Our world has been changed after a nuclear event. Life dwindled, until births started producing twins: Alphas and Omegas. Alphas “normal”, healthy and unblemished, Omegas bearing the brunt of the poison from the event, born with outward deformities, or internal damage, marking them as Seers.
“We Omegas, in our brokenness, were like those taboo ruins. Dangerous. Contaminated. Reminders of the Blast and what it had wrought.”
Once the deformity manifests, the twins are separated. Omegas branded and outcast from their communities. By rights they should be killed, but in a bizarre twist, what befalls one twin, the other suffers the same fate.
Why is this on our bookshelf?
I rarely Google authors to research their background, so imagine my surprise when io9 did the work for me and mentions that Francesa Haig is an award winning poet. If nothing else, that’s a great reason to have this on our shelf. Bonus reason? It’s been compared to both The Road and The Hunger Games.
Rating (4 stars)
There are some clever, original concepts in The Fire Sermon, as well as some interesting characters, though I felt some of the plot was telegraphed slightly.
If you’re familiar with the genre, you can see some stuff coming, and predict the outcome. However, this doesn’t take much away from the overall enjoyment of the story.
Read this book:
For a slightly different spin on a dystopian world. You won’t be let down.
Don't Read this book:
If you’re a twin. Especially if you don’t get along with your sibling. You’ll forever be looking at them suspiciously.
Once you're done, do this:
Be thankful that your life isn’t so intimately tied to someone who’s raised to fear and dislike you. It could be unpleasant.
