Sip

Carr’s jumbled and unsatisfying first novel depicts a dystopian future in which much of the dwindling U.S. population is addicted to consuming the shadows cast by natural light. Mira, a young woman with poorly defined supernatural powers, spends much of her time caring for her shadow-addicted mother. Years before, those seeking to escape the addicts and the hardscrabble life outside gathered in artificially lit domes, but recently, for nebulous reasons, the “domers” have been establishing outposts. Bale, a soldier banished from one of these outposts, joins Mira and her addicted friend Murk as they cross the desolate landscape in hopes of hunting down a particular shadow thief before the impending return of Halley’s Comet, which will cast particularly potent shadows. The parameters of the addiction and its variations are frustratingly opaque, and the passages addressing the addiction’s history and the way it shaped the world just raise further questions. Numerous side characters and events add complexity without clarity. Interesting ideas form the core of the novel, but their development leaves much to be desired. (Sept.)