99 Days (Red Proxy #2)
by Keith Ward
341 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: June 2017
Synopsis:
Kertram is a contented man with a simple life. He likes the dangerous, but rewarding work of shepherding baby dragons. He loves his wife. The day his children are born makes him happier than he ever thought he could be.
But life betrays Kertram in a horrifying way when his village is attacked in a raid between warring regions. His wife is murdered and his babies kidnapped. He knows his newborns will be ritually sacrificed on the 99th day of their lives to satisfy the monstrous appetites of others — unless he can get there first.
He’s not alone. Joining him are a powerful witch who questions her powers; a remarkable soldier with a fatal secret; and a mountain guide with a mind so warped he can’t remember his own name.
His quest to save them may cost Kertram his life. But he doesn’t care; he only knows he has to go on, and each sunrise brings his newborns closer to death. Day 99 is coming.
His Wife: Murdered
His Children: Kidnapped
Their Sentence: Ritual Sacrifice in 99 Days
His Mission: Save them
His Chances: Hopeless
His Determination: Unstoppable
The countdown to life and death has begun.
Review:
I’ve put off this review because I just didn’t know if I could do the book justice. Have you ever read a book that you just enjoyed so much it was hard to put words to? That was 99 Days for me. It was the best book I read in 2017 and here I am 3 years later still trying to review it.
The world building of this book is an utterly unique idea. That life, the days and years left to a person can be transferred to another person via a ritual done by someone called a Span Seer. The Span Seers can not only transfer life they can see the days allotted to a person, thus each newborn’s days are read and entered into a ledger.
This sets up a economy, of sorts, based of life, quality of life and privilege. This economy is accepted by most of the world, even our main character has had some Transfers. However after the kidnapping of his newborns he begins to question the practice and so does the Span Seer Danak who journeys with him to save his children.
The action and twists keep the book a fast read, and it left me thinking for a long time. Few books really get down to the nitty gritty of the meaning and worth of life (Unwind is the other book that comes to mind.)
Bottom Line:
I loved the idea of the world in 99 Days, and it was well done all around. I highly recommend it.
“If you live forever, with the only goal to continue living, are you really living at all?”