SO.
I have recently become obsessed with a new fandom.
What fandom is this, you ask?
THE CHAOS GRID.
Okay, it is a VERY SMALL fandom. The book was only published last year.
BUT GUYS.
IT’S SO AWESOME.
Which is why today I’ll be sharing my review for The Chaos Grid AND sharing the world’s FIRST (as far as I’m aware of) Chaos Grid fanfic because yes, I am that obsessed.
Anyway…
**
THE REVIEW
Oy where to begin? I’m still coming down from the hype XD
Anyway…
I was hesitant at first. I adored the beginning but Enclave books, in my opinion, suck on the audiobooks (almost ALWAYS, IDK what’s up with that), the hardback was $25, and I don’t like ebooks. But the sample chapter was enough for me to bear trying to the audiobook.
At first I didn’t like it because the narrator is the same as for Sara Ella’s Coral, and she was REALLY GOOD with Coral (except for making all the guys sound the same, an incident that happened again in the first half of this book), but in this it made Juniper sound VERY melodramatic for the first half of the book. Later on, she got better, but it was definitely a shift for me XP. Enclave, PLEASE get better audiobook narrators. It’s your one flaw as a publisher.
I set the book down and didn’t return to it… until I ended up on The Crier Stone street team and ended up with an e-arc for The Crier Stone. Whoops! Looks like I needed to go back and finish the book. Tried the ebook (which, this book is MUCH better being read than listening to it), and then decided to put up with the audiobook.
Grievances with the audio aside (which, as I said, did get better later on), this book was AMAZING. Juniper is awesome– I love how her backstory was doled out, so that we got layer after layer until we finally got the whole puzzle.
DAX. Okay, I don’t like rude bad-boy type love interests usually, bc they are WAY overdone, but the whole bad boy thing is a facade. Don’t believe the sunglasses. The man is a cinnamon roll (with strawberries, jalapeno peppers, oranges, and goodness who knows what else because that’s how he does his sandwiches XD). He is wonderfully protective of those he cares about and he’s got a heart of gold under that accent and hard exterior. 10/10.
THE WORLDBUILDING. With all the chemical warfare with cloudseeding going on I ADORED that someone finally used this in a concept. And the CREATURES! I actually own chickens and Two-Heads made me laugh so much.
(can I say, WAY TO GO to the author for tackling drug trafficking? Like, you go girl. I love seeing authors tackle real-life issues in dystopian. PLEASE WE NEED MORE AUTHORS LIKE THIS.)
(also, I know that there’s been a lot of discomfort in the reviews about The Slimy Creep That Is Ivo, and I appreciate that you made a man under the influence of drugs threaten to sexually harm Juniper. It was dark, and it was scary, but it was realistic, and I’m glad that you weren’t shy to include that THAT would actually happen in that situation. And this is coming from a girl who might be triggered from that. Well done *applause*)
FINALLY… THE PLOT. OH THE PLOT. I was screeching at the characters out loud. Like, almost yelling. I know they can’t hear me but I was invested. Never saw any of the twists coming.
That being said the ending felt a little soon? Like we ended right at the third plot point, and there was no rest of the Third Act. I get that that’s a duology thing but it does sour the book a little bit (but not much).
(also, LOVE the Jonah allegory, very well done *nods*)
All in all, I WANT TO BUY A COPY OF THIS BOOK! And I’m definitely going to binge read The Crier Stone.
CONTENT WARNINGS: drug abuse, depictions of people under drug abuse, graphic descriptions of injuries, traumatic events (the main character tells about the time that she and her parents were buried alive by a bomb, and she was stuck for days between their decaying bodies) a man under drug influence snatches Juniper and tells her that he wants to take her to his bed and will spare her life if she “performs” well.
Check Out Lyndsey’s Work (and find links to The Chaos Grid and The Crier Stone) here:
***
THE FANFICTION
(minor spoilers, potentially).
Estrellita: A Chaos Grid Fanfic
~~~
It feels like forever since I last came to the Scar. And it’s been never that I went alone, with Dax.
That fact doesn’t slow my steps as I follow him up to the old satellite. Silently, he’s made this climb into a sort of competition– every time I start to gain on him, he nonchalantly stretches his legs a little further, and I see his eyebrows twitch in a barely-visible smirk.
“You know,” I pant, finally matching his pace. “This isn’t a race.”
He slightly turns his head toward me, although as always, I can’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses. “Did someone say it was?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t play coy.”
“I’m not.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and luxuriously strolls on, as if he was walking down a Dome City road instead of across jagged rocks.
I huff, blowing blue hair out of my face. Classic Dax.
I’m all too relieved by the time I finally haul myself into the satellite, rubbing my sweaty forehead as I sit down. “I forgot how much of a climb that is.”
Dax snorts, stretching out beside me. “Exert yourself, princesa?”
That stupid nickname. I’m never going to shake it off, am I?
“No.” I tilt my chin up. “I could keep going for miles, Daxal.”
Dax wrinkles his nose at my use of his full name, then chuckles. “All right, all right. Enjoy the star show.”
Right. The reason we made this crazy trip in the first place. I squint up at the night sky, as always dazzled by the brightness of the Milky Way above me. I’ve never seen a meteor shower before, but Dax promised that tonight there would be a good one, which is why we’re up here, freezing in the desert on top of a derelict satellite.
“How will I know when—”
My question is cut off with a gasp when a streak of silver bolts across the sky. Then another. Then another. All of a sudden the night sky is filled with brilliant strokes of light, like someone takes a fine silver pen, sweeps it across the heavens, and then erases it before you can comprehend it was there.
I’ve seen simulations of this. But as always, they’re never as good as the real thing.
I lean against Dax, breathless with wonder at the silver light show. I hear him chuckle at my enthrallment, but I don’t care. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
The meteor shower is still going in full swing when from my peripheral, I catch movement on the hilltop across from us. Except when I look down to trace it… I see nothing. Just the flat rock top, the horizon, stars…
Wait.
The horizon moved.
I blink, rub my eyes, and watch. I can barely see it, but something is moving across the hilltop. Or more accurately, the horizon and stars that disappear behind it. Like a glitching hologram or…
Or someone wearing an invisibility cloak.
“Hey.” Dax shifts, noticing I’m not paying attention any more. “What’s up?”
“The stars,” I mumble, still confused. “They’re moving.”
He laughs. “That’s what a meteor shower is, Juna.”
“No.” I point at the movement in the distance. “Over there.”
I can’t see him squint with his sunglasses, but he does lean forward. He’s silent for a bit, then mutters, “There is something over there.”
My blood grows cold. “Human?”
He hesitates, then shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”
How he could possibly know that from this distance, I don’t know, but he sounds certain enough that my spike of anxiety eases.
He stands up, offering his hand to help me stand. “Let’s check it out. Just to be sure.”
“Okay.” I eye the chasm and despite myself, smirk. “I guess we’re taking the bridge this time?”
I can feel him glaring at me through the glasses. “Yes.”
***
The first thing I notice when we’re on the opposite hilltop is the stench of death.
It’s so potent that I’m shocked we didn’t notice it before. I swallow back the reflex to vomit, pulling my jacket collar over my nose. “What is that?”
Dax looks around, then stills.
“That.”
I follow what he’s pointing to, and all I see are… rocks. But then my eyes adjust and I realize that they’re not rocks– it’s the body of a creature, that looks incredibly like a small collection of random rocks had it not been for the bloody slashes outlining the rest of its almost invisible body. It has a long tail, brushy, and after a few seconds I realize what it looks like— a horse. I remember hearing about them in history docu-feeds. Some states still have them. This looks just like a normal horse, except it’s so perfectly blended into the ground, if it weren’t from the wounds I wouldn’t have seen it.
From the stench, I’m guessing this horse has been dead for a while.
“Juniper.”
Dax’s breathy voice stills me. Small feet shuffle in front of me.
“Look up, but slowly,” he says.
I do, and then scarcely contain my gasp.
In front of me, covered with the swirling star patterns of the night sky, is a smaller version of the dead horse in front of me. His eyes are dark, studded with tiny pricks of starlight, and his brushy tail swishes nervously over his rump. His gawky legs are splayed out, like he’s either preparing to run or still getting used to them.
A baby?
Which could mean…
I stare at the dead horse again, and my heart squeezes in sympathy.
“I think it’s his mother.”
Dax looks between the dead horse and the baby, still watching both of us with wariness. A meteor crosses the night sky behind him and in mirror imaging, I see it streak across his flank.
“Never seen anything like it,” Dax mutters. “I know horses still exist but… this is like a chameleon horse.”
Every minute I study this little horse more, the more my heart melts. He has such a sweet, innocent face, and his tiny nose is no bigger than my fist.
“Oh, Dax, we can’t leave him out here alone.”
Dax raises an eyebrow so high it peaks over his glasses. “And what do you suggest that we do, Princesa?”
“We could take him to the farm! Glowen might know what he is… and how to take care of him.”
As if he knows we’re discussing him, the little horse toddles forward, almost falling on his face. He makes a squeaky, fluttering noise, little pink nostrils wide.
“A horse. In my truck.” His tone is deadpan.
“Just until we get to the base,” I say. “Please?”
The baby finally makes it over to me, giving my hair a tentative nibble. I can’t help but giggle as his whiskers brush my face.
Dax sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Me voy a suavizar…”
I stare at him, and he throws his hands in the air, sending the horse skittering back. “Fine. We’ll take it with us back to base. But JUST to get it to Glowwen.”
I squeal, which of course scares the horse more. “Sorry! Sorry little guy.” I glance at Dax. “How are we going to get him into the truck?”
He shrugs. “It was your idea.”
“Um…” I bite my lip, trying to remember the history feeds. “Oh! Do we have a rope?”
“No.”
Well. There goes that idea. The horse is coming back, curving his lips so I can see his little pink tongue. Poor baby is probably hungry.
“Maybe we could get him to follow us with food.”
“He’s not your mala suerte. He’s a prey animal. Food won’t be enough.” Dax rubs his chin for a second. “Okay. Give me your jacket.”
“My jacket? Why not yours?”
“Again, this is your idea.”
“Fair.” I slip it off, trying not to shiver in the cool night air. “What are you going to do with it?”
He doesn’t answer, just slowly approaches the little horse, moving parallel to him instead of directly crossing the hill top. The foal is pinned between the edge and me, and he’s shaking so much I don’t think he could run if he tried.
“Easy there.” Dax stands at its shoulder, and in one smooth move, my jacket is over the horse’s head. He snorts in surprise, but as Dax ties the fabric on and hoists the little horse up in his arms, the baby stills. Either he’s too weak to fight, scared out of his wits, or he knows we’re trying to help him.
“All right, Princesa,” Dax grunts. “Lead the way.”
“See, you’re warming right up to him!” I grin, trying to find the smoothest path for us.
“Her.”
I whip my head up. “What?”
He chuckles. “She’s a filly, Juna. A girl.”
“How do you know—”
“Just lead us back to the truck before I drop this horse.”
I nod. “Okay.”
I’m never going to stop learning things about this guy, am I?
I guide him back down to our truck, and he puts the horse in the back behind our seats. Once again her coat changes, blending her in with the empty crates. When I see her closed eyes my heart jumps, but he shakes his head. “She’s not dead. Fell asleep.”
“Aw. She must really like you,” I tease as I jump into the passenger seat.
“Or is exhausted beyond belief.” He buckles in. “You better not name her. We’re taking her straight to Glowwen, remember?”
“I remember,” I mutter, twisting in my seat to stare at the horse– or, filly, as Dax called it– as he starts the truck.
I’m not going to tell him that I already have.
Estrellita.
Little Star.
Cheesy, maybe. But it fits.
“Don’t get attached, Juniper,” Dax growls, a warning edge to his voice.
“I’m not.”
“Liar.”
“I won’t.”
He turns, smirking at me. “We’ll see.”