Taemon lives in a city where everyone can move objects with their minds. It’s a power called psi, and his people are proud and haughty about their abilities. One day, while arguing with his brother, he hears a strange voice, and is asked to make a difficult choice. His decision costs him his psi. He attempts to fake his abilities for awhile, but it’s next to impossible. Without psi, he can’t even feed himself, since using his hands would reveal his secret. It doesn’t take long before he ends up exiled to a colony of “powerless” people. The colony isn’t as backwards as Taemon was raised to believe, though, and here he learns valuable lessons about the power he lost, and the power still inside him. Meanwhile, his cruel and heartless older brother is being groomed as the True Son, a much-revered individual who, according to prophecy, will bring on the next Great Cycle. All of this leads to a gutsy conclusion which clearly leaves room for a sequel. While the concept of psi and all of its intricacies is described well, at times it feels repetitive to constantly remind the reader that every action is accomplished through psi. However, memorable characters, a smooth plotline with building suspense, and a fascinating premise make this a worthy addition to the dystopian crowd.
Wow! This is a wonderful summary of Freakling! I loved what you said about the power he lost and the power he still had. I agree with your comment about everything being done with psi. It was frustrating sometimes. In one part of the book, someone slaps someone else. My editor said, you should have him do that with psi. I said, he does do it with psi. But it didn't read that way, so we decided to add yet another mention of psi. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for reading and for sharing!