For Sala and Kib, hiding beneath the lake in the safety of Kib’s ship, life has become fairly comfortable. Kib is researching the planet, using his technology to learn as much as he can about Palude. And Sala is waiting on the keei eggs laid on the wings of the ship to mature enough to move them to Itta, providing an important lifeline for her father and their people.
But empath Kib senses unrest in the hillfarms above Itta. And when he and Sala return to her father with the keei eggs, strangers emerge from the tunnel that connects Itta to the rest of Palude. They look like Tillars, hillfarm people, but their skin is pale, their eyes struggling in the sun, and their way of speaking unusual. But, just like everyone else, they want one thing: Kib’s technology.
Aimed at a teens plus market, Zena Shapter‘s sequel to When Dark Roots Hunt does exactly as its predecessor did (you can read our review of When Dark Roots Hunt HERE), defying any expecations that books for younger audiences might lack world-building, depth, or drama.
In When Dark Waters Burn we learn so much more about Palude and its history, with Sala, Kib, Spyke, and the rest diving even deeper into the dangerous politics that keep the planet turning. New threats emerge, old foes reappear, and the giant ants that stalk their every move are – worryingly – getting smarter.
For me, this one took a little longer to kick in than the first in the series – we hit about the half way point before I really felt like we were in true page-turner territory – but Shapter’s writing is rich, detailed, and engaging, and I’m all for a slow burn start when the second half of the book is as exciting as this is.
The ending, setting us up beautifully for the third in the series, is at once both heartfelt and heart-in-mouth, with Sala and her friends forced to face the question that lingers at the core of When Dark Waters Burn: if not us, then who?
Another home run for Shapter’s immersive and wildly inventive sci-fi fantasy.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Zena Shapter’s When Dark Waters Burn is out now through MidnightSun Publishing. Grab yourself a copy from your local bookstore HERE.
Read our review of the first in the series, When Dark Roots Hunt, HERE.
