This Golden Flame
An absorbing, slow-burn fantasy debut
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- 35,00 kr
Publisher Description
Change your fate. Pay the price.
An Ember in the Ashes meets Mask of Shadows in Emily Victoria's #ownvoices debut YA fantasy, an epic adventure full of magic, rebellion, and finding where you truly belong.
Orphaned and forced to serve her country's ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don't matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.
In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible: she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father - their nation's greatest traitor - once tried to destroy the automatons.
Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn't just trying to control Karis; it's hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother . . . and the secret that's held her country in its power for centuries.
2021 Tantor Media Inc
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Orphaned Karis has spent seven years as a servant to the Scriptorium, a caste of scribes who rule the island nation of Eratia. Though she is supposed to be ignorant of Scriptwork, the system of rune magic that animates the land, she has been secretly teaching herself—a dangerous task, particularly since her older brother was taken away for getting on the wrong side of the Scriptorium. For centuries, the scribes' primary aim has been to discover the lost secret of automaton magic in order to control Eratia's ancient robotic army. When Karis discovers an automaton hidden in a cave, she accidentally wakes it. Alix, the automaton, displays both emotion and intelligence, shattering Karis's preconceptions, and the two delve into the mystery of his origins, a journey that leads them to discover rot at the heart of the Scriptorium itself. Victoria weaves a range of sexualities into her debut, including an asexual, aromantic protagonist and a gay couple. Left vague, some elements of worldbuilding lend confusion; nevertheless, this fast-paced standalone novel features intriguing concepts and a thoughtful exploration of what qualifies one to be "alive" and "human." Ages 12–up.
