A review by ameyawarde
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

5.0

I'm not usually interested in murder mysteries, but I picked this up on a whim at the library in the sci-fi section and i'm glad I did. It's a dystopian/utopian world with a lot of interesting features. Of course the idea of "earning" the right to have children is both offensive and intriguing in different ways, but I like seeing how it plays out in this world. Especially contrasted with the "wild" folks who live in the old city's ruins and are free from such rules, but really do struggle to keep their kids alive. I think there's a whole lot of space to go into both sides of this idea deeper in this series, and I'm hoping Vaughn will in subsequent books. I also am an amateur historian of 19th century utopianism and so I really love the concept of the households in this world (they are small communal groups, not nuclear families) and am hoping to see those more fleshed out in upcoming books as well!

This was an enjoyable and interesting summer read, very well written and quick to read!