Dustland

Justice and Her Brothers #2

by Virginia Hamilton

Bound together by their extrasensory powers, Thomas, Dorian, Justice, and Levi journey to a future land where three-legged, humanlike creatures desperately seek water and a way out of their barren world. Reprint.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

214 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Virginia Esther Hamilton was the author of forty-one works of fiction and nonfiction. She was the first Black writer awarded the Newbery Medal and the first children's writer to be named a MacArthur Fellow (the "Genius" grant). She also received the National Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal.

Reviews

[Sean]

Unlike "Justice and Her Brothers," this sequel is neither comprehensible nor good per se, but it's certainly wild (*really* wild for a kid's book of that time) and interesting.

There's some resonance with Octavia Butler's (vastly superior) books of the same time period--Butler's "Patternmaster" books come to mind, both in its tonal similarities and because of the incestuous mind control.

It's frustrating this series isn't at least a footnote in the lists of early speculative fiction by writers of color, and especially Black sci fi authors.

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only excuse I have for actually liking this when I first read it was that I was a child and it was probably the first sci-fi-ish type of book (series) that I've ever read. This second book in the series, along with the last one, is simply weird. There is no plot that I can discern and really no reason to read this again. Basically, the four children (Justice, Thomas, Levi, and Dorian) link together to form some kind of psychic interstellar, intertime Star Trek-y group called The Unit. They have to become The Unit in order to get thru space/time (?) otherwise the t-beings (or whatever name they had) would get them. So they land on Dustland, which is just as it sounds, a land full of dust. Apparently it is Earth's future? Anyway, they kind of wander around, Thomas is pissed because he doesn't like to be controlled by Justice, who turns into (or is infested with?) a being called The Watcher who has all this energy, and he runs off and they all encounter all sorts of weird creatures that may or may not speak American English circa 1980 but they are all telepaths. Funky! And that's the whole book...now, my review of The Gathering, the last book in this weirdo series.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the sequel to Justice and Her Brothers, and the second book in the Justice trilogy. It was something of a disappointment; it felt like it took the entire book for the action to start, and the whole thing struck me as too purposefully vague. I'm hoping the third book is more worthwhile, because there was a lot of interesting stuff here that just didn't get picked up. Definitely a disappointment from Hamilton, who's normally so excellent.

[Thistle & Verse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I haven't read the 1st book, I'm assuming that the mechanics of the units' powers and time travel were adequately explained there. The writing style felt a bit unpolished, which isn't an issue I've had with Virginia Hamilton before. I don't know if it was supposed to be dramatic, but in some parts, the sentences got choppy and vague in confusing ways. It's a very short book, which worked in its favor. The plot meanders, and the focus is on exploring Dustland, so I enjoyed the imaginativeness without being bothered that it felt aimless. The children's characterizations were a bit threadbare. I remembered Justice because she's the most central to the unit (even though I didn't get a bead on her personality until the end), and I forgot about Dorian. Thomas and Levi are the most memorable. Given all these criticisms, it might be baffling that I'd still give this book 4 stars. The descriptions of Dustland and Miacis carried this book for me. Even though I don't like Miacis, I wanted to see what she would do and what her deal was.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa.

This is such a fascinating series so far. Book 2 is so different from book 1, and I like the way the first sets up the second. I don't know what to call this: science fiction? Fantasy? Futurism? Dystopian? Whatever to call it, this is a deeply imagined world, with characters and creatures that truly stretch the ability to comprehend, in terms of language, consciousness, social dynamics, mind/body relationship, even just the basic physical environment. It's one of the strangest books I've ever read, but richly fascinating. I can't wait to finish the trilogy.

[Evan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and would recommend this to others because I would like to see people with a need for adventure and more.

[Stephen Antczak · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with the first book, it is difficult to figure out what's going on for a good bit of the story, but it is definitely interesting by the end.

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, but, what did I just read?
So, I read book 1 as a kid but couldn't find the rest of the trilogy. As an adult, through the magic of Amazon, I finally purchased them. But I feel like I'm 20 odd years too late to enjoy it. I did enjoy sci fi a bit as a kid, but not so much now.
The writing was very odd, the story vague and trippy, and it was very much a 2nd in a trilogy. Maybe the third will make it all make more sense for me.

[Lullaby · Rating 1 out of 5]

“If this is the future, you can have it buddy. There’s not a bloody thing here but dust”

“Yet he certainly knew not to trust nature to he thoughtful towards humans”