Rebecca Rode’s Flicker, Ember in Space Book One, features Ember, a Roma or Gypsy, one of the very few folks left on Earth after a mass migration a few centuries before. Now the Earth is a tiny part of an empire that spans many star systems, ruled by the absolute Emperor whose will is enforced by ruthless military force. Ember supports her father and herself by telling fortunes in the marketplace to tourists until ruthless General Kane kidnaps her for her clairvoyant skill.
The book is boring. I read about 50% of the way through and skimmed the rest, hoping it would improve, but it doesn’t. Ember should be a sympathetic character but I didn’t care one way or the other. General Kane is odious, bloodthirsty, cruel, ambitious. The author describes two societies, the Roma on Earth and the militarized world that Ember must face, and neither is appealing or admirable. Basically there was nothing in the novel to engage one and make the reader feel part of the story.
2 Stars
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