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A review by betwixt_the_pages
The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig
5.0
I received this novel in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to Francesca Haig for this opportunity!
---
When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes. We were perfect. They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodged the split between Alpha and Omega.
Nobody.
They were born together and they will die together.
One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.
The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.
The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they're free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.
Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.
The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they're not careful both will die in the struggle for power.
---
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: Well-written plot; action that never stops; intriguing dynamic and characters; solid world-building; clear-cut, understandable (though slightly sickening) motivations; intense emotional pull
For almost thirteen years, Cass and Zach have remained unsplit--a feat that is almost entirely unheard of in the new world after the blast. Just one set of twins in a world overrun with them, Cass and Zach's parents (and their town) have been watching for signs of their imminent split--both physically perfect, it is difficult to tell from the outside which of the twins is the Alpha...and which is to be cast aside.
Not long into their thirteenth year, Zach and Cass's father falls ill. His Aunt, the Omega of the pair, is summoned from a nearby refuge camp under the premise of making her better. It does not help; both twins die.
Not long after this, Zach's obsession with renouncing Cass and outing her as the Omega takes on a new vengeance. As secrets begin unraveling, Zach leads his sister into a trap, forcing her to admit to her "crime" (of being "damaged") and gets her sent away. As an Omega, Cass is seen as "poison," "a freak," "not worth the space she takes up"....but must, at the same time, be protected, because if one twin dies, so does the other.
As years pass, the Alphas crack down even further on their Omega twins, seeking a way to stunt them, to be rid of them without resorting to violent means. But there are whispers of bigger things at work; disappearances and strange, sudden deaths permeate the air. When Cass escapes her brother's clutches and unwittingly frees a boy from a strange sort of life-support, she thinks they are only running from certain imprisonment. She doesn't realize just how far the Alphas are willing to go to be free of the risk their "contaminated" twins leave them in...but she'll find out soon enough.
There are a lot of words that could be used to describe this novel, but I think it's summed up pretty well in just one: WOAH.
I received this in the mail yesterday afternoon and started reading last night before bed; in less than 24 hours, I've finished, and am blown away by what I've just read. I can't claim to know what I'd do under similar circumstances; I'm not even sure whether I'd be an Alpha or an Omega in this future world...but this book makes me hope that we never, as a species, have to find out.
The characters are well-written; Cass is a strong female lead despite her rank in life as an Omega (as a seer, she was born perfect, but this leads to segregation from BOTH sides instead of just one). I feel perhaps, overall, she doesn't quite step into herself as fully as I'd have liked her to; she holds awfully tight to a naivete I'm not sure she should have in such a harsh, cold world. Having been cast out as an Omega years before and then held captive by her Alpha brother, you'd think she'd have a few more reservations about holding onto her hopes so willfully. Kip, while bits and pieces of his life have been removed from him in the years of being Tanked, finds himself quickly on their journey and discovers a side of himself he might not otherwise have been allowed to.
I feel as if we maybe also don't get enough of the OTHER side. We hear a lot about the Alpha counterparts, but we don't much get to see or hear FROM them, and while we know there are Alphas helping the resistance or sticking close to their twins, I don't think we get enough motive behind Zach and the Confessor's actions to justify the ending of this book. I feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions percolating in my head, and I'm hoping that book two will help to clear some of the confusion up.
That being said, this was a quick and enjoyable read. Francesca Haig did a great job on the writing, taking care to describe the world and characters so readers get a sense of the story. There are some awesome, gut-clenching action scenes and some heart-breaking twists near the end that had me wanting to scream and throw the book across the room.
Overall, an action-packed, intensely-moving read! I'd recommend to any lovers of dystopians, science fiction/fantasy, and action/adventure. I will most definitely be waiting with keen eyes for book two in the future!
---
When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes. We were perfect. They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodged the split between Alpha and Omega.
Nobody.
They were born together and they will die together.
One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death.
The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts.
The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they're free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts.
Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose.
The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they're not careful both will die in the struggle for power.
---
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: Well-written plot; action that never stops; intriguing dynamic and characters; solid world-building; clear-cut, understandable (though slightly sickening) motivations; intense emotional pull
For almost thirteen years, Cass and Zach have remained unsplit--a feat that is almost entirely unheard of in the new world after the blast. Just one set of twins in a world overrun with them, Cass and Zach's parents (and their town) have been watching for signs of their imminent split--both physically perfect, it is difficult to tell from the outside which of the twins is the Alpha...and which is to be cast aside.
Not long into their thirteenth year, Zach and Cass's father falls ill. His Aunt, the Omega of the pair, is summoned from a nearby refuge camp under the premise of making her better. It does not help; both twins die.
Not long after this, Zach's obsession with renouncing Cass and outing her as the Omega takes on a new vengeance. As secrets begin unraveling, Zach leads his sister into a trap, forcing her to admit to her "crime" (of being "damaged") and gets her sent away. As an Omega, Cass is seen as "poison," "a freak," "not worth the space she takes up"....but must, at the same time, be protected, because if one twin dies, so does the other.
As years pass, the Alphas crack down even further on their Omega twins, seeking a way to stunt them, to be rid of them without resorting to violent means. But there are whispers of bigger things at work; disappearances and strange, sudden deaths permeate the air. When Cass escapes her brother's clutches and unwittingly frees a boy from a strange sort of life-support, she thinks they are only running from certain imprisonment. She doesn't realize just how far the Alphas are willing to go to be free of the risk their "contaminated" twins leave them in...but she'll find out soon enough.
There are a lot of words that could be used to describe this novel, but I think it's summed up pretty well in just one: WOAH.
I received this in the mail yesterday afternoon and started reading last night before bed; in less than 24 hours, I've finished, and am blown away by what I've just read. I can't claim to know what I'd do under similar circumstances; I'm not even sure whether I'd be an Alpha or an Omega in this future world...but this book makes me hope that we never, as a species, have to find out.
The characters are well-written; Cass is a strong female lead despite her rank in life as an Omega (as a seer, she was born perfect, but this leads to segregation from BOTH sides instead of just one). I feel perhaps, overall, she doesn't quite step into herself as fully as I'd have liked her to; she holds awfully tight to a naivete I'm not sure she should have in such a harsh, cold world. Having been cast out as an Omega years before and then held captive by her Alpha brother, you'd think she'd have a few more reservations about holding onto her hopes so willfully. Kip, while bits and pieces of his life have been removed from him in the years of being Tanked, finds himself quickly on their journey and discovers a side of himself he might not otherwise have been allowed to.
I feel as if we maybe also don't get enough of the OTHER side. We hear a lot about the Alpha counterparts, but we don't much get to see or hear FROM them, and while we know there are Alphas helping the resistance or sticking close to their twins, I don't think we get enough motive behind Zach and the Confessor's actions to justify the ending of this book. I feel like there are a lot of unanswered questions percolating in my head, and I'm hoping that book two will help to clear some of the confusion up.
That being said, this was a quick and enjoyable read. Francesca Haig did a great job on the writing, taking care to describe the world and characters so readers get a sense of the story. There are some awesome, gut-clenching action scenes and some heart-breaking twists near the end that had me wanting to scream and throw the book across the room.
Overall, an action-packed, intensely-moving read! I'd recommend to any lovers of dystopians, science fiction/fantasy, and action/adventure. I will most definitely be waiting with keen eyes for book two in the future!