Author Origin: listed only as rural Ontario
Page Count: 375
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Difficulty: Easy
Grade Level: 9-11
Key Talking Points: Government conspiracies, uncovering history- personal and societal, underestimating potential
Sensitive Subject Matter: Nothing. No, really...not even dirty jokes in this one
Warning: Capital FAN-TA-SY. Be ready.
My mother met M.J. Moores at the Coldwater Steampunk Festival (very cool, you should check it out sometime: http://www.steampunkfestivalcoldwater.com/) this past year. M.J. Moores is an aspiring writer and went to York University, both just like me, and so my mother felt an instant connection with her, shared most of my life story with her, and then bought her entire Xannia series as a Christmas gift for me. This review is on the first in the trilogy.
Summary: Taya is a teenage contractor for the CTF, which is basically like a government sanctioned elite soldier-for-hire training facility, although they consider themselves the "most esteemed public service outlet," renting their agents out to the public as needed (Moores 11). The contractors are trained to be both brainy and brawny, and Taya is the youngest of the contractors, constantly having to prove herself to her clients. Taya finds herself on thin ice with the CTF after trying to 'silence' a rogue government agent trying to spread what he calls "The Truth," tantamount to heresy. When that same rogue man hires her to take him and a small group of citizens into The Deserts, deadly wastelands that normally no one dares enter, in search of that Truth, she doesn't have a choice but to say yes or risk losing her job and home at the CTF. However, more seems to be on the line than her job, as what they search for could save their world from increasingly powerful natural disasters and the depletion of the natural resources they need to survive.
Taya's introduction and journey through The Deserts mirrors the "Hero's Quest" literary archetype pretty closely. The plot is easy to follow, but it does fall into the trap of many sci-fi/fantasy novels in that it tries to seem too different right off the bat in order to let us know that we are reading about a different world. Some of the made-up, sci-fi language is used naturally and does just this. However, some names and terms come off as excessive. For example, don't even bother trying to google what a "colith" is, you will just end up with a lot of information about colonoscopies. Luckily, most of the necessary terms are clarified in the first few chapters (a colith is a swirl of pigmentation on the skin of Xannians that comes in different colours based on "race"), and most of the silly, thrown in terms also stop at this time. My only other criticism would be that there are definitely some descriptions and events that don't further the plot or develop the characters in any meaningful way. This is one of my own personal reading peeves and may not even be noticed by many, especially not by a younger reader just enjoying the ride.
Teacher Note: The story is told in first person, and since one of the main motifs is that of a Taya, a teenager, having to prove her competence and capabilities to doubting adults, this novel will definitely resonate with many high school students. We also get to witness Taya's struggles with self doubt, coming to terms with her identity, and her first experiences with romantic love, all topics that generally appeal to a younger reader. Finally, as stated above, besides some vague abandonment issues Taya has, there really isn't any sensitive subject matter in this novel, making it a safe choice compared to many of my other reviews thus far. I believe it could work for any grade level, but would perhaps be too easy for a strong grade 11 or 12 reader.
Final Thought: Ms. CAN Lit is meant to spread awareness about Canadian Literature, but it is extra gratifying when I can raise the profile of a local, relatively unknown author like M.J. Moores. On my copy of Time's Tempest she wrote "May the fates be kind to you on your journey toward the future." Now I wish her the same as hopefully some of you will pick up her work. Check her out at: https://mjmoores.com/
📚 Ms. CAN Lit
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