders arrive and the City changes hands once again. The natives don't let themselves get caught up in the unending wars. To them, their home is the Nameless City, and those who try to name it are forever outsiders.
Kaidu is one such outsider. He's a Dao born and bred--a member of the latest occupying nation. Rat is a native of the Nameless City. At first, she hates Kai for everything he stands for, but his love of his new home may be the one thing that can bring these two unlikely friends together. Let's hope so, because the fate of the Nameless City rests in their hands.
REVIEW
I absolutely adored this book, not only for it's diverse content, but for the great characters, plot, and gorgeous graphics. This is definitely a graphic novel series that I will be adding to my favorites shelf. The story revolves around a young boy named Kaidu who has come to the Nameless City to get to know his father, a Dao general. But as he quickly learns, the Dao are simply the latest invaders to conquer the city and are resented by the native population. When Kaidu slips into the city on his own, he meets a native street girl named Rat, whose parents were killed by the Dao. With some persistence (and bags of food), he convinces her to teach him how to run and leap over the rooftops the way she does. In the process, both young people learn things about each other. Rat (the girl) learns that not all Dao are the same. Kaidu learns about the history of the city and the cost of peace. Kaidu's father sets out to propose the city be ruled by a council made up of the three surrounding nations as well as locals, but it isn't until the local ruler is threatened that Kaidu and Rat start to see the danger to not only they city, but those they care about as well.
I loved the gorgeous illustrations of not only the characters but the city itself. I found myself thinking about the city as almost a character in and of itself. And when Rat tells Kai about how the local population has submitted to so many invasions for survival, it caused me to really stop and think. While the setting is fictionalized as are the peoples and characters, there is much of the real world to be seen in the story of friendship, survival, greed, and just what real strength is. This is a series that should be found in most libraries and that I heartily recommend. Definitely worthy of the rave reviews it's been getting.
Comments
Post a Comment