About this book:
“What’s
lurking in the Mist is the least of their worries…
In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist
below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the
airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for
treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the
impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.
Theodore Winchester is a member of one of the
Five Families that rule the skies. Following in his father’s footsteps, he
searches for the source of the Mist and hopes to stop the purges used to
control overpopulation. But what he finds are horrifying secrets and lethal
ambition. If he continues his quest, it could mean his own death.
The Mist is rising and soon the world
will be enveloped in its deadly embrace, turning what's left of humanity into
the undead.”
Series: Book #1 in the “Skyworld” duology.
Spiritual Content- There is a God in the story called “Elaeros” (some people
believe He allowed the Mist as a punishment, other some He doesn’t care, and
some do not believe in Him at all; Cass isn’t sure what she believes while Theo
talks/prays to Him); Prayers to Elaeros (including ones that end with “Amen”
and Cass asking Him to save her from a scary situation because she doesn’t know
Him); A few talks/discussions about Elaeros and if He cares (Cass says that if
she was the powerful, she wouldn’t allow the Mist, wars, or pain); A few talks
that reference someone bigger than your problems and the Mist and that giving a
man comfort (Cass isn’t sure what he means); ‘H’s are capitalized when
referring to Elaeros; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a church,
a service, & a hymn (Cass is fascinated by the stained glass windows and
wonders what happens in that building, however when she’s seen by those inside,
some of them yell at and threaten her); A couple
mentions of Cass wondering what happens to the souls of the Turned; A mention of going on a trip with
someone’s love and Elaeros’s grace; A mention of Elaeros blessings someone’s
travels; A mention of not being religious like someone else;
*Note: A couple mentions of ghosts
& spirits; A mention of someone going through literal hell; A mention of a
hellish place; A mention of an accursed place.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘blazes’, a ‘confound
it’, a ‘darn’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘shoddy’, a ‘what in the Mist’, a ‘working your
tail off’, two ‘what in tarnation’s, seventeen forms of ‘gales’; Mentions of curses
(said, not written); Fighting, Being attacked/hit, Self-defense, Pain, Blood/Bleeding,
& Injuries (semi-detailed); Those who have breathed in the Mist (deathly spores
that are released into the air by government-like authorities) are called a Turned
and are similar to zombies (the person has died and the body left behind is a
mode of transportation for the spores); Seeing many Turneds, fighting them, shooting
them with a fire gun, & seeing someone turn into one (including the zombie-like
appearance and that are starting to decompose, semi-detailed); Cass has to
steal food to survive; Many mentions of deaths, fires, burns/injuries, bodies
burning, the smell of burning flesh, decomposed and mummified bodies, &
bones (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths, accidents, & possible
murders; Mentions of guns/weapons & firing them at the Turned (which will burn
the body, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of screams & someone turned into a
Turned (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars & battles; Mentions of violence,
riots, fights, fighting, thugs, & gangs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions
of injuries & blood/bleeding barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of thieves
& stealing; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions
of an addiction, gambling, & debts; Mentions of beer, drinking, & pubs
(Cass says she’s seen too many people enamored with drinking and wouldn’t be
starting now); A few mentions of Cass wondering if she’ll be tortured or sold if
she’s caught; A few mentions of lying & lies; A few mentions of pipes &
smoking; A few mentions of tattoos; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple
mentions of jealousy; A mention of pushing people in the Mist.
Sexual Content- Touches &
Nearness; Blushes; Noticing, Staring, & Smelling (including him noticing her
curves once); Cass is attacked by a group of men, and while it’s not said if
their intent was sexual or to rob her, her blouse has a tear in it after the
fight; A few mentions of a young man who knows he’s handsome and his flirting
with young ladies (including blushes and kisses on the knuckles); A couple
mentions of winks & flirting; A mention of Cass being concerned about will
happen if a group of men discovers she’s a girl; A mention of fancy ships not taking
girls on board at least, “not to do honest work, anyway”; A mention of a girl telling
Cass to never trust a man (so she dresses as a boy).
-Cass, age 18/19 (?)
-Theo Winchester, age 20
P.O.V.
switches between Cass & Theo
Steampunk/Dystopian Setting
272 pages
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{ Minus a
full star for those who do not like zombie-like creatures or mentions of dead
bodies. }
Well, that was really interesting.
…I think I start off too many of
my reviews that way. Oh, well. It was interesting.
I wasn’t sure what I would think
about this book. I’ve read a few steampunk books before, but most of them didn’t
have any faith content. This one did in a dystopian/allegory-like way (there’s
another name for God), which worked well for the story. I look forward to
seeing Cass grow more on this in the second book.
My main negative about the story
would be the zombie-like creatures in it. Now, it is said that a Turned (a
person who breathed in the Mist (the poisonous spores/air)) is just a mode of
transportation of the virus, the actual person is looked upon as being dead and
their soul is elsewhere. (Where exactly? Cass isn’t sure.) I’m so not into
zombies or anything close to that, so I was really hesitating reading this book
once I found out it had those elements in it. But, learning that it’s not an
actual person anymore made it a bit more bearable to read about. But only a
bit. Some of the descriptions of the decomposing of bodies were too much for my
tastes, so warning to those who have active imaginations and weak stomachs like
me. This is why I put the ratings a touch lower and have that note above.
Since this book ended on a
cliffhanger and I’m very curious about what will happen next, I definitely plan
on reading the sequel when it releases.
See y’all on Monday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
