Book Review - "The Scourge" by A. G. Henley





Book Overview

Seventeen-year-old Groundling, Fennel, is Sightless. She's never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings' tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be.

And she's always known this day would come—the day she faces the Scourge alone.

The Sightless, like Fenn, are mysteriously protected from the Scourge, the gruesome creatures roaming the forests, reeking of festering flesh and consuming anything—and anyone—living. A Sightless Groundling must brave the Scourge and bring fresh water to the people of the forest. Today, that task becomes Fenn's.

Fenn will have a Lofty Keeper, Peree, as her companion. Everyone knows the Lofties wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an arrow through the back of an unsuspecting Groundling like Fenn, but Peree seems different. A boy with warm, rough hands who smells like summer, he is surprisingly kind and thoughtful. Although Fenn knows his people are treacherous, she finds herself wanting to trust him.

As their forest community teeters on the brink of war, Fenn and Peree must learn to work together to survive the Scourge and ensure their people’s survival. But when Fenn uncovers a secret that shatters her truths, she’s forced to decide who and what to protect—her people, her growing love for Peree, or the elusive dream of lasting peace in the forest.


My Take

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I met the author at UtopYA2015 and after hearing a little about it, decided she had peaked my interest enough to purchase a copy. I'm so glad I did! AG Henley has taken zombies and a dystopian society to new heights with this book.

Fennel is a groundling without sight. In her society, only the sightless are protected from the Scourge, zombie-like people who threaten their existence. Each sightless groundling, when it becomes time for them to gather water when the Scourge comes, is paired with a lofty, one of the humans who live among the tree tops. The lofties also depend on the groundling sightless for water when the Scourge come around.

But when the simple task of gathering water goes wrong, Fennel and her lofty Peree find themselves fighting for their lives. Their adventure takes off as they find out that things are not always what they appear to be and everything they once new could be shattered in an instant.

I found myself thinking throughout my day "What's going to happen next?" I love a book that keeps me guessing and this one did! It had just the right amount of romance, adventure, and shocks/surprises that I couldn't wait to find out where we were going. As a reader, this provides one of the best possible ways to keep me engaged and I was certainly coming back for more!

I give this book:



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THE SCOURGE is the first novel in the Brilliant Darkness series. There are three novels and two novellas in the series.

Recommended series reading order:
THE SCOURGE
THE KEEPER: A BRILLIANT DARKNESS STORY  (Amazon Link)
THE DEFIANCE  (Amazon Link)
THE GATHERER: A BRILLIANT DARKNESS STORY  (Amazon Link)
THE FIRE SISTERS (coming September 2015)

About the Author


A.G. Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first book in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.

A.G. is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they've had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she's inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.


Connect with the Author

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