Strangeling
Children of the Broken Dawn Book 1
by Kira Hagen
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Pub Date 28 Jun 2022 | Archive Date 28 Aug 2022
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Description
2049: The elves returned from the stars to save Earth... and broke everything.
The United States... aren't. Rural Minnesota is a redcap-infested wasteland. The Twin Cities are occupied by fabulous aliens. Waves of wild magic have wrecked most of the world's high technology. People mutate into beings out of myth and legend, becoming strangelings, and are killed or imprisoned lest the Hunger drive them to rampage.
And there's no more Wi-Fi.
Aisling lives under an illusion, hiding her half-elven features and trying to finish grad school. She and her friends have been navigating the magic apocalypse through hand-me-down pop-culture geekdom, using "knowledge" gained from old comics and DVDs. On weekends, they hunt monsters or runs strangelings down the Underhill Railroad using their band, the Lumber Punks, as cover.
But a strangeling labor brigade patrols the border between their Runners and freedom, and their Captain Hart blames Aisling for his Change. He's rapidly losing control of the fae monster inside him, and intends to catch her if it's the last thing he does.
Meanwhile, catfishmen are attacking the city formerly known as Minneapolis, and fighting them has Connor late for his drag show. His magic might be broken, but on stage or in battle, he's going to shine.
Space opera and mythology dance the forbidden polka in a geek-filled wasteland. A dystopian future grows from roots in Celtic and Norse mythology. And the most hilarious hot mess of a bisexual love triangle in epic dystopian urban science fantasy begins!
For fans of Shadowrun, Ilona Andrews, Sarah J Maas, and general geekdom, with definite writing influences from Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams.
Advance Praise
Angela Chervenak: ARC reviewer
""5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, engaging, funny, and richly complex
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
Verified Purchase
I love to be swept up into a story. Books are a way to move through a new world or at least to see the one that we are in from a new perspective, and this book definitely accomplishes that. In this book, we are transported to a post-apocalyptic fantasy world filled with elves and other creatures from mythology and yet we get to travel with characters that feel deeply familiar. They see the absurdity in the great tragedies of their lives and form deep bonds with one another. So, this book somehow manages to make the post-apocalypse… fun. Yeah, things are bad, but you still have your friends and can cut a wry joke. The author’s descriptions of magic are breathtaking and they transported me into the magic of the trees between worlds. And mostly, I love this book because it is a story that is well told. The story is fun, funny at times, engaging, and sometimes a bit heartbreaking in ways that I think we can all understand in the modern world. I absolutely recommend giving this book a read; you won’t regret it.""
Tiffiny - ARC reviewer
Instantly Engaging mythological SciFi dystopian fantasy Mix
Really clever take on a couple of different genres.
Don't want to give too much away but if you like Celtic myth, sci fi dystopian fantasy all mixed together, you will enjoy this book.
Characters you root for and so much scope for lots more to come.
I will definitely be buying the next book and all the ones after that
TalNewRoc
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fusion of Fantasy and SciFi
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is an excellent combination of my two favorite genres: fantasy and scifi. I absolutely LOVED it and can't wait for volume two. I wish cryo-sleep facilities existed to ease my wait for the next volume!
One person found this helpful
Norman Barrett Wiik
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, fast-paced adventure with compelling characters in a multi-layered setting.
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2022
Hagen deftly weaves a complex tapestry of a near-future Earth drawn from myth and science fiction influences, with an ample helping of local color. As a Twin Cities native familiar with the landscape in which much of the story takes place, I enjoyed the numerous geographic and cultural references and can testify to their accuracy. This expertly built world serves as the setting for a tale filled with intense action, dreamlike interludes, and memorable characters that make a lasting impression. ""Strangeling"" will keep readers engaged from start to finish and leave them eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 977462
This book introduce you to a breathtaking world of fantasy.. I really LOVED this book.. The story is very engaging.. The dystopian worl description is fantastic.. The character interaction.. And the love triangle offcourse..mind blowing... And the plot - ELITE
Cant wait for the next arc
Lindsay E, Reviewer
I had never heard of this author before and to be honest requested this book solely based on the absolutely GORGEOUS art. It reminded me of the deer in Annihilation and this book is kind of the same- a mix of fantasy with sci-fi. I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into with a new author but it sounded compelling and boy was I right!
This book is SO GOOD. It is COMPLEX and A LOT is going on here, so you're going to have to really take your time with this one. Kira's descriptions of magic were breath-taking and VERY reminiscent of Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale. You ACTUALLY feel that you are being transported into the magic of the trees between worlds.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would but I did need to read a little bit slower than usual to keep track of everything. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy/sci-fi and "weird" books in general. I'm looking forward to book #2! Solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Renee W, Reviewer
A well written complex blend of sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian and horror. The reader must pay attention while reading so as to not miss important plot moves. Rich characters. Although at times it can get alittle confusing with so much going on, stay focused and you will be glad you did. Thanks #netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.
TARYN J, Reviewer
I had just signed up with Netgalley to start checking out ARC's when this book popped up. The cover immediately drew me in and when I read the description, I thought eh ok why not. It had a few reviews on Amazon and they were all postive, so I added it to my list and figured I'd get to it eventually.
As soon as I finally started reading, I was immediately drawn in. This sci-fi fantasy is told from the point of view of 3 different characters and I was immediately taken with all of them, especially Aisling who turned out to be an awesome bad ass.
An alien race of elven/fae have come to the planet and taken over Earth. Their arrival causes absolute chaos by knocking out a lot of our technology and also causes something called the Change which turns humans into different mythical creatures that can go into a ravenous hunger. Most are either imprisoned or killed after their change.
The world building and history that is going into this series is great and a wonderful setup for future books. The author states at the end of the book that this will be a 7 book series and this was a wonderful start to draw people in. I love all the characters, especially the banter and references they make to pop culture, which is usually sci-fi or fantasy related. (Very nerdy in the best way)
I am truly a devoted fan and I can't wait for the next book. The ending had me squealing in frustration and I am clamoring for more!!! I feel like this whole series is going to be a roller coaster of emotion and I'm here for it. This debut novel by Kira Hagen hit the ball out of the park and I am recommending this to anyone I can because I think this series deserves all the recognition it can get.
Sax M, Librarian
This was a fantastic read. A completely new take on fae that was refreshing and fun. It did take some time to get going in the beginning and the world building was convulted at times, which are the only things keeping this from 5 stars. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an interesting new take on old magics and Sidhe. I will definitely read the next book.
Sara P, Reviewer
Such a good book. Please do not make this a standalone it deserves a series. It was so different i just fell into the book . 5 stars . Great read I will be buying this book! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review it and to Kira Hagen for writing an epic adventure.
Emma S, Reviewer
This book was a ride! It is a good mixture of fantasy and sci-fi with a side of horror-dystopia and it was mixed well. It was also a completely new take on fae, or "fabulous aliens" as the blurb describes them, that was really interesting to read.
We read from the PoV of 3 characters and each had a unique voice which made the story easy to follow. Aisling, of course, was my favourite out of the three. There was a lot of world building and information to take in at the start, but once you understand the situation it's so easy to get sucked in and swept away in the story.
The above, combined with some mythology, nerdy references (think Star Wars, etc) and some great descriptions of magic combine to create a story that managed to make bad situations (read: post-apocolypse) fun. Such a wild ride and I'm eager to see what happens next.
(Thank you #netgalley for the review ebook)
Caro H, Reviewer
Excellent storyline, good thread throughout the book. Engaging characters, different mixture of characters all interacting. Interesting ideas. Great read, recommend it.
Stephanie C, Reviewer
This is an instantly engaging and fun Sci-Fi fantasy read. From the first chapter you are swept away with how the Author takes their time in describing and building up the characters. You can picture them in your mind especially when you see the 3 different POVs. The world building and story line is phenomenal, but you have to pay close attention to all the details, so you don't miss out any plot moves. This is the type of book I can see myself rereading and coming across details I missed before.
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC to review.
Ayesha N, Librarian
Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC these are my honest reviews and opinions.
This book was different I was quite surprised how everything works because it shouldn't but does.
Set in 2049 this dystopian fantasy world, this story has elves and all sorts of magical creatures running around it's like a RPG.
I enjoyed reading this book and escaping into its pages as these characters go on their adventure and have to fight, survive and figure out what to do next, it was good kept my interest peaked.
Mixing dystopian themes with fantasy was a good mix as the character were interesting and unique in there own ways, there is a lot of world building and at the start of the book you do get an introduction to the many different fantastical beings and how to pronounce their names, which was helpful.
This is a solid read especially if you're looking for something a little different in the fae genre plus you like dystopian themes.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars out of 5.
Librarian 250745
Weird and wonderful, Strangeling is a mashup of several genres – fantasy, horror, sci-fi and dystopian. It delivers a lot of information early on and you need to pay attention, however it pays off big time. The book is fun and engaging, a cleverly woven adventure.
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