Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer is a suspenseful dystopian novel that plays with themes of extreme science, extreme government control, and the effects of extreme religion. The novel follows the story of Caitlyn, a hybrid human born with a deformity that sets her apart from everyone else. She's on the run from her old life, and from the authorities who want to control the powers that her genes hold.
The novel is middlingly suspenseful, but won't keep you up at night. "Flight of Shadows" is very enjoyable, though not always novel. As a one who greatly enjoys the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and especially dystopian novels, I found Flight of Shadows a bit predictable at points. There were a few twists, though, that really kept the plot going. Most of the characters are well formed, though they all fall into very typical categories (conflicted hero, unpredictable trickster support character, etc). My favorite character was the classic intelligent policeman who is on the opposite side from the hero, but probably will not stay there.
I really only had two problems with this novel: First, "Flight of Shadows" is actually a sequel to a previous book by Brouwer, "Broken Angel," which I have not read. The author did try to explain the previous connections between the characters, but not knowing the whole back-story made "Flight of Shadows" a little harder to read. Secondly, "Flight of Shadows" follows about four story-lines within the overall story. There are a lot of characters, and the book switches between story-lines almost every chapter. If you're not good at keeping track of characters, you might have some problems. Again, I would highly suggest reading "Broken Angel" first, as the characters would have more depth and hopefully would be less confusing.
If you've never read a dystopian novel, try this one out. If you don't know what a dystopian novel is, think "The Giver" by Lois Lowry, "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, "Uglies" by Scott Westerfield, "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley or "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell. A dystopia is a future society that has regressed in some way from the present one. "Flight of Shadows" will introduce you (or reintroduce you, if you read one of these books in high school) to the dystopian genre. Overall, "Flight of Shadows" is a worthwhile, if not spectacular, read; one that might even make you think a little bit about where the future is going.
*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review* I really do believe in what I wrote here though :) In simple terms: I enjoyed the book, would recommend it, but would not re-read it.
