by Paola (link)
Genre drama, thriller, dystopia
Pairings Zaylor, Zike
Length 17 chapters
Status Completed (first book in the series)
Note: Technically, this is a review for the first book, but they really ought to be read as a set. It’s the same story split into three parts.
IT’S THE FUTURE! And woe, the future is bad. The US and Canada have morphed into a barely recognizable superpower called CANAAN, unemployment and poverty are at record highs, and everyone is deeply suspicious of outsiders trying to find work. However, our heroes–Isaac, Taylor and Zac, who in this universe are the only children in their family, and not musicians–begin the story by escaping an even worse environment. They grew up in a cult compound called simply “The Flock,” aware that the outside world existed, but unable to reach it. After a number of increasingly horrific incidents, one of which costs Zac his eyesight, they finally escape . . . and promptly struggle not to starve to death.
The world building here reminds me a little of Octavia Butler’s “The Parable of the Sower,” only less detailed, and with more of a focus on this one family. What I mean is it feels very real–not the situation necessarily, but how everyone reacts to it. The fact that the boys become so utterly dependent on the Jesse Spencer character’s hospitality (a character/actor from a TV show I don’t watch, so I took him as an OC more or less), and that it doesn’t even occur to them to hide their incestuous relationship because they were raised to see it as “normal,” and just how many basic life skills they don’t have, despite being grown, articulate, and somewhat educated–it’s a hard read at times, but it’s also fascinating. They truly are “innocents” in the purest sense of the word, especially Zac, who I’m not used to seeing victimized the way he was here. In fact, this is one of the most interesting characterizations of Zac I’ve seen in Hanfic, ever. He’s the one who grows and changes the most, he’s the one whose POV I preferred to the others, and he’s the one who becomes most instrumental in changing things for the rest of the Flock.
Looming over the boys’ attempts to reintegrate into society are the identity of their father, and the mystery of why he abandoned them; and the Flock itself, which could sweep in at any moment and take them back. There’s a sense of paranoia hanging over them every time they leave Jesse’s apartment, this sense that someone’s watching them, blocking their applications for state IDs and social security cards, etc. This does get resolved eventually, but it’s not what I was expecting at all, so I won’t give it away.
Now, I know I’m biased, because I love AUs and dark, creepy stories in general, but this one is seriously addictive. I’ve been away from the Hanfic world for ten years give or take, which is actually longer than this author has been in the fandom. Which amazes me, because this story reminded me why I loved Hanfic in the first place. It has that compulsive readability that keeps you up until 2am going, “Just one more chapter!” followed by the kick of withdrawal when you realize it isn’t finished yet. It can be tricky, even intimidating, to come into such a huge, established fandom as a relative newbie, but she’s pulled it off beautifully. The Hanfic world is lucky to have her.
Well done, and keep writing!
Review by Rhoda (journal)