Children of Daedala

by Caighlan Smith

Overview

Six months alone in the labyrinth has made her strong. But the search for the exit means gambling on an old ‘friend’ and going against everything she’s been taught to survive. You know the labyrinth will have yet more horrors lurking in its depths. You’ve learned few people can be trusted. But freedom is tantalizingly close. Are you ready to take the risk?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630790868
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	04/01/2018
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.94(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

As a child, Caighlan Smith loved to build and navigate pillow mazes. An adoration of Greek mythology soon followed. Canadian born and raised, Smith studied English Literature and Classics at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her first novel was published when she was nineteen.

Editorial Reviews

2018-02-05
Teenagers exiled to an endless labyrinth prowled by mythological monsters struggle to survive in this gruesome and gripping fantasy sequel.The unnamed 17-year-old narrator resolves to imitate the steely indifference of her mentor, the Executioner, but a brutal attack on Fates—the group that rescued her, then abandoned her to die—ensnares her in the bloody rivalry between the all-male Kleos and the all-female Harmonia, undermining any hope of escape. The protagonist's affected namelessness (and egregiously symbolic nickname, "Fey Bell") quickly palls; otherwise, her capable, decisive, almost-legendary prowess represents a stunning transformation from her passive helplessness in the previous title in the series. Much to her own confusion (and sometime annoyance), she even gets a taste of romance, cueing the inevitable love triangle. Still, the plot is mostly driven by a complex tangle of interactions between various factions. Gender dynamics (and threats of sexual violence) constantly simmer underneath but never as graphically as the danger from marauding predators or the even more appalling savagery of fellow humans. Glancing references to hair and eye color suggest a default white majority while hinting at another, darker-skinned ethnicity.Nuanced characterization and crackerjack pacing make this an addictive page-turner for fans of the first, but it's unlikely to hook any new readers. (Dystopian fantasy. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews