The Silence That Binds

Jessup’s latest dark fantasy (after Close Your Eyes) conjures a grim but hazily drawn world. Orphaned Seers Mazi and Talia navigate a cursed land where a malevolent fog consumes and warps all it comes across in their search for their missing leader and adoptive mother, Naomi. They can beat back the fog through the use of rare, precious ghost hearts, but when an old friend betrays them, their uphill battle grows even steeper. Lens and his brother were saved by the Seers years ago, but desperation has caused Lens to turn against his benefactors in order to prolong his brother’s life. Now at odds, Mazi and Talia, and Lens and his brother, must brave an infected city to save their loved ones—but they may be consumed in the process. Jessup’s worldbuilding is disappointingly vague, shrouding a promising premise in nebulous prose. The dialogue, meanwhile, is stiff and sometimes awkward, detracting from the sorrow and horror of the characters’ circumstances. Readers excited by the unique magic system will be disappointed by the murky execution.[em] (Apr.) [/em]