FREEDOM'S PRISONERS by Katrina Mountfort

5 out of 5 stars

Part 3: SciFi trilogy

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

Rather than explain what this book is about, I suggest you read my review of part one, Future Perfect, which is HERE, and explains all about the world Katrina Mountfort has created.  In short, though, it's a SciFi trilogy set in the UK (now known as State Eleven), starting in the year 2181, after the planet as we knew it was devastated by a virus. I realised after I'd read the first part that it's YA, but it's one of those YA series that doesn't seem to be particularly of that genre, and some of the main characters are much older, too, so don't let that put you off if you're over 18! 

One of the things I really appreciated about this book is the author's clever assessment of what technology would be like nearly 200 years from now, having read other books set in the future in which the world building has been less convincing.  In this third part of the trilogy we find out what life is like in France, where the new post-apocalyptic society is working out, unlike in State Eleven where it is cruelly divided into Outsiders and the citizens of the Citidomes, where life is regulated and many limitations are in place.  It was really fun to read, especially as 18 year old Joy discovers so much of which she knew nothing; the old and new worlds have merged so well.

Freedom's Prisoners is an adventure, an exciting and frightening one much of the time, and quite a page-turner.  The characterisation is great; it's told from the points of view of mother Cathy, who escaped from the Citidome when she was pregnant with Joy; of her daughter Suna who has lived in the Citidome all her life, and of Joy, who has only known the rough and ready, precarious but very real life on the 'outside'.

This is a terrific trilogy, not just as a story, but also because it tells alot about human nature, and about the possible (and worrying) development of some of our race's less likeable traits.  Very clever and well thought out, I'd recommend it to anyone who likes these sort of books, and to those who think they don't, too! 

There is a link to my review the second part, Forbidden Alliance, on the same page as my review of Future Perfect, above.