Title: Torchfire
Author: Moira Buffini
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 5/5
The second gorgeous instalment in Moira Buffini’s trilogy, which began with Songlight (reviewed here).
The world set up in the first book features a form of telepathy called songlight, which can be used to find other telepaths, or ‘Torches’, and communicate in images and words. As in the first book, Ayland and Brightland are at war. One values songlight, and gives their Torches important places in society, while the other fears their ability to manipulate the minds of others, and routinely sends them to be lobotomised and used as mindless servants.
In Torchfire, the three strong and engaging women at the centre of the first book are joined by Petra, a girl with strong songlight from Sealand, a previously insular society with advanced technology. Petra is traveling with her parents on an airship, exploring the world after the Great Extinction. Her father is a cartographer, and her mother is a scientist, both keen to see Petra matched with Charlus, the son of the airship captain – something Petra is determined to avoid.
When the airship’s exploration reveals unexpected evidence of songlight on the continent below, the crew is drawn into the war, and the complex political intrigues set up in the first book. Their rescue of two fugitives during a mission to the ground brings all the story threads together.
Petra’s story is told alongside the continuing stories of Lark, Nightingale, and Swan, and of Petra’s brother Piper, Kingfisher, and other characters on both sides of the conflict. As their various stories converge, songlight becomes essential to their survival. The second half of the book dials up the political intrigue and physical peril, brings heart-breaking betrayals, and puts familiar characters in impossible and emotionally devastating situations.
I couldn’t stop turning the pages, and I can’t wait for the final book!
Torchfire will be published on August 28th, is available now for pre-order. Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read Torchfire? What did you think of the setting and the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, please!
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