Review by zeldasideas -- Herai by Aaron D Key
-
zeldasideas
- Posts: 35
- Joined: 02 Feb 2018, 13:22
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 36
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-zeldasideas.html
- Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest
Review by zeldasideas -- Herai by Aaron D Key
[Following is a volunteer review of "Herai" by Aaron D Key.]
A world incensed with madness and internal division lies at the heart of the dystopia created in Aaron D. Key's Herai (Wheel of Eight Book 1). The author presents two models of the hereditary succession of power in that world, one demonstrating the hero's subjection to an unfair fate, the other portraying the hero's redemption.
Both models ask the fundamental question of who should inherit the principal leadership role, the leader's first or second son, both of whom are out of favor for their extremist misconduct, or his third son, Herai, a moderate. In the darker model, the second son, Adrij, meets with Koa, a healer, and Monta, a winepress operator, to stage a rebellion against his father, Glant. At Adrij's suggestion, Koa pursues Adrij's brother Herai into a love affair and convinces him to join their activities in the outer ring, a place known to all who inhabit the city as the "Outside." Although normally forbidden to all but the city's guards due to an age-old struggle against the neighboring people, the Outside proves to be irresistible to Herai, who pursues a delusive bird into the outer realm, afterward gathering with his friend Monta at home there. When Glant learns of Herai's disloyalty, he orders Monta to murder him.
In the brighter model, Glant sends Herai to the Guards' Caverns, an underworld network controlling the city and its environs. As Herai becomes more adept at politics, he is attacked by three masked guards who seek to remove him from power. Glant appoints Monta and Koa to investigate the attack. As Herai heals from the attack, Monta and Koa bring all Glant's associates under suspicion, weeding them out one by one to get to the name of the true killer.
This is Aaron D. Key's first novel, and the author has created a suspenseful science fiction mystery. The first and second plots are woven together into a seamless narrative, with each plot clearly designated and marked off to ensure the reader can follow along. The characters are well rounded, with all motivations and internal growth clearly in place throughout each of the two plots so that we can recognize them all, despite the different contexts in which the events take shape. Each of the characters, no matter how minor, receives considerate treatment when they undergo a misfortune, so that the plot builds a sense of fairness and equality. Key's dystopia is a just world with a sense of suspended moral judgment, enabling readers to draw their own conclusions.
The book is set in a future society which has lost control of its external relations. Polarized internal relations leading to the breakdown of denizens and laborers into Mal Leader spiritual groups and Block Leader physical groups, respectively, generate a sense of internal complicity which seems at odds with the external, almost primitive, affairs characterizing the Outside. The lead hero navigates a complex shift of relations as he moves from the internal struggles of the city to the external pacifism of the surrounding native earth. It is probable that the author intended these motifs to stand out as a satire of isolationism and conditioned social indifference he perceives to be a problem in current political affairs, and in this endeavor he has succeeded.
I enjoyed the author's two-tiered chapter structure, each chapter opening with a brief epigraph by the older generation and then continuing into the main account. Some of the storyline segments could be better foregrounded, or even scripted with dialogue, which would be put to best use in the opening first lines of the chapter. For example, chapter 3, "Herai Enraptured," is composed entirely of prose, when it might have contained more dialogue, particularly in the first few sentences, which would help to link chapter 3 to previous relevant events. Chapter 7, "Herai Goes Outside," needs to frame the story with a description of why Sola, a young man who was injured in a roof collapse, fits into the sinister plot against the heir.
The novel does a fine job of teaching us how adverse fate can be surmounted and surpassed. Readers will enjoy the author's simple yet engrossing writing style. This book will appeal to readers of all ages. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for its outstanding plot and idyllic story.
******
Herai
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
A world incensed with madness and internal division lies at the heart of the dystopia created in Aaron D. Key's Herai (Wheel of Eight Book 1). The author presents two models of the hereditary succession of power in that world, one demonstrating the hero's subjection to an unfair fate, the other portraying the hero's redemption.
Both models ask the fundamental question of who should inherit the principal leadership role, the leader's first or second son, both of whom are out of favor for their extremist misconduct, or his third son, Herai, a moderate. In the darker model, the second son, Adrij, meets with Koa, a healer, and Monta, a winepress operator, to stage a rebellion against his father, Glant. At Adrij's suggestion, Koa pursues Adrij's brother Herai into a love affair and convinces him to join their activities in the outer ring, a place known to all who inhabit the city as the "Outside." Although normally forbidden to all but the city's guards due to an age-old struggle against the neighboring people, the Outside proves to be irresistible to Herai, who pursues a delusive bird into the outer realm, afterward gathering with his friend Monta at home there. When Glant learns of Herai's disloyalty, he orders Monta to murder him.
In the brighter model, Glant sends Herai to the Guards' Caverns, an underworld network controlling the city and its environs. As Herai becomes more adept at politics, he is attacked by three masked guards who seek to remove him from power. Glant appoints Monta and Koa to investigate the attack. As Herai heals from the attack, Monta and Koa bring all Glant's associates under suspicion, weeding them out one by one to get to the name of the true killer.
This is Aaron D. Key's first novel, and the author has created a suspenseful science fiction mystery. The first and second plots are woven together into a seamless narrative, with each plot clearly designated and marked off to ensure the reader can follow along. The characters are well rounded, with all motivations and internal growth clearly in place throughout each of the two plots so that we can recognize them all, despite the different contexts in which the events take shape. Each of the characters, no matter how minor, receives considerate treatment when they undergo a misfortune, so that the plot builds a sense of fairness and equality. Key's dystopia is a just world with a sense of suspended moral judgment, enabling readers to draw their own conclusions.
The book is set in a future society which has lost control of its external relations. Polarized internal relations leading to the breakdown of denizens and laborers into Mal Leader spiritual groups and Block Leader physical groups, respectively, generate a sense of internal complicity which seems at odds with the external, almost primitive, affairs characterizing the Outside. The lead hero navigates a complex shift of relations as he moves from the internal struggles of the city to the external pacifism of the surrounding native earth. It is probable that the author intended these motifs to stand out as a satire of isolationism and conditioned social indifference he perceives to be a problem in current political affairs, and in this endeavor he has succeeded.
I enjoyed the author's two-tiered chapter structure, each chapter opening with a brief epigraph by the older generation and then continuing into the main account. Some of the storyline segments could be better foregrounded, or even scripted with dialogue, which would be put to best use in the opening first lines of the chapter. For example, chapter 3, "Herai Enraptured," is composed entirely of prose, when it might have contained more dialogue, particularly in the first few sentences, which would help to link chapter 3 to previous relevant events. Chapter 7, "Herai Goes Outside," needs to frame the story with a description of why Sola, a young man who was injured in a roof collapse, fits into the sinister plot against the heir.
The novel does a fine job of teaching us how adverse fate can be surmounted and surpassed. Readers will enjoy the author's simple yet engrossing writing style. This book will appeal to readers of all ages. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars for its outstanding plot and idyllic story.
******
Herai
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Worldlines by Adam Guest
