The World of Shadowlark

There are approximately one hundred and seventeen reasons you should read Meagan Spooner's Skylark trilogy, but chief among them is the decaying, richly imagined world, full of magic and machinations and danger.  Lark Ainsley grew up in a city of metal and machines, all under the predictable rising and falling of the sun disk mounted in the dome above.  But after she escapes her city in the first book, she stumbles upon a world of crumbling cities, infused with pockets of magic so dense that they can loop time and animate trees.  In the second installment of the trilogy, Lark finds herself in the city of Lethe--an underground city dependent on machines for its survival.  Lethe's buildings are scavenged from the destroyed buildings above, creating a strange patchwork city of levels and tunnels, all watched over by a strange semi-circular building at the very bottom.  The building where all the Renewables are taken and never heard from again.

What makes Shadowlark--and the Skylark books in general--different is its unique blend of dystopian sensibility and magic and steampunkery, with a dash of alternate history thrown in.  The result is a world that feels wholly original and unlike anything else out there right now.  Spooner's beautiful prose makes the clanking and whirring of the machines, the glow of the magic, the danger of the dystopia seem immediate and vibrant, at once clear and mysterious and utterly compelling.  This is a world you'd want to live in...maybe except for the cannibals.  Did I mention there were cannibals? How could you not read this? 

Ever since she escaped the city within the Wall, Lark Ainsley's wanted one thing: to find her brother Basil. She's always believed he would be the one to put an end to the constant fear and flight. And now, hidden underground in the chaotically magical city of Lethe, Lark feels closer to him than ever. 

But Lethe is a city cowering in fear of its founder, the mysterious Prometheus, and of his private police force. To get the truth about what happened to Basil, Lark has no choice but to face Prometheus.

Facing her fears has become second nature to Lark. Facing the truth is another matter.

Lark never asked to be anyone's savior. She certainly never wanted to be anyone's weapon. She might not have a choice.

Find Shadowlark on shelves now!