The Dark Citadel The Green Woman Volume 1 Jane Dougherty 9781499214314 Books
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Deborah has a secret But she doesn’t know what it is. The Protector does And so does Abaddon. Both of them want her destroyed. A wild boy and a pack of wolfdog pups are all that stand between her and destruction. But Jonah and Deborah have forged a weapon that even the demon fears. Love. Between them, the pariah girl and the dog boy will change the world. Or die in the attempt.
The Dark Citadel The Green Woman Volume 1 Jane Dougherty 9781499214314 Books
I am always hesitant about "post-apocalyptic" fantasy novels. The pervasive darkness. The unending parade of grotesque mutants. The elitist, merciless "new regime," concrete evidence that all the death and destruction was truly for nothing. In my experience, there's never enough hope at the end of such books to justify slogging through them.THE DARK CITADEL, book one of Jane Dougherty's THE GREEN WOMAN trilogy, manages to elevate this bitter recipe of joylessness and desolation and create something fresh. The Last War has been fought. Demons have been unleashed and rage across the barren earth. What remains of humanity--most of it anyway--exists within a domed city called Providence. Society is organized as a fanatical theocracy. The focus of worship are so-called "wise Gods," but there's an undeniable darkness at the heart of the city. Men rule over women, but even men are subject to the harsh, strictly stratified social classes. There's a preoccupation with a figure known as the Green woman, a blasphemous, pagan-type figure determined to take the city and hand all the goodwomen and goodmen over to evil. In actuality, the Green Woman is the last keeper of Memory and has the ability to awaken this memory and rebuild the world. But to succeed she needs her daughter, who has been held hostage by the leaders of Providence for ten years. THE DARK CITADEL focus on young Deborah's discovery of her past, her escape from Providence, and the start of her quest to find her mother.
Jane Dougherty gives us a richly layered, character-driven story. Part I, which takes place exclusively in Providence, reminds me of a Dickens novel. The thick, unhealthy atmosphere, twisted characters, and pervasive corruption is BLEAK HOUSE transported to a dome at the end of the remembered world. As in a Dickens novel, the major players come into contact with one another only tangentially at first. We readers can see the subtle, fateful intertwining of individual stories, while the characters often remain oblivious, caught up in their own struggles.
Part II of the novel takes us out of the dome into the desert, which turns out to be populated by an assortment of living and demonic beings. The action ratchets up as Deborah and her guide Jonas struggle north with only a pack of wolf pups to protect them. Dougherty takes care developing the relationship between these two, but the romance is always subordinate to their fight for survival against marauding desert creatures and the minions of evil sent to intercept Deborah. The farther north the couple gets, the more myth begins to invade reality, as various races of creatures werewolves, centaurs, river gods, etc. make themselves known and begin to choose sides in a coming battle (encompassing the whole of human myth and history) that will decide more than the fate of a couple of teenagers or even the city of Providence.
I have to admit that parts of this book are difficult to read. There is such cruelty, darkness, and loss. Sometimes, I had to put the book down and regroup emotionally. When I returned, Dougherty's lyrical writing--it really is a beautifully crafted book--carried me through.
Another warning: this is not a stand-alone work. But it's also not a cliff hanger. I detest cliffhangers. That's where the action stops dead at a high point and you have no idea what will happen to the main characters. Too often this is a cheap and easy (and artificial) way to manipulate readers into buying the next book. The end of THE DARK CITADEL provides a definite pause. We know exactly where the characters are. It's a point where choices are made, transformations happen, and then things get quiet in preparation for something even bigger.
THE DARK CITADEL is a breathtaking book, but it's only the gateway into a deeper experience. In this case, based on the quality of this introductory work, I'm willing to trust that what comes will be everything I expect.
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Tags : The Dark Citadel (The Green Woman) (Volume 1) [Jane Dougherty] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Deborah has a secret But she doesn’t know what it is. The Protector does And so does Abaddon. Both of them want her destroyed. A wild boy and a pack of wolfdog pups are all that stand between her and destruction. But Jonah and Deborah have forged a weapon that even the demon fears. Love. Between them,Jane Dougherty,The Dark Citadel (The Green Woman) (Volume 1),CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1499214316,Fantasy,Fantasy - Epic,Fiction,Fiction - Fantasy,Fiction Fantasy Epic
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The Dark Citadel The Green Woman Volume 1 Jane Dougherty 9781499214314 Books Reviews
'The Dark Citadel' is a post-apocalyptic fantasy set in the last remaining city, Providence. Deborah, seventeen years old, is the heroine. She rebels against the strict rule of the authoritarian city elders who decide every aspect of civilian life from social ranking to when and who they marry. She is a 'given child' which means she was forcibly removed from her parents as a child and given over to other parents to bring her up. One of the main (and more interesting) threads of this story is the uncovering of secrets about her parents and herself. Zachariah is another lead character, also seventeen and a 'given child' who strives to flee the city. The novel alternates between the two characters and we follow their similar but separate escape from Providence and subsequent adventures in the barren world outside of the city.
The novel begins with a bible-like retelling of the creation of earth and man according to the dark god-like entity named Abaddon. I enjoyed the dramatic and old world language of the opening, and its final sentence caused me goose bumps. It was an exciting preamble.
I also enjoyed the first section of the novel set in Providence. The frustrations of Deborah and Zach were interesting and kept me turning the pages. The detail Dougherty put into her world-building was also a highlight of this part of the book (and indeed the whole book), she has envisaged a world rich in detail and multi-layered.
The second half of the book is set in the barren landscape of the world outside Providence's crystal dome. It was certainly a pleasure to read the imagery, but I didn't enjoy this part of the book as much as the first part (set in Providence). I think there are two reasons for this. First, there was more emphasis placed on plot events rather than the development of characters, consequently I felt more of a distance from the characters. Secondly, there was a romance, which is nice, but I didn't really 'feel' very much about it. I think, perhaps, it was a bit of a rushed romance. But I'm sure others would enjoy it - this is probably just a matter of personal taste.
For me, one of the greatest strengths of this novel was the way the author has written the bad guys. Naturally there are a number of them, and they are all great to read. In this story, the antagonists get great lines and are just the kind of characters we all love to hate.
Dougherty is a skilled storyteller and fans of YA fantasy and post-apocalytpic fiction will certainly appreciate it.
My rating - 7/10
The Dark Citadel is at its core, a story about finding yourself, discovering where you came from and integrating that story into the fabric of personhood. So many readers at some point want to know their immediate story. Dark Citadel delivers on this universal theme. And so it is with Deborah, the main character in the books.
Jane Dougherty, whom I first came to know as a poet and writer, spins a well crafted tale that is sure to pull readers in. I particularly like how Jane treats the reader with respect, not afraid to delve into complicated themes. There is never a point where the narrative feels like less of a story because of the age of the main character. On the contrary, Deborah is strong and determined. Jane draws upon her own rich and very old culture to produce an extremely believeable future.
If you want a book that is well thought out, and is a simple joy to read, then the Dark Citadel is an excellent choice!
I am always hesitant about "post-apocalyptic" fantasy novels. The pervasive darkness. The unending parade of grotesque mutants. The elitist, merciless "new regime," concrete evidence that all the death and destruction was truly for nothing. In my experience, there's never enough hope at the end of such books to justify slogging through them.
THE DARK CITADEL, book one of Jane Dougherty's THE GREEN WOMAN trilogy, manages to elevate this bitter recipe of joylessness and desolation and create something fresh. The Last War has been fought. Demons have been unleashed and rage across the barren earth. What remains of humanity--most of it anyway--exists within a domed city called Providence. Society is organized as a fanatical theocracy. The focus of worship are so-called "wise Gods," but there's an undeniable darkness at the heart of the city. Men rule over women, but even men are subject to the harsh, strictly stratified social classes. There's a preoccupation with a figure known as the Green woman, a blasphemous, pagan-type figure determined to take the city and hand all the goodwomen and goodmen over to evil. In actuality, the Green Woman is the last keeper of Memory and has the ability to awaken this memory and rebuild the world. But to succeed she needs her daughter, who has been held hostage by the leaders of Providence for ten years. THE DARK CITADEL focus on young Deborah's discovery of her past, her escape from Providence, and the start of her quest to find her mother.
Jane Dougherty gives us a richly layered, character-driven story. Part I, which takes place exclusively in Providence, reminds me of a Dickens novel. The thick, unhealthy atmosphere, twisted characters, and pervasive corruption is BLEAK HOUSE transported to a dome at the end of the remembered world. As in a Dickens novel, the major players come into contact with one another only tangentially at first. We readers can see the subtle, fateful intertwining of individual stories, while the characters often remain oblivious, caught up in their own struggles.
Part II of the novel takes us out of the dome into the desert, which turns out to be populated by an assortment of living and demonic beings. The action ratchets up as Deborah and her guide Jonas struggle north with only a pack of wolf pups to protect them. Dougherty takes care developing the relationship between these two, but the romance is always subordinate to their fight for survival against marauding desert creatures and the minions of evil sent to intercept Deborah. The farther north the couple gets, the more myth begins to invade reality, as various races of creatures werewolves, centaurs, river gods, etc. make themselves known and begin to choose sides in a coming battle (encompassing the whole of human myth and history) that will decide more than the fate of a couple of teenagers or even the city of Providence.
I have to admit that parts of this book are difficult to read. There is such cruelty, darkness, and loss. Sometimes, I had to put the book down and regroup emotionally. When I returned, Dougherty's lyrical writing--it really is a beautifully crafted book--carried me through.
Another warning this is not a stand-alone work. But it's also not a cliff hanger. I detest cliffhangers. That's where the action stops dead at a high point and you have no idea what will happen to the main characters. Too often this is a cheap and easy (and artificial) way to manipulate readers into buying the next book. The end of THE DARK CITADEL provides a definite pause. We know exactly where the characters are. It's a point where choices are made, transformations happen, and then things get quiet in preparation for something even bigger.
THE DARK CITADEL is a breathtaking book, but it's only the gateway into a deeper experience. In this case, based on the quality of this introductory work, I'm willing to trust that what comes will be everything I expect.
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