Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Lacuna
SERIES: Lacuna Chronicles #1
AUTHOR: A.M Daily
PUBLISHER: Self Pub
LENGTH: 238 pages
BLURB:
The ascension of the Terah has ravaged the Earth and plunged humanity into a horrifying existence. Humans struggle to survive in the few remaining cities beside Mechi, artificially intelligent beings whose most recent models are indistinguishable from their human creators, and the Ezri, a race of humanoid alien life whose descent to Earth changed the future of humankind forever.
Caden is number 508349, and has lived a comfortable and privileged life as the son of a wealthy corporate bigwig, kept safe from the dangers of life outside of Belen. An inexplicable restlessness leads Caden to pursue Earth’s lost past in cities other than his own and in the dusty words of suppressed history books.
Together with his streetwise friends, Mikas and Blue, Caden learns to navigate the shadowed world of the Underground Streets as he searches for answers to the questions left by his recurring nightmares.
When a series of catastrophic events leads to an encounter with a mysterious stranger, Caden is drawn unwittingly into a decades long war for freedom. As he struggles to accept his place in his rapidly changing reality, Caden is given insight into his true nature, allowing him to finally take the leap of faith he needs to reclaim his identity and freedom.
REVIEW:
Caden has lived a privileged, sheltered life but he longs for freedom from the prison his home has become. Needing an escape, Caden begins sneaking out to explore the other surrounding cities and ends up meeting Mikas and Blue in the process. All three are from very different backgrounds but they still manage to form a friendship amidst the wreckage their lives and home have become. Caden is ravaged by nightmares, however, that hint at something much darker and in order to find answers about them, and himself, he’ll need to travel much farther away than another city.
Oh man, where has this book been all my life? This was a really well done, multi faceted dystopian fiction that has so much going for it I’m not even sure where to properly begin. Each of the main characters brings something different to the story and when I thought I’d had them all figured out, something else would happen and I’d realize there was still so much more to learn. Cade had the most personal growth, in my opinion, and his story was really only just beginning with this tale. He wasn’t in the book quite as much as I expected but I think that actually lent more impact to everything going on with him. Blue came to some realizations about himself but he was just stuck in an unfortunate circle of misfortune until the end and I felt horrible for him for most of the book. Mikas is the one I wonder about; I didn’t see much growth from him in this book but there’s plenty of opportunity in the next one so I’m hoping there’ll be progress in the future.
I barely wanted to put this one down; the world building was excellent and I found the entire story engaging. I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author in the future and I just can’t wait to read the sequel!
RATING: 
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