Bloodline Rising
I recently heard a panel of speakers struggle to define what made a book fit into the “young adult” genre. “Better writing,” they finally hit upon. Bloodline Rising seems a perfect example of why they came to that conclusion. Forget about sleeping if you begin this book at bedtime. Magical and vivid storytelling quickly transports any reader into the 7th century, feeling the triumphs and terrors of the young protagonist, Cai, whose wits and uncanny stealth are his only weapons.
Cai, called “the ghost,” is master of the guild of young pickpockets and thieves in treacherous, civilized, Christian Constantinople. Brutally taken from his home, he discovers the truth about his feelings for his father, a warrior fighting the Muslim Arabs and now denounced as a traitor. Cai plans revenge on those who betrayed his family back in Constantinople, but first he must survive Britain, the barbaric homeland that his parents abandoned.
Bloodline Rising is a jewel of a book that reminded me why I love to read. It’s comparable to a fast-moving The Lord of the Rings, or The Once and Future King – also thrilling young adult books, come to think of it. All deserve to be read and reread.
