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As an African tightrope dancer in Victorian London, Iris is used to being strange. She is certainly an unusual sight for leering British audiences always eager for the spectacle of colonial curiosity. But Iris also has a secret that even "strange" doesn't capture...
She cannot die.
Haunted by her unnatural power and with no memories of her past, Iris is obsessed with discovering who she is. But that mission gets more complicated when she meets the dark and alluring Adam Temple, a member of a mysterious order called the Enlightenment Committee. Adam seems to know much more about her than he lets on, and he shares with her a terrifying revelation: the world is ending, and the Committee will decide who lives...and who doesn't.
To help them choose a leader for the upcoming apocalypse, the Committee is holding the Tournament of Freaks, a macabre competition made up of vicious fighters with fantastical abilities. Adam wants Iris to be his champion, and in return he promises her the one thing she wants most: the truth about who she really is.
If Iris wants to learn about her shadowy past, she has no choice but to fight. But the further she gets in the grisly tournament, the more she begins to remember—and the more she wonders if the truth is something best left forgotten.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
September 7, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781797134253
- File size: 497763 KB
- Duration: 17:17:00
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 27, 2021
In a shifting third-person perspective, Raughley (the Effigies series) crafts an alternate Victorian London in which Iris, “a tightrope-dancing African,” dazzles crowds with acrobatic feats as part of the Coolie Company circus. However, Iris is concealing a staggering secret: though seemingly “a girl of seventeen,” she does not age and cannot die. Having arrived on the circus proprietor’s doorstep with amnesia a decade ago, her mission to uncover her past gains greater urgency when she encounters sapphire-eyed, white 21-year-old Adam Temple. A member of the secret Enlightenment Committee, Adam reveals that the world is ending—and that the committee will decide the leader of the upcoming apocalypse through the Tournament of Freaks, a competition in which champions with supernatural abilities fight to the death. Iris agrees to be one such warrior, in exchange for Adam’s help in uncovering her identity. Yet as she becomes enmeshed in the tournament, she wonders at its price. Though a quick pace stymies full immersion, the fantastical premise supports a multilayered plot and vibrant characters. Meanwhile, themes of racial abuse, violence, and rebirth, paired with a wealth of romantic options, add further complexity to this series starter. Ages 12–up. Agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary. -
Narrator Ione Butler is the perfect match for this Victorian-era tale of novelty, exhibitionism, and deadly competition. Iris, an African tightrope performer in a circus, has little memory of her past. She also has a magical ability: She cannot die. Drawn into a secret society by a man who promises her all the answers, Iris agrees to become his champion. But will she end up with more hard truths than she bargained for? Butler's accent captures the upper-class members of London's elite, beautifully enhancing the setting and grounding listeners in the time period. The story features a wildly entertaining cast of characters, and Butler brings each of them to life with loads of personality and animation. N.H. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
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