Children of Madness

by Jarrett Brandon Early

Overview

For a world gone crazy, only those raised among madness can help.

The Imperator of Quaan restlessly awaits the centennial arrival of the Snail-Gods to cure the Gloomtide, a shadow of melancholy blanketing the Titian Empire. But when the Supreme Helices finally make landfall, they do so just out of reach of the distressed monarch, beyond a poisonous grove that separates man from messiah.

Fincher Bugg leads the Sour Flower Gang, the preeminent child harvesters of the Stenches, a town of outcasts condemned to diminished lives toiling away in toxic conditions. As Fincher and his four friends endure external abuse from outsiders, internally they also suffer, watching as their parents slowly succumb to the Maddening. Despite the solace of unbreakable friendship, life is unrelenting.

When a desperate king makes a seemingly magnanimous offer to a hopeless population, the Sour Flower Gang sets out on a harrowing expedition to find God for the very people who cast them aside.

During a journey in which the children encounter the unimaginable-both beautiful and nightmarish-a terrifying question takes shape. Are the Snail-Gods here to once more save mankind, or is the Gloomtide that has enveloped Quaan a precursor to humanity's deserved end?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781734231489
Publisher:	Jarrett Brandon Early
Publication date:	05/15/2024
Pages:	684
Sales rank:	913,075
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

Editorial Reviews

2024-07-25
Undaunted young friends trek perilous terrain to save their world in Early’s fantasy novel.

The land of Quaan receives a gift from the God-Snails every 100 years. The latest imminent gift will surely aid in fighting off “Gloomtide,” a “kind of despair” that’s overwhelming Quaan citizens. But signs of the God-Snails’ arrival put them just past a grove that’s besieged by toxic fumes. To retrieve the gift, the Imperator sends children of Crimmish, an outcast town disparagingly called the Stenches. It’s rife with poisonous air that townsfolk have built up a resistance to, though adults ultimately succumb to the fatal “Maddening.” The less-exposed Crimmish kids are ideal candidates for moving through toxic fumes, and the Sour Flower Gang, so named for harvesting a local, plague-curing flower, willingly heads north with the Imperator’s soldiers as guides. Tween boys Ditto and Fincher, along with Ash, her younger sister Sammi, and the group’s youngest, Hana, travel across Quaan and encounter its myriad dangers, including assorted creatures, despicable humans, and any number of other things that can kill them. Early’s often harrowing tale unfolds in a vividly detailed setting. Social class distinctions enliven the narrative, with the Imperator’s (and even the soldiers’) haughtiness noticeably contrasting with the geniality of the Crimmish locals. The bulk of the story comprises a series of thrilling misadventures that Fincher and the others fall into, such as a favor that necessitates diving into a lake infested with megamouth sharks. Despite the heroes’ young ages, this book is definitely for adults; violent imagery entails “fountain[s] of blood,” “rivers of red,” and “chunks of flesh,” and the brutal fights are all the more shocking for involving children. Still, a few unexpected allies, along with the youngsters’ unyielding tenacity, give the tale an encouraging tone.

An unflinching, riveting quest with plucky kid heroes and exhilaration at every turn.

Kirkus Reviews