Kallen Samuels's Blog
December 30, 2022
November 18, 2022
booklife by Publishers Weekly - Editor's Pick
https://booklife.com/projectid/87d5a1...Leviticus
Samuels’ ambitious and exciting debut follows Leviticus Radix, a promising student at the Denmount Court of Learning—a school in the alternate timeline that this story takes place—specializing in pattern recognition, as two competing organizations attempt to recruit him. The Servators, a group following “the Maker’s Way” that believes in a prophesied coming flood, attempt to rescue Leviticus from recruitment by the Breachers, a group that seeks to cause chaos and suffering and to drive humanity away from “the Maker’s Way.” Simultaneously, we follow Nico and Kayla, people working on behalf of the Servators to hold the Breachers at bay, and Selica and Kade, slaves for the Breachers. The reader is left on the edge of their seat as they watch conflicts unfold between the Servators and the Breachers.
All of the characters are well fleshed out, fascinating to learn more about, and delightful to follow, from leads like Leviticus to adversaries like Decar Tosh, every character feels vividly realized, with unique personalities and narrative-driving backstories, their motivations driving this tale and rooting it in feeling. We see a sincere portrayal of Leviticus as a chosen one, a trope so often overused in sci-fi and fantasy but that here, buoyed by Samuels’s thoughtful characterization, feels fresh and engrossing.
That commitment to character, though, at times impedes narrative momentum, though readers who prefer to get to know a cast deeply will already be invested in the fates of Leviticus and co. even before things speed up around the story’s midpoint. From there, the action is plentiful. Whether following Leviticus as he practices his pattern recognition skills, Nico as he investigates clues relating to a message left by his father, Kayla as she attempts to find redemption after a fatal mistake, or Kade and Selica as they desperately try to find an escape from the Breachers, the stakes are consistently high, the cast compelling, and the story electrifying.
Takeaway: Character-rich and action-packed, this sci-fi adventure smartly balances prophecies, tech, and conflict.
Great for fans of: Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War.
Samuels’ ambitious and exciting debut follows Leviticus Radix, a promising student at the Denmount Court of Learning—a school in the alternate timeline that this story takes place—specializing in pattern recognition, as two competing organizations attempt to recruit him. The Servators, a group following “the Maker’s Way” that believes in a prophesied coming flood, attempt to rescue Leviticus from recruitment by the Breachers, a group that seeks to cause chaos and suffering and to drive humanity away from “the Maker’s Way.” Simultaneously, we follow Nico and Kayla, people working on behalf of the Servators to hold the Breachers at bay, and Selica and Kade, slaves for the Breachers. The reader is left on the edge of their seat as they watch conflicts unfold between the Servators and the Breachers.
All of the characters are well fleshed out, fascinating to learn more about, and delightful to follow, from leads like Leviticus to adversaries like Decar Tosh, every character feels vividly realized, with unique personalities and narrative-driving backstories, their motivations driving this tale and rooting it in feeling. We see a sincere portrayal of Leviticus as a chosen one, a trope so often overused in sci-fi and fantasy but that here, buoyed by Samuels’s thoughtful characterization, feels fresh and engrossing.
That commitment to character, though, at times impedes narrative momentum, though readers who prefer to get to know a cast deeply will already be invested in the fates of Leviticus and co. even before things speed up around the story’s midpoint. From there, the action is plentiful. Whether following Leviticus as he practices his pattern recognition skills, Nico as he investigates clues relating to a message left by his father, Kayla as she attempts to find redemption after a fatal mistake, or Kade and Selica as they desperately try to find an escape from the Breachers, the stakes are consistently high, the cast compelling, and the story electrifying.
Takeaway: Character-rich and action-packed, this sci-fi adventure smartly balances prophecies, tech, and conflict.
Great for fans of: Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War.
