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Ravaged by a plague known as Red Death, the planet Gabriel, a former colony of Earth, is a barren wasteland. Since being abandoned by Earth 500 years ago, resources are scarce and life is cheap. To stay alive, the survivors, the Citizens, scavenge the remains of a now dead city, trading for food with the resource-rich Curadores, the only other survivors on Gabriel. Every old computer, every piece of wire, every scrap of metal counts. To steal is the ultimate sin. So when tough-as-nails seventeen-year-old Leica is caught doing just that, she's exiled and left to the mercy of Gabriel's unforgiving desert for the rest of her life.
While in exile, Leica discovers a mysterious shuttle, which may not only lead her home, but even more impossible—reestablish contact with Earth. Then Red Death rears its head again, killing her entire work crew, leaving Leica all alone until a handsome Curador offers her refuge in the Dome—the only place on Gabriel untouched by Red Death, where a decadent and sultry life awaits. But there's a catch: Leica can only enter the Dome as his concubine—his Kisaeng. When a rogue group of Citizens see their chance for revolution in Leica's good fortune, she finds herself unraveling a deadly mystery with chilling answers to the true origin of Red Death and the reason Earth really abandoned them so long ago.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 7, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781515925552
- File size: 381519 KB
- Duration: 13:14:49
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 25, 2016
In the savage desert of the planet Gabriel, society is divided between plague-ridden scavengers dying in droves and their Curador overlords, a select few living inside a hermetically sealed dome. Leica, an exiled orphan whose six-fingered mutation means she is considered to be “corrupted” by sin, stumbles upon the remains of a shuttle that could mean a way back to Earth. After plague kills her work crew, she seeks refuge in the Curadors’ dome, but in order to gain entry she is forced to become a concubine to a mysterious young Curador, Edison. In a twisted exploration of atonement and survival, Etienne (Harbinger) draws inspiration from a lesser-known Grimm’s fairy tale, “Fitcher’s Bird,” preserving that story’s bloody moments in scenes that include a throat slit in a mercy killing or the discovery of “little skeletons tucked into bed.” Genetic tests fuse animal and machine; Curadores regard women as incubators, pets, or property; allies sometimes prove to be monsters; and lust is one of many complicated emotions to be negotiated. The world of Gabriel is dismal but beautifully rendered by Etienne in stark, terrifying detail. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich. -
Carly Robins masterfully narrates this adventure, which mixes Korean, Mexican, and American cultural influences on an earth colony estranged from the mother planet. A plague has killed off most of the people of Pleiades, leaving a fractured society. Robins gives Leica, the teen heroine, changing personas--tough girl, scared kid, and heroic young woman--as she moves through various challenging situations. Robins's skill is impressive as she deftly imparts the linguistic twists of the non-English vocabulary while also managing the voices of characters ranging from slaves to aristocratic overseers. She employs minimal voicing throughout but achieves first-rate character definition using exquisite pacing and the passions of the individual players. M.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
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