22 Nov 2016

BEETLEBROW.

BEETLEBROW by BEN PARKER.

BACK COVER BLURB: Beetlebrow, the first book in The Beetlebrow Trilogy , is an intricately plotted, emotional and intensely engaging story about two teenage girls, Beetlebrow and Pook, thrown together in a life or death adventure taking place in a sinister, hostile and threatening world. The two will need all their resourcefulness to succeed in a daunting quest: to deliver a cryptic, vital message to the distant eastern city of Dalcratty.

The growing love Beetlebrow and Pook feel for each other brings them closer together as they confront challenge after challenge, not the least of which is an encounter with the citizens of Essum, whose morality and culture is founded upon interpreting a half-finished painting. 

FIRST SENTENCE {1 Lana}: Beetlebrow woke up.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 154}: She looked at the creased, cotton fabric of his long, fawn-coloured headscarf. Between its folds she saw the tall man's pin-prick eyes, his beaky nose, his wrinkle-slashed cheeks and a black beard pointing down several inches beyond his narrow chin. Through his parted lips she spotted a crowded array of tombstone teeth.

SOURCE: Received for review from the author.

MY THOUGHTS: Oh I do love strong, well written female characters and in Beetlebrow and her companion, Pook, we certainly get two great protagonists.

A wonderfully imagined dystopian novel set in a male dominated land in which poverty prevails, women, very much secondary citizens, forced to beg or into prostitution. On the face of it Beetlebrow and Pook's lot is a grim one and yet ...

A story of determination, of a love born out of friendship, of a friendship born out of necessity .. the necessity to survive. Whilst the setting of the book is nothing short of breathtaking in its detail - lovers of world centred novels will not be disappointed - it was however the girls relationship that made the book for me. Beautifully and sensitively captured, it evoked all of the feelings of first love. 

A great start to what promises to be a wonderful trilogy. I look forward to the next instalment and, hopefully, learning a bit more of Pook's story.


10 comments:

Kelly said...

This sounds like a very different, but quite interesting storyline. Fantasy is something I enjoy in small doses, so will keep this in mind. Maybe once the trilogy is complete and I get your overall verdict....

Suko said...

Tracy, I'm glad you enjoyed this book and consider it to be a great start to this trilogy.

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

This sounds good. It is always amazing me that women find themselves second-rate citizens in these dystopian worlds. I want a world where women rule..lol

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

Fantasy can only be read by me in very small doses, so the fact that this book doesn't sound as though it works as a stand alone and I might have to read another two episodes to finally have closure on the story, doesn't really do it for me I'm afraid.

Your shared memorable moment is very descriptive though and well worth the mention. I'm pleased that you enjoyed this one a lot more than perhaps you thought you might do :)

Yvonne

brandileigh2003 said...

Great to hear about a strong main character esp a female lead

Natasha said...

Ooh I really like the sound of this and as you mentioned in your review, I love a strong female character. Like the sound of the plot too so I'll definitely have to check this out sometime soon. - Tasha

Literary Feline said...

You make this sound good, Tracy.

Gina said...

Wow...it sounds pretty intense, yet beautiful. Gotta love that odd balance an author can strike sometimes in their writing. Thanks for the share!

Brian Joseph said...

This sounds very good.

I generally like dystopias that are imaginative.

On the other hand, dystopian fiction might be a little hard to take this days.

The Bookworm said...

This sounds like a good start to a series, I too like strong female leads.