Dustborn: Review

Dustborn
by Erin Bowman
432 pages
Loved It

Synopsis:

Content Rating: Nothing is listed on Book Trigger Warning (at this point I’m considering joining the wiki and starting to add some of these books.) The Trigger Warning Database has these triggers listed: Addiction, Nonconsensual drugging, Pregnancy, Death during childbirth, Blood & gore depiction, Amputation, On page family member deaths, Murder, Gun violence, Knife violence, Imprisonment, Kidnapping.

Also contains LGBTQ+ content/ Sapphic relationship.

Delta of Dead River sets out to rescue her family from a ruthless dictator rising to power in the Wastes and discovers a secret that will reshape her world in this postapocalyptic Western mashup for fans of Mad Max and Gunslinger Girl.

Delta of Dead River has always been told to hide her back, where a map is branded on her skin to a rumored paradise called the Verdant. In a wasteland plagued by dust squalls, geomagnetic storms, and solar flares, many would kill for it—even if no one can read it. So when raiders sent by a man known as the General attack her village, Delta suspects he is searching for her. 

Delta sets out to rescue her family but quickly learns that in the Wastes no one can be trusted—perhaps not even her childhood friend, Asher, who has been missing for nearly a decade. If Delta can trust Asher, she just might decode the map and trade evidence of the Verdant to the General for her family. What Delta doesn’t count on is what waits at the Verdant: a long-forgotten secret that will shake the foundation of her entire world.

Goodreads / Storygraph / Amazon

Review:

First of all, I have to thank Lauren of Always Me, Never Anyone Else blog for the book, which I won through a contest on her site. The contest winner got to pick one of the books from this post: Sci-Fi Month 2021 – Top Ten Tuesday: Sci-Fi Hidden Gems and I picked Dustborn.

This book is ALL ABOUT THE SETTING! Yes, the characters are good. Yes, the plot is fast paced. Yes, the in-world mythology is interesting. Yes, you’ll want to punch the villain. But none of it works without the setting.

Dustborn is set on a harsh world that has experienced extreme desertification. Oceans, rivers and lakes have dried up or acidified and become undrinkable. Humanity is living on the brink in small groups called “packs”, or in one of two know cities. Roaming raiders are a constant threat.

Bowman does a really good job of dropping you into this world. You can almost feel the heat and dust and grit, and I was so glad not to actually be there. I’m not kidding there are parts of this book that will literally make you thirsty, so keep your water bottle close.

Harsh worlds often produce great characters and Delta is one of them. Her grit and determination, combined with her love of family make her a character you root for. Although, this being a young adult/coming-of-age she does make some questionable choices (because she’s a teenager, and that’s what teenagers do.) I know this turns off some readers, but I found even after those moments of rash or not-thought through choices Delta redeemed herself.

I also enjoyed that Delta was a strong female character who didn’t need male characters to prop her up or propel her forward.

The two main male characters Asher and Rook are both complex well fleshed out characters. Their backstories make the book so much more interesting and I was thankful for the multi-dimensional characters.

The story builds to a very interesting reveal. I don’t want to say anything more that it was good and not what I had expected and again it made the setting stand out that much more.

Bottom Line: 

If you are like me and enjoy good world building and fast paced stories then pick up Dustborn right away. It was fantastic.

"I understand now; it is impossible for us not to get hurt. Life and death is the way of the wastes, love and loss. It's the cycle. We all lose eventually." - Dustborn