Gilded Cage
-
-
4.4 • 95 Ratings
-
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
A thrilling Orwellian vision of Britain, with a rebellious Hunger Games heart, Gilded Cage is the astonishing debut novel from Vic James, and the first title in her electrifying The Dark Gifts Trilogy.
A modern Britain
An age-old cruelty
Britain's magically skilled aristocracy compels all commoners to serve them for ten years - and now it's the Hadleys' turn. Abi Hadley is assigned to England's most ruthless noble family. The secrets she uncovers could win her freedom - or break her heart. Her brother Luke is enslaved in a brutal factory town, where new friends' ideals might cost him everything.
Then while the elite vie for power, a young aristocrat plots to remake the world with his dark gifts. As Britain moves from anger to defiance, all three must take sides. And the consequences of their choices will change everything, forever.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Strap yourselves in for the first book in a trilogy that deserves to become enormous. With Gilded Cage, Vic James presents an Orwellian and alternate Britain. The country is run by a cadre of aristocratic families gifted with magic powers, while lowly commoners are forced to dedicate a decade of their lives to serving them. With this scene deliciously set, we meet the Hadley family’s two children—rebellious Luke and idealistic Abi—as they embark on their sentences of servitude. We were rabidly excited for book two before we’d even reached halfway.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James's clever debut, first published on Wattpad, introduces an alternate present day in which British society is stratified into aristocrats, who have magical skill, and mundane commoners, who are required by law to spend 10 years serving the skilled. Most end up in the factories and workhouses in Manchester's infamous slave town, Millmoor. That's the fate of 16-year-old Luke Hadley; the rest of his relatives are sent to work at Kyneston, the country estate of the Jardines, one of the most powerful families in the country. At Millmoor, Luke quickly becomes part of a secret group that helps ease the harsh lives of workers. Meanwhile, his parents and sisters are caught in the middle of Jardine family intrigues and political scheming that could change the country forever. The setting is so interesting that readers will eagerly suspend disbelief, and James drops tantalizing hints about how the rest of the world treats those who do and don't have access to magic. Brisk plotting, sympathetic characters, and plenty of intrigue will keep readers on the edges of their seats, eager for the next book in a very promising series.
Customer Reviews
Stunning read
Brilliantly told story in a convincing and compelling alternate Britain. Loved it from start to finish.
Read in one go- dark and gripping
Fantastic book, read it in one go. Contemporary Britain, but not as you know it, with magic, politics and lashings of intrigue. Looking forward to the next two.
Rebellions, magic, and brutal dystopian futures
When I saw rumblings around that there was a new UK YA series launching about slavery of non magical people by those with powers, I was intrigued.
What I’ve found in Gilded Cage is so much more.
James has created a rich world of intrigue, rivalry, rebellion and politics that I can’t stop thinking about. This is an ambitious dystopian future story that reminds me of The Bone Season, so Samantha Shannon fans should get on this series asap.
The Hardman family are gearing up for their term of indentured servitude, a legal tradition in Britain where commoners give up their rights to be slaves to the magically skilled aristocracy for a service of ten years.
Clever daughter Abi has managed to wangle her whole family into one placement with the the prominent but ruthless Jardines at Kyneston estate. Except it quickly becomes apparent that younger brother Luke is deemed surplus to requirements and dispatched to the brutal factory town of Millmoor.
Divided, the Hardman children face brutality on all fronts while Abi tries to maintain order, Luke becomes embroiled in a rebellion and young Daisy is left holding the cruelest Jardine’s baby daughter, orphaned by his own hand.
The novel is told in first person point of view chapters that not only slips between Abi and Luke, but Jardine children Gavar and Silyen (my favourite) as they deal with the Proposal to end slavedays that rattles the aristocracy. Alongside them are canny Bouda, future wife of Gavar and one or two important characters.
This is a dense thrilling story of political blackmail, uprisings and fighting for your life in dystopian industrial yet magical Britain. The final few chapters left my heart racing wildly as the plot suddenly galloped to the conclusion – a really wild ride! I’m absolutely ravenous for the follow up, Tarnished City. Please don’t let me wait too long!