- ASIN: B0BYT73W8N
- Publisher: Waterman Books (21 April 2023)
- Language: English
- Print length: 472 pages
- Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction Adventure
The BookViral Review:
Hot on the heels of book 1 in the Liberty Trilogy, ‘Where Liberty Lies does not disappoint, with Nathaniel. M. Wrey keeping his readers on their toes as Finbarl and Aminatra negotiate life outside Athenia.
As we delve further into their relationship, the family unit grows, first with the addition of a wild and impulsive young female ‘Ferral’, and then with two more surprising additions. Despite the unusual heritage of his characters, Wrey floods them with familiar and endearing emotions; Aminatra in particular blossoms in this second book, displaying in wisdom and courage as she fights to regroup her shattered family unit, whilst a host of exhilarating, richly constructed adversaries create a powerful foil to her genuine decency.
The families enthralling journey to a better land is fraught with endangerment and threat, as their new reality proves as shaky and unstable as the last, hinting at an inbuilt fatalism for precariously balanced civilization. Wrey does not sugarcoat his writing-providing plenty of tragedy and stomach-turning detail as he draws his reader beyond his protagonists with intrigue, suspense and huge epic scenes of battle, which bring scorching heat and savagery leaping from the pages.
As with all good offerings of the fantasy genre, Wrey interweaves identifiable elements of the modern day into his dystopian tale, using their familiarity to cleverly question all we live for and value, and to highlight the fragility of societal beliefs we all cling to. His inventiveness reaches far beyond the norm as cultures haughtily rise, only to crash and burn. However, despite the depth and width of book 2, there is also a great simplicity in his plot and its trajectory, with a firm theme running throughout, as Wrey expertly weaves elements of the past, present and future into this powerfully constructed novel.
A keenly awaited and worthy addition to the Liberty Trilogy, ‘Where Liberty Lies’ is another 5-star must-read.