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Summary
Summary
In this sequel to Killer of Enemies , Lozen and her family, on the run from the tyrants who once held them hostage, embark on a journey along a perilous trail once followed by her ancestors, where they meet friends and foes alike.
In the sequel to the award-winning Killer of Enemies , Apache teen Lozen and her family are looking for a place of refuge from the despotic Ones who once held them captive and forced Lozen to hunt genetically engineered monsters.
Lozen and her allies travel in search of a valley where she and her family once found refuge. But life is never easy in this post-apocalyptic world. When they finally reach the valley, they discover an unpleasant surprise awaiting them-and a merciless hunter following close behind.
Hally, their enigmatic Bigfoot friend, points them to another destination-a possible refuge. But can Lozen trust Hally? Relying on her wits and the growing powers that warn her when enemies are near, Lozen fights internal sickness to lead her band of refugees to freedom and safety. Alongside family, new friends, and Hussein, the handsome young man whose life she saved, Lozen forges a path through a barren land where new recombinant monsters lurk and the secrets of this new world will reveal themselves to her ... whether she wants them to or not.
Author Notes
Joseph Bruchac, a citizen of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, is the author of more than 100 books for children and teens, including multiple picture books published by Lee & Low Books, and the young adult Killer of Enemies trilogy, which received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews . A Rockefeller Fellow and an NEA Poetry Writing Fellow, Bruchac has received numerous recognitions and awards over his long-standing career. In addition to writing, Bruchac is an editor at Greenfield Review Press, a literary publishing house he co-founded with his wife. He lives in Greenfield Center, New York. To find out more about him, visit josephbruchac.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-This second installment in this trilogy continues the series' unique blend of Native American mythology, sci-fi, dystopia, and steampunk. Lozen, her family, and Huessien safely escaped from Haven, and the one Overlord intent on their destruction is now dead. The remaining Overlords have sent Four Deaths, an assassin who cannot be killed, after them. Lozen pushes her family forward and is soon joined by Guy, Luz, the Dreamer, and Lorelei. Her powers are growing, and she can now communicate telepathically with more people and creatures, and members of her group begin to share her abilities. However, she becomes overwhelmed by a "blackness" that comes from all her killing, and causes her to doubt herself. Hopes of finding refuge in her old home dashed, Lozen moves her family ahead on the advice of Big Foot and Coyote. Eventually, they encounter members of other tribes, who have gemod hoses, a safe place, and a healer to help Lozen remove the darkness. The heroine has to face Four Deaths on her own. The assassin's pursuit of the team is told from his point of view, providing a strong counterpoint to Lozen's take. Filled with tense moments of fending off creatures and battling inner demons, the dynamic story is filled with energy and emotion, but the writing feels rushed. Lozen's need for a healing ceremony will resonate with teens who have dealt with depression or trauma. VERDICT For fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer's "Life as We Knew It" series (HMH); purchase where the previous title is popular.-Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Library, WA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Having escaped from the post-apocalyptic prisonlike Haven in Killer of Enemies (rev. 1/14), battle-hardened Lozen leads her band of refugees through the desert toward Valley Where First Light Paints the Cliffs, the place where Lozens family lived before their capture. They face many dangers: not only is the desert filled with genetically modified monsters created in the time before the Silver Cloud wiped out all electronics on Earth, but the elite Ones who rule Haven are out to punish and kill their unwilling subjects, sending a Lakota near-immortal assassin named Luther Little Wound to hunt Lozen down. Nor is Lozen at peak fighting strengthher spirit is afflicted with something her Apache-Chiricahua ancestors called Enemy Sickness, or post-traumatic stress. Although the narrative objective in this sequel is slightly more diffuse than that of its razor-sharp predecessor, the sardonic protagonist is as magnetic, the peril is as intense, and the invention is as fresh as ever as Bruchac develops his dystopian world in new and intriguing directions. Native American legends, including those about irascible trickster Coyote, enrich the tale while familiarizing readers with contexts such as the circumstances under which traditional tales are told and their continued resilience in the face of cultural erasure. An authors note adds even more detail. Bruchacs exhilarating story leaves him with plenty of momentum heading into the projected final book of the trilogy. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In Volume 2 of this post-apocalyptic series, Lozen leads survivors of the insurrection against Haven's technically augmented human rulers through gemod-infested wilderness to the hidden valley her Apache family once called homeit doesn't go as planned.As Lozen's powers to read the now-unwired world around her have grown, so have the responsibilities and stresses of leadership. Her companions try to protect her, but it's a lonely journey. Even as she senses the resourceful, implacable enemy pursuing them and closing in, her past acts and memories of those she dispatchedanimal, genetically modified, and human alikedistract and weaken Lozen. Her Chiricahua heritage and mother's guidance help Lozen resist, yet her sickness grows. To unravel and heal her PTSD requires confronting the toll that killing takes on warriors, however noble their motives or those of the leaders who've ordered it. Death-dealing has given her enemy superpower strength. Lozen's own powerful allies include Coyote (though tricksters bear watching) and a small Lakota group with sentient gemod horses. Superheroes rarely obsess over the beingsevil or merely dispensablethey encounter and dispatch before moving on to the next challenge. Bruchac's focus on these consequences adds welcome emotional depth to Lozen and to the story itself, while her search for healing and wholeness highlights the strengths of a cultural heritage that is up to the challenge. This second act offering deeper characterization and resonant themes enriches an already compelling tale. (Post-apocalyptic fantasy. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In the sequel to Killer of Enemies (2013), Lozen, an Apache teen, continues to lead her family through the post-electronic-age Southwest, fighting genetically modified monsters, struggling with her sometimes fuzzy mind-reading abilities, and coming closer to understanding her feelings about Hussein. While a slower pace and greater emphasis on development in the second of a trilogy is often lamented, this shows how it's done right. Battle scenes are still vibrant with ricocheting action, but between the action, a dreamlike, lore-filled backdrop emerges that informs the present day and increases both the emotional heft and the stakes of the action. Even more notable is that in this dystopian near future, the characters in this diverse cast haven't lost their ties to their cultures of origin. Instead they are infused with them, and use them to the benefit of the group, from Lozen's Native American heritage, to a Scotsman's, to Arabic Hussein's. A promised third installment is highly anticipated.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2015 Booklist