I’m pleased to be part of the blog tour for The Exiled by Sarah Daniels- the concluding part of this dystopian YA science-fiction, The Stranded.
It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn’t the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.
Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .
Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it’s left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.
Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik’s mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings – a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.
It’s time for the final showdown.
Thank you @Write Reads and Penguin Random House for a copy of my book
Book one The Stranded ( review here)
Review (spoilers for The Stranded included in review)
The Exiled by Sarah Daniels was a satisfying conclusion to The Stranded duology, and I really enjoyed reading this Young Adult dystopian fiction.
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.
The Exiled picks a few weeks after Esther crashes the Arcadia on the shores of the Federated States and Nik is injured in the Coalies attack. Esther, isolated from the rest of the rebellion and living with Corp, finds herself hunted by the Federated state. Esther has found a new cause in trying to find a way of the camp but ended up being confronted with consequences of one of her decisions on the Arcadia.
Esther and Nik continue to be point of view characters but are joined by Meg, a ship person from Esther’s past and Janek, the ambitious Admiral from the first book. The addition of Janek, is interesting as it gives more of an idea of why the Federated Stated have decided to treat the ship- people as they do but also refuse to allow them to migrate somewhere else. There is also some light shed on how the Federated States treats their own citizens as well.
The book describes the human cost of people living in limbo- people’s desperation for the basic of human needs is well described and also relevant to our time. I’m not sure when the author this book but her floating ship prison sounds like it could have been taken from today’s news.
As a grown-up, I’m not the target audience for this book, so I did groan when a little love triangle appeared but I loved how Esther made a decision and the story moved on.
Esther and Nik, grow as characters but Corp’s story was particularly heart-breaking.
The worlding building is well developed, a perfect blend of fancy tech and primitive tents.
Perfect for fans of
The Stranded, YA dystopia
Series Book Lover 