Stephanie Jane reviewed Dominion by Ray Star (Earthlings, #2)
Speculative fiction with a social conscience
5 stars
Having started reading Dominion the previous afternoon and on into the evening, I was awake again at 5am and reaching for my kindle because this novel is just so compelling. It starts, mid-plummet, within seconds of the conclusion of Earthlings (this is a series that really does need to be read in the right order or you'll have no idea what is going on!) and the excitement hardly lets up for a moment all the way through. There's also a grimly serious side though as much of the non-magickal aspect of Dominion is a chilling mirror image of present day earth.
At its heart a young adult coming-of-age tale, the strengths of Dominion for me lie in its insightful character portrayals and Star's deep understanding of her characters' motivations. Peridot in particular has a lot to cope with, yet she always felt genuine and I appreciated the realistic ways in …
Having started reading Dominion the previous afternoon and on into the evening, I was awake again at 5am and reaching for my kindle because this novel is just so compelling. It starts, mid-plummet, within seconds of the conclusion of Earthlings (this is a series that really does need to be read in the right order or you'll have no idea what is going on!) and the excitement hardly lets up for a moment all the way through. There's also a grimly serious side though as much of the non-magickal aspect of Dominion is a chilling mirror image of present day earth.
At its heart a young adult coming-of-age tale, the strengths of Dominion for me lie in its insightful character portrayals and Star's deep understanding of her characters' motivations. Peridot in particular has a lot to cope with, yet she always felt genuine and I appreciated the realistic ways in which she often doubted herself. I could also empathise with her mother, Vallaeartha, even though she does come across as a problem for Peridot, she is just as determined to keep her daughter safe as Ela was to protect her son.
Watching the magick flow is an amazing experience too and I would love just a tiny part of Peridot's gardening expertise! Star writes the pivotal magickal scenes from a gorgeously cinematic perspective. I could easily imagine the tremendous battles, the miserable Descendants' headquarters, and even Buck's beautiful isolated woodland. I thought Dominion was just as stunning a novel as Earthlings. It is wildly entertaining and unpredictable, yet is rooted in a very serious message that Star effectively puts across. I highly recommend Earthlings and Dominion to all fans of fantasy adventures and of speculative fiction with a social conscience.