Review of Lia Habel's Dearly, Departed

Title: Dearly, Departed

Author: Lia Habel

Publisher: Del Rey

Format: Hardcover & eBook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: October 18, 2011

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Lia Habel’s Dearly, Departed is the first Young Adult novel I’ve reviewed for the blog, and it is OUTSTANDING. I’m so glad I requested this book for review, because it is extremely well-written and will appeal to readers of all ages. I have to warn you that at times the zombies in this novel totally squicked me out, but HELLO, they’re ZOMBIES, so consider yourself warned. But even with the zombie gross out factor, this hardcover YA release is well worth the price, and I’m eagerly awaiting more from this author.

Set in 2195 after a new ice age has forced humans to migrate to Central and South America, the novel takes place in New Victoria. The survivors of the numerous wars and plagues decided that the Victorian Age was the golden period of humanity and have recreated that period’s class structure, dress and mores, while using technology more familiar to readers in the 21st century, such as digital cameras, an “aethernet,” cell phones, and flat screen televisions.  

As the novel begins, 16 year old Nora Dearly and her best friend Pamela Roe are preparing to leave boarding school for the Christmas holidays. As Nora faces a dreary holiday placing insipid calls with her social-climbing aunt, she’s unable to shake off the sadness she feels after her father’s death a year earlier. Little does Nora realize that she’ll soon be facing down horrifying creatures intent on taking her captive.

Fortunately for Nora, 18 year old Captain Bram Griswold rescues her from the zombies, only to reveal to her that he himself is the walking undead. Bram and his company form part of a special army unit created to fight vicious zombies and prevent the spread of the Lazarus virus. Their existence depends upon her not-so-dead father’s creating a vaccine for the virus, but Dr. Dearly is missing. Bram does not plan on falling for a snooty New Victorian Neoaristocrat, but they must work together to find the missing doctor and prevent the spread of the Lazarus virus. But can there be a future for the two of them when Bram is already dead?

Dearly, Departed is narrated in the first person by several characters, although the principal narrators are Nora, Pamela, and Bram. The strength of these voices is only one of the many reasons I enjoyed this novel. First and foremost, the female characters are outstanding. Nora and Pam are constrained by society to seek husbands and thus support their families’ social ambitions, yet they prove their strength of character under extremely adverse conditions, and that strength of character is clearly evident in the narration. Each chapter clearly identifies who is speaking, but I’m not sure that’s necessary, as the characters have strong individual voices.

The zombies themselves make for charming and irrepressible secondary characters you won’t be able to forget. While their bodies won’t recover from injury and will eventually decay, they clearly retain their humanity and deserve to be treated as more than expendable weapons. Bram in particular is charming in his attempts to maintain his humanity, and you’ll easily see why Nora falls for him.

One of the reasons I find this book so refreshing is that it avoids many of the tropes we see repeatedly in Young Adult fiction. There isn’t a love triangle per se, although one of human teenage aristocrats acts as though there were. Also, the parents are not missing in action in this book. Pamela’s parents are very active in her life, even if we don’t approve of how they treat her. They attempt to constrain her actions, but when the family is threatened, they show themselves willing to listen to her. I also like how Nora’s reunion with her father is explored, since he discusses his decisions with her and is capable of admitting when he’s wrong.

I do have a few criticisms of the novel, however. My first is that I’m not really certain why Nora’s aunt appears in the book. At first she acts as Nora’s guardian, but she quickly disappears once Nora is kidnapped, and she’s only mentioned in passing once more. While her actions and relationship to Nora demonstrate what Nora can expect as a woman of her social class, it seems odd that she would play so prominent a role in the beginning, only to disappear so quickly.

My second concern is also minor. We learn through Nora that the survivors of the ice age and numerous civil wars considered the Victorian Age to be man’s Golden Age, but I had a hard time understanding why the original female survivors would allow themselves to return to a period that severely restricts their movement and limits their worth.

Despite my misgivings about the New Victorians, the world building is compelling and the writing exceptional, making this a delightful read for both the young and the not-so-young.

Review of C.E. Murphy's Wayfinder

Title: Wayfinder

Author: C. E. Murphy

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Formats: Trade Paperback & ebook

Source: NetGalley

Publication Date: September 6, 2011

Rating: 4 out of 5

Wayfinder is the second book in the fantasy Worldwalker Duology, and I highly recommend that you read the first in the series before reading this one. I did not, and while there’s a short plot summary of the first book, Truthseeker, at the beginning of the second novel, it’s actually more confusing than if you simply pick up the second book and start reading. That said, this was an outstanding fantasy with romantic elements, and I’ve already started reading several of Ms. Murphy’s other series because of how much I enjoyed it.

The second novel of the duology picks up exactly where the first leaves off, which is why I suggest you read Truthseeker before beginning Wayfinder. I should warn you that this review will reveal spoilers for the first book, so be prepared. In Truthseeker, Lara Ann Jansen is a tailor in present-day Boston, and she always knows when a lie is told. She learns the importance of her gift when she meets Dafydd ap Caerwyn, a Seelie elf who has been searching for a Truthseeker in this world for over a hundred years. Dafydd wants her to return to his world, the Barrowlands, to uncover his foster brother Merrick’s murderer. To make a long story short, Lara learns that Merrick staged his murder and is acting against Dafydd and his father, Seelie king Emyr. Dafydd is seriously injured when attacked by creatures sent by Merrick, and Lara is forced to leave him with his brother, Ioan, and return to Boston to search for a staff that she hopes will save Dafydd.

As Wayfinder begins, Lara is returning to the Barrowlands with the Worldbreaker, the staff that she’s hoping can save her Seelie lover. The staff has a mind of its own, and despite yielding to Lara’s powers, demonstrates a dangerous inclination to destroy worlds. When Lara arrives, she discovers that although only a day has passed in Boston, more than six months have passed in the Barrowlands, leaving Dafydd’s fate up in the air. When she learns that he is so ill that his body has been sent to the Drowned Lands, she decides to journey there in an attempt to rescue her love. She and her companions face numerous trials in their attempts to save Dafydd and possibly reunite the now divided Barrowlands, but as Lara begins to develop her power as Truthseeker and arbiter of justice, she learns that Merrick’s deception might not be the worst she’ll uncover, placing everyone she cares for in danger.

Fantasy is not my favorite genre, but this book is compelling for many reasons. The world building is complex without being overly complicated, and I like that you get a feel for the terrain of the Barrowlands. The physical descriptions of the different regions were almost tactile, and I think this was an effective method of immersing the reader in the new world. The differences between the Seelie and Unseelie courts juxtaposed with the impressive descriptions of the Drowned Lands make for fascinating reading. Characters’ physical traits also reflect the region in which they live, making for a rich fantasy world that I very much enjoyed.

Another selling point is that the characters are intriguing and well developed, especially the female protagonist, Lara. While the romance is not the focus of this novel, Dafydd and Lara’s relationship is charming, although I should mention that if you’re interested in lots of smexy times, this book might not be for you. That said, it is clearly Lara’s journey as a Truthseeker that is the focus of this novel, and as such, it is highly successful. We see Lara grow more confident in her abilities and demonstrate her willingness to use them to intervene in this new world. I particularly liked her time in the Drowned Lands, as she displays heroic qualities when faced with unfavorable odds and stubborn companions.

My only complaint about the novel is that if you have not read Truthseeker, the sections of the second book that take place in Boston with Lara’s best friend Kelly will leave you confused. I’m not really sure that in the end Kelly and her fiancé were all that necessary to the overall story arc. It’s clear that these sections resolve some questions raised in the first book, but Dafydd and Lara’s rescue of his brother Ioan and the resulting destruction could have been accomplished without Kelly’s presence. If you’ve read the first book, you will have more of a connection to these characters, but if you start the series with Wayfinder, the drama between Kelly and her fiancé is distracting at best and annoying at worst. Their easy dismissal from the Barrowlands later in the novel merely reinforced my belief in their superfluity.

In the end, this is easily one of my favorite fantasy reads this year, and I highly recommend it. I do want to emphasize that you should read Truthseeker before beginning this novel. But given the stellar writing and lush landscapes of the Barrowlands, I can’t imagine that reading the entire duology would be much of a chore.