The Fever King (Feverwake, 1)

“I would rather die than do nothing.”There are some books that just suck you into their pages from the start and stay with you after you finish. The Fever King is one of those rare books. I was captivated from the first page and filled every spare moment I had with reading this amazing debut novel. For two days I started and ended my day reading The Fever King, and actually went to work an hour later than normal so I could finish the book yesterday. (and I absolutely hate having to stay after it gets dark!)I honestly have no idea how to even find the words to review this book. The Fever King is an amazing debut fantasy/speculative fiction novel that takes place in the year 2123 in an alternative United States. I think for me the thing that stuck out the most about this was that the point of divergence into this possible future was 2019, and even though we don’t have outbreaks of magic spreading (that we know of) it feels so incredibly authentic. And that’s terrifying to me, and the best parts of science fiction. In this 2123 new countries exist but there is still the same hatred and nationalistic rhetoric that we are experiencing today.Our protagonist is Noam Álvaro, immigrant’s rights activist and 16-year old son of undocumented immigrants living in the refugee slums of Carolinia. His world is turned upside down when he survives the outbreak of viral magic and becomes a witching. His survival and blood tests bring him under the attention of hero and Minister of Defense Calix Lehrer, who brings him under his wing and into Level IV to train.“He was finally where he needed to be. Where he could use whatever powers the witchings taught him to undermine the foundations of their world and rebuild it into something new. Something better.”Thrust into a world Noam not only doesn’t belong in but has openly fought against, he finds himself in a position to use his position to further the cause. This book offers a nuanced conversation about activism, nonviolent and violent protest, and how the line becomes blurred between acts of terror and revolution depending on who wins. I really liked how realistic this feels with the stakes of trusting people and possibly putting that trust in the wrong person. But the desire to do something. Anything. To help his people, and taking a chance.“Everything worth doing had its risks.”A major theme of this book is utilitarianism and whether the ends can justify the means. Caught between his head and his heart, Noam acts very much like I imagine 16-year old me would act in this situation: full of idealism and willing to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place. But he also struggles with it and starts to feel disillusioned as well. I like when my protagonists struggle and don’t act as if they have all the answers, and all of the character decisions felt authentic to me.I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and how Lee slowly reveals information to the reader through the plot as well as the addition of some historical newspaper clippings and interviews to provide additional historical context so it doesn’t bog down the action of the present. She manages to toe the line perfectly, giving the reader enough to crave more but never too little to feel lost in a sea of details.I cannot write a review about The Fever King without talking about the wonderful characters. All of them are three-dimensional and feel like real people. Even though one of his Level IV roommates, Taye, doesn’t have much of a role in this installment, he still felt just as real as the rest of the characters. Dara is a precious bean and must be protected at all costs.“This had been his life. This had been his father’s life, and now it meant nothing. Noam had magic. He was one of them now.”“Right. Because Dara had the luxury of finding such things surprising.”The Fever King addresses privilege incredibly well. The circumstances of Noam’s survival and witching status brought him into a world that he didn’t belong in, and the differences were stark. His roommates all had been trained from a young age, are Carolinian, and generally come from more affluent backgrounds. Noam grew up in an old bookstore in the refugee zone and dropped out of school after the eight grade. They are from different worlds and through Dara’s eyes Noam sees how different they truly are.“And Noam might pass for white, but Dara sure as hell didn’t, which, yeah.”But despite that privilege, intersectionality also comes into play. I found it to be rather impactful to see this issue of race come into play, and how just because one may have had all sorts of benefits afforded to them in one area, it doesn’t mean that everything is easier or erases other struggles. It’s subtle in the narrative but was something I really appreciated.“And I meant it when I said I wasn’t gay,” Noam said. Ames looked disbelieving, but she didn’t pull away. Noam smirked. “Bisexual isn’t gay.”This book has a m/m romance, but I was so pleased to see Noam is bisexual and that the narrative succinctly touches on the fact that being with a person of one sex doesn’t erase bisexuality.Overall this book is everything that I hoped it would be and more! The infection and outbreak reminded me of The Hot Zone, the nuance of trying to enact social change and creating a better world reminding me of The Handmaid’s Tale, and characters that I need to protect with all of my being. I liked that I never really knew who to trust and it felt like I was along for the ride alongside Noam… and that meant that as the stakes got higher, so did my anxiety! I cannot recommend this book enough.

FEEDBACKI have some mixed emotions about this book. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I liked the way that I was never really sure who the bad guys were and it kept me guessing. The idea that a magical outbreak was almost plague-like was an interesting concept as well. While pacing was slow in some spots, the writing was very well done. All three of those aspects of the book kept me interested and turning the pages. But this isn’t what I thought the book was going to be about. I honestly expected more adventure or espionage but those were lackluster. A majority of the book was honestly Noam talking about Dara or how he had to prove himself to Cameron. This theme was a little redundant which led to the pace being a little slower. There were a few events that really drew me in but the majority of the book felt like nothing happened.Noam was an interesting character. I really liked how he was introduced in the novel as it showed a lot of his personality right at the beginning. As the story went on, I don’t feel like he really developed at all. He had one path and one ideal and stuck with that. It didn’t seem like he wanted to budge on anything except what he thought was right. It’s not a bad characteristic but I just personally didn’t see Noam progressing any because of this. Dara was honestly my favorite character. I am glad that the book was written from Noam’s point of view but Dara was easily the better character. He was mysterious, smart, and tactical. The end of the book made me like Dara even more and I’m interested in what the sequel is going to bring for these two characters.FINAL THOUGHTSOverall, The Fever King by Victoria Lee was an interesting book. While there were certain themes that caused a slower pace I enjoyed the story. The magical outbreak and Noam’s abilities were interesting to follow. I really enjoyed the way the story progressed and am curious how the next book is going to be. Noam was a decent main character, but without much development. Dara easily stole the spotlight in this book and really brought the edge I felt the book needed. I do recommend this book if you want a magical book that has a little bit of politics, espionage, and mystery.

Another dystopia book I thought when I picked this up free from Amazon Prime readers club. Have to say the cover caught me first, a crackling purplely blue that had the desired effect to make me electrified. The blurb though had me hooked from the start, I’d have probably paid for the book if it hadn’t be free, it sounded that good. Magic, immigration, a hint of good against evil all had me mentally salivating at the prospect of what was to come. Would I be disappointed? Only time would tell.The world created by Victoria Lee sounded scaringly like the world we live in today, minus the introduction of magic. It follows the life of the protagonist Noam, an immigrant who is kept in poverty by an uncaring government. He tries his best to help his father, an illegal immigrant, keep safe and away from bring deported whilst helping at the local immigration centre. Here he is a wizard at hacking into government databases to help the immigrants cause. As a consequence he spends time in a detention centre.A magical outbreak happens in his neighbourhood and Noam wakes up, having been left for dead, in a morgue. The minister of defence, Lehrer, takes an interest in him and hires him for the government and he moves in to the government compound to be taught how to perform magic. Here he meets, among others, Dara the ministers son. Dara is moody, yet Noam slowly falls for him.The story is expertly written, I was surprised that this was a debut novel. The world created was believable and at the same time it was a terrible place to be alive. The threat of war with other countries is always there, the government clamping down on a restless population, the poverty among it’s citizens in stark contrast with the wealthy who run society. A world you think unbelievable until you sit back and look at the world today.The three main protagonists, Noam, Dara and Lehrer are all strong and complex people, each life etched into them by the lives they have led. Each has numerous faults, broken people whose personalities are a product of their upbringing, yet all have a human, caring side that is kept hidden. Each has a personal goal which they will do anything to accomplish. I can’t say that I would naturally pick any of them as being the hero, they’re all too broken for that.The magic in the book isn’t your standard Harry Potter or worst witch, with spells or wands but more complex and rooted in science. It needs you to be able to understand the maths, physics and science behind each spell. Each magic has different powers. I don’t want to spoil the delight of discovering this for yourself, so I’ll leave it there. All I’ll say is that its a very novel and complex process.This book comes at a very good time. Dystopia it might be, but yet this world is slowly becoming like the one in the book. Fear of those who are different, fear of other religions, fear of outsiders is rife in our society. Take away the magic in the book and you have a true reflection of what is happening across the world.I can’t rate this book highly enough. It struck an instant chord with me, keeping me hooked to its sound as I wove through the pages. I’ve read some good books lately but this is a triumph, a book that keeps on giving, changing your views as you weave through the protagonists lives. It changed my mind about what dystopia in fiction is. The politics in the book are so real and living. It’s focus on immigration is brilliant. Substitute magic for anyone else feeling let down and alienated and you have the match.So I have no hesitation in placing this my favourite book of the year so far. Looking forward to the sequel.

Note, this is highly ranked gay/lesbian fiction. If that's not your cup of tea, then you might want to give it a miss.As for me, I didn't actually get far enough in to find that out. The opening lines were depressing and dreary and after a couple pages, I found that I'd lost the will to explore this book any farther. The world was depressing. The character was depressing (and only tangentially relatable). While the author is capable of stringing words together in an expressive and coherent fashion, I had no interest in reading what they'd put together.Perhaps it would be of more interest to readers who like that kind of stuff.

Set in a distant future after a worldwide plague wiped out a large chunk of the population and you'll find America has split into several different countries. Noam is an undocumented immigrant living in Carolinia who spends his time fighting against the government to try and get better rights for refugees. With regular outbreaks of the magical plague outside the boarders Carolinia is determined to keep people out and conditions in the refugee camps are just getting worse and worse. When the plague hits Noam's camp he is one of the only survivors and his newly gained, and incredibly rare, technomancer magical talent makes him a valuable tool that the government wants to use. Noam is determined to use his ability against the government but first he needs their help to learn how to use his ability.I'll admit this was a total cover buy, I hadn't heard of the series before but when it popped up in the first reads program that cover and the blurb had me totally sold. I had very high hopes going in so I really hate to say this but I did end up feeling a little disappointed. There were a lot of really interesting ideas here but I don't think they were executed particularly well, the world building came in the form of sporadic info dumps that were boring to read and hard to understand. Even by the end of the book I didn't feel like I had a strong grasp of what happened to splinter America or even how the much of the world had survived the magical plague. I just have no idea how many countries are left or what kind of state they are in.One bonus I'll give the story is that it does have good representation, the main character is mixed race and bisexual, there is a gay romance and it also raises interesting talking points about refugees and the way they are often demonised for doing nothing more than trying to survive. I just wish the world building had been better and the plot had been more cohesive. I also felt that the major plot twists were too well telegraphed because I saw them coming from a mile away. I liked the characters well enough but I don't feel particularly invested in their story and even though it ended on a pretty big cliffhanger I currently have very little interest in picking up the sequel. This is Victoria Lee's debut and I should probably give it some leeway because of that so that's why it gets 3 stars rather than 2 but unless I see some really glowing reviews for the next book I doubt I'll be continuing the series.

I love a good dystopian tale, and I love extending my LGBT fiction reading list - This year has thankfully had so many great new releases in that area, The Fever King definitely being one of them!Based in the not-too-distant future, The Fever King takes place in a broken version of the United States, where a magical plague is killing large portions of the population in waves. Noam wakes in a hospital bed to find he is one of the few survivors of the latest wave of the plague - A Witching. When his presenting power, the ability to control technology, proves to be rare, Noam is soon whisked away to the government complex and taken under the wing of the minister of defence, Lehrer.Inclusive in more ways than one, this novel features gay and bisexual characters, as well as POC, with the main character being of mixed race. Also not afraid to tackle the tough issues, the treatment of the refugee population on the outskirts of the city are scarily reminiscent to the way some refugees are treated in our world today. With Noam coming from undocumented parents, then becoming a Witching and 'moving up in the world', so to speak, it was both wonderful and heartbreaking to watch him try to balance his new life. Fighting between appearing loyal to the government, whilst still doing whatever he could to help his friends back home, to ensure the refugees were given a better life, a better chance.Heavy stuff aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and following Noams journey - His struggles between Witching and Refugee life, losing and gaining friends, battling the government from the inside, not to mention his confusing, hot-and-cold romance with child prodigy Dara. The ending of the book has left me wanting more and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book to see where our boys end up!

I’d heard a good deal of buzz about this book prior to publication and was really excited about finally reading it. The concept – blending an almost post-apocalyptic setting with magic and an American monarchy – sounding intriguing, but above all, it was the prospect of a morally ambiguous hero and villainous love interest that really attracted me.The basic plot is that through a mixture of nuclear attacks and a plague, much of America (maybe much of the world?) was destroyed. Most of America is still a wasteland, but there are a couple of independent countries with quite different outlooks and political systems, including Carolinia, where most of the action is set. From time to time, the plague resurfaces, killing most people it infects, but leaving a few survivors with magical power. In some countries, they are shunned, but in Carolinia, they form a magical elite. The action centres on Noam, a child of immigrants from one of the neighbouring countries (ie. A different bit of modern day US) who survives an outbreak and acquires the ability to manipulate technology with his mind. He is recruited into a special government training school, where Lehrer, the founder – and former king – of Carolinia takes a special interest in him, while he tries to fight the system and its treatment of immigrants and the poor, from within.The book was well-written, enjoyable, and kept me turning the pages, but despite a couple of high points, it never quite lived up to its promise for me. I struggled a bit with some of the characters’ motivations and the plans they made. In particular, I couldn’t quite understand why the main character’s power was quite as useful to some of the other characters and to the central plot as it was made out to be. There were some reasonably well-executed twists and turns, though I guessed most of them in advance. The author wrote well, and both her science and her philosophy were clever and well-informed. It was very dark in places, including some of the lines that the main character crossed, which I appreciated.My favourite aspect, by quite some way, were the occasional chapters that took the form of newspaper articles, interview transcripts, personal letters etc. They gave lots of additional insight into the history of the country and the magical outbreak and above all, into Lehrer, probably the book’s most intriguing character, who struck an interesting balance between mentor and antagonist.The central romantic relationship between Noam and Dara was nicely done, with a good blend of tension, emotion and sexiness. And it was refreshing to see a central male/male relationship without the characters’ sexualities being the main focus of the plot (extra points for Noam actually being bi). That said, I found the love interest a little bit of a letdown. He was described in the blurb as “the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful,” and other than the physical attractiveness point, he didn’t really live up to any of those descriptors. He was more victim than villain, and I didn’t get the enemies to lovers/forbidden love/getting seduced to the dark side angle I was hoping for.The book is really quite political, on several levels. Firstly, there’s a lot of diversity and varied representation, across race, religion, and sexuality. Secondly, lots of the events of the book are clearly metaphors for current political events – notably around immigration and fear of the other – and windows into how bad things could get. And thirdly and most interestingly, there’s a lot of debate about political philosophy, presented in a way that’s more nuanced than is often the case.Overall, definitely worth a read, and I’ll probably pick up the sequel when it’s released, but it just didn’t quite blow me away.