Title: The Undying Tower
Author: Melissa Welliver
Publication date: 09 September, 2021
Age group: Young Adult
Genres: SSF, Dystopian
Synopsis:
What if living forever was a death sentence?
Decades after the discovery that a small percentage of the population has stopped ageing, the
Avalonia Zone is in crisis. From overpopulation to food shortages, the ‘Undying’ have been blamed for
the state’s problems, banished to the fringes of society, and punished for every minor infraction.
When sixteen-year-old Sadie takes the fall for an attack by a rebel group, The Alchemists, she
suddenly finds herself wrenched away from her quiet life and from her ailing father.
Armed with little help and even less knowledge, Sadie is thrust into a cold and cryptic ‘correctional
facility’ – The Tower. Here she’ll have to rethink everything she’s been told about the Undying
population in an attempt to save the life she knows, protect a group of unlikely friends, and give voice to the voiceless in a society on the brink of catastrophic upheaval.
My Review:
The other day, I received a confidential file from James Benjamin Lancaster. He’s compiled a set of documents as evidence, exposing the inhumane treatment of a group called the Undying in the Avalonia Zone (AZ).
The file contains The AZ Constitution (modern day UK), an awareness poster guiding citizens on how to identify & report an Undying (U), a medical report of an U subject at their State Medical Facility # 732: The Tower and finally a polaroid of an Ouroboros graffiti found near the site of a terrorist attack. Here’s a copy of my report:
Report of The Undying Tower by Melissa Welliver
Name: The Urban Reader
Role: Book Reviewer
Report: ☑️Log ◻️Study ◻️ Incident
It is the first book of this dystopian trilogy. It’s set in a future dystopian world which followed after a religious war & countries nuking major cities. Our subject Sadie Abbott is a 16 year old who manages to find herself in the middle of an attack pulled by a rebel group called The Alchemist. She’s hurt in the attack which is when the medical staff come to know that Sadie is not a Natural, she’s an Undying – someone whose cells replicate faster than normal humans and hence doesn’t die (until killed ofc). How will she explain herself to the authorities now?
Findings: The story has a basic dystopian premise but is very well told, the pacing is perfect from the start & one will not find themselves to be bored at any point. It takes from classics such as 1984 & Animal Farm & creates an entirely new world with an interesting concept to follow. The author accomplishes to accomodate political views from both sides, we all can learn so much from it while trying to have a conversation amongst ourselves in today’s world. Never being preachy, she also clearly shows what it means to stand up for what you believe in & protecting those who are most affected by an unequal social construct.
Actions: MUST read the next book in the trilogy to quench my thirst from that well placed cliffhanger.
Escalate: ☑️ Yes, recommend that everyone reads this book. ◻️ No
I hereby confirm that the information contained herein is true & to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Thank you @agorabooksldn for the review copy!
Tour Schedule:
About the Author:
Melissa Welliver writes speculative fiction about how the End Of The World is never really the end of
the world. After studying MA Creative Writing under Jeanette Winterson at the University of
Manchester, she went on to complete Curtis Brown Creative’s Writing for Children course. Her work
has listed in Bath Novel Award, Mslexia, the Hachette Children’s Novel Award, and the Wells Book for
Children Competition. She has been published in two short story collections and is an avid member of
the Twitter writing community. Born in Stockport, she now lives in the High Peak with an assortment
of doggy friends. The Undying Tower is her first novel.
