I knew nothing of author Becky Allen before this, and she seems to have won no accolades for this work, but this is a really solid fantasy novel. And I don't normally even like desert settings.
It's not so much that the world is a desert, but it's turning into one. Water is becoming more and more scarce on a world with three caste systems -- the Highest, the Closest, and the Twill. The Highest control the water, the Closest live like slaves under their control, and the Twill -- I'm over halfway through the book, and I know almost nothing about the Twill; none live in the remote area the story takes place in, so they are only talked about in passing. I have my suspicions about that, but let's say for now that the Twill exist in the story so that it's not just a dichotomy of haves and have-nots, which might have made the real world analogies too obvious. More on that in a bit.
This is a fantasy world with magic, but up until now magic use was just in the past. There were enormously powerful magic-users in the past who tapped ambient energy around them to bury armies and what not, but they're all gone. The Highest pretend to have magical powers, but they really don't anymore. The first magic-user we encounter in this novel is Jae, a Closest slave on a remote ...well, plantation, let's say (there are some nods to how most of the Closest are forced to work the fields for the Highest, but it's only the household slaves that we get to know). She unlocks magic that was hidden away by one of her ancestors and uses it to get some immediate payback against her oppressors. The book jacket text really plays this up, making it sound like Jae is going to go on a Kill Bill-style revenge spree next, but that's not really what this book is about.
There were no magic users, but there is a big magical problem at the core of this book --- all of the Closest everywhere have lived their whole lives under a magical curse; it compels them to do whatever they are told to do. It's a horrific situation and the book does not shy away from the many ways it can be exploited. There are hints from the start that Jae has been raped before, but thankfully we are 100 pages in and invested in her story before we have to deal with this issue.
The book tackles lots of real world social issues. The most obvious one is the water shortage. Water is itself a stand-in for wealth, highlighting wealth inequality and how the rich keep resources from the poor to hold power over them. There are social ills such as slavery and caste systems -- presented interchangeably here -- and the magical curse itself sort of resembles the socioeconomic pressures that hold people down today. Magic is a form of empowerment that liberates our female lead and, if the book wasn't published in 2016, I could have sworn this book was about the Me Too movement too.
It may not be without flaws. Lord Elan, the king's son, is a likeable character and the catalyst for change at the plantation when he comes to inspect. His slow awakening to empathy for the Closest is a highlight of the book. But I have a sneaky suspicion that I am being set up for a romance between Jae and Elan that seems completely unnecessary. And the timeline for the setting is sometimes confusing. Sometimes we are told that the magic-users existed many generations ago, but at other times it seems like all this change took place just two generations ago.
Like I said, these might not even turn out to be flaws; maybe everything will be explained to me in the second half (even the Twill!). Though I know there is a sequel book that finishes the story, so even when I'm done with this one, it looks like I'll have to read another!
(Incidentally, I found the author's website before writing this and I think -- http://www.beckyallenbooks.com/ -- is a great example of how authors can make themselves accessible to fans.)
[Update: After finishing the book, I'm pleased to say that Elan's presence winds up making perfect sense for the story, and he was not shoehorned in for romance.]
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