"Set on a planet that has fully definitive, never-changing zones of day and night, with ensuing extreme climates of endless, frigid darkness and blinding, relentless light, humankind has somehow continued apace -- though the perils outside the built cities are rife with danger as much as the streets below.
But in a world where time means only what the ruling government proclaims, and the levels of light available are artificially imposed to great consequence, lost souls and disappeared bodies are shadow-bound and savage, and as common as grains of sand. And one such pariah, sacrificed to the night, but borne up by time and a mysterious bond with an enigmatic beast, will rise to take on the entire planet--before it can crumble beneath the weight of human existence."
This is the summary from Goodreads, which I felt would be a much better summary than one I could come up with on my own. This is a complex story with shifting perspectives, where there's an intricate balance between the storylines and some of the characters. The style of the writing reminded me a little of China Mieville, where you drop into a story where nothing is explained and you just figure it out as you go along. I didn't mind that, but it took me a bit to adjust to it. I kept feeling like I was missing details, only to realize that none had been given --- so if you start out with that mindset, it's a little easier.
I really liked this book and found it interesting and thought-provoking. I found the characters compelling, even when I didn't necessarily like or understand them, and I really liked how Anders creates this planet and then uses that to drive a lot of the culture and how the different cities' people interact with each other.
The catalog copy for this book reads, "January is a dying planet—divided between a permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Humanity clings to life, spread across two archaic cities built in the sliver of habitable dusk. And living inside the cities, one flush with anarchy and the other buckling under the stricture of the ruling body, is increasingly just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside." The idea that people are able to have any existence at all on this planet is amazing --- and it's clear that resources are stretched thin. It's an imaginative way to drive a story, and I found Anders' writing to be fluid and compelling. I haven't read any of the author's other books, but I'm curious to pick up another now after reading this one.
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