Switch Press released Caighlan Smith’s newest fantasy novel, Children of Icarus, on Aug. 1. The story is fairly original for its genre and we learn to love the main character as she comes to rely on herself.
Clara is a brave girl who prays every night to be released into the labyrinth like her brother. Those who complete the maze are said to become angels like Icarus himself. When she gets her wish, those in power force her weaker best friend to enter as well. The labyrinth isn’t what they were told it would be. When they are violently torn apart, Clara’s nameless friend has to learn to survive without her in a world full of monsters, of both the beast and human variety.
This story is unique. It builds a tale around the myth of Icarus and Daedalus and uses this Greek mythology as its characters’ religious base. It has hints of The Hunger Games’ dystopian feel and warns us of blindly following the stories we’re fed by our “superiors” without question. Our nameless heroine begins the story as someone who relies on others for her survival, but that eventually changes. At the start, she's a bit whiny with low self-esteem. But as her confidence builds, she becomes a whole other person – one that we begin to suspect can make a difference in the world. As we get to know her new self, we begin to really root for her to survive and perhaps beat the maze.
The story ends at the completion of a quest, but it’s left open for the next chapter of the saga. There’s a lot more for our heroine to accomplish before she’s free. The book was interesting and I will probably read the next in the series. However, the characters felt a little heavy-handed and flat. I put this down to the author being new. The writing was mostly well done and I believe it will improve with time. It’s worth a read for those looking for an original dystopian or fantasy story.
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