Skin Hunger
Kathleen Duey
Sadima is born with gifts, despite the presence of a false Magician who kills her mother and steals what things of value the family has. Brought up by her strict father and loving brother, her mind gifts with animals are of use – but also dangerous. Generations later, Hahp is being trained as a true Magician in the most brutal way possible. Survival is key, nothing else matters.
The interlocking character storylines at first seem like they have nothing in common. For the majority of the novel, you wonder why the author has even paired the two together, but eventually it becomes clearer and this is very apparent by the second book. The blurb on the novel put me off reading it for a long time – but not long enough with no release date of the final novel available!
The writing technique here of swapping between the vastly different perspectives of each character works beautifully. I would get caught up in one character, only to have the perspective change. No sooner had I gotten attached again, it swapped back!
I could see the dripping corridors, the bright marketplace, and perhaps even the bonds binding Franklin and Somiss irrevocably together. I wanted more, more more and couldn’t put the novel down.
Warning! Despite my glowing review, I would hold off on reading this novel. This is the first novel in a trilogy and has been around for more than 10 years. Despite this, the third novel in the trilogy has not been published, and the publishing company and Duey’s editor could not give me a review date. By all means, if you see a copy somewhere, buy it, but don’t start reading it!
