Book Review- Flight of Shadows

First of all, a tip for readers--read the first book in a series before you read the second. I wish I had realized that the book Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer is a continuation of the story of Caitlyn Brown, a young lady who has a terrible deformity and a special gift. Because of the lack of knowledge of her backstory which was presented in Brouwer's book, Broken Angel, I found her character shallow and uninteresting for the first hundred pages or so. The only thing that kept me reading was the introduction of the character named Razor. Throughout the book, Razor keeps the reader guessing as to who he really is and whose side he is on. As Razor's character developed, I found myself getting more interested in Caitlyn--Why were so many people intent on capturing her? What made her so valuable even though (or maybe because) she was deformed?

Brouwer takes his audience into a stark and dangerous world of what might be in the not-to-distant future. Wars have broken society into four distinct sectors- the high-ranking and rich Influentials, the slave labor Industrials, the scavenging Illegals and the Invisibles. The world pictured here is bleak and cold. Poverty and violence are widespread. Familiar prosperity icons, SUVs, have been changed into "soovies" that instead of providing transportation for the affluent, are now stripped down to provide below-poverty-level housing. Caitlyn and her friends risk their lives for a chance to be free from the oppression and hopelessness of this society, and in doing so, change the lives and outlooks of others they encounter. Overall, this book is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure recommended for fans of futuristic fiction. (But read the first book first!)

(Note:I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)