The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

One of my favorite books of last year was The Scorpion Rules and I am now reading its sequel, the second title in the Prisoners of Peace series from American turned Canadian writer Erin Bow: The Swan Riders. This continues the saga of Greta, princess turned AI (artificial intelligence) in a cruel, dystopian future. She and Talis (the ruling AI) are traveling across Saskatchewan in the company of Swan Riders, those “angels of death” who may not be as unwaveringly loyal as they initially appear.  The Swan Riders moves slowly at the beginning; make sure that you have read or reviewed The Scorpion Rules so as to appreciate the plot nuances. While the questions posed are dark (is Greta’s life worth 2 or 3 bombed cities?), Bow lightens the mood with unexpected humor (e.g., horses named NORAD and Gordon Lightfoot). 

The Swan Riders received starred reviews from Kirkus ("brillant and compelling") and School Library Journal ("stunning story"). You can read the first chapter on Erin Bow’s website; then grab a copy of the book (beautiful cover!) in our new library.  

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Once I picked up The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow I was reading sections out loud (“They’d have known that AIs have this built in tendency to take over the world. Did we learn nothing from The Terminator, people? Did we learn nothing from HAL?”) – and reciting to anyone who would listen is always a sign that I am sure to enjoy a book.  I definitely liked and am recommending this futuristic dystopian novel, although it has some dark moments and torture does feature in the story line. If that appeals to you, along with robots and artificial intelligence, grab this book!

The main character, Greta, is just as strong as her name sounds and she grows into leadership and transforms throughout the book.  She and her friends, like Xie and Elian, are Children of Peace, essentially hostages since as biological children of rulers, their lives will be sacrificed if their parents begin a war. They live together at the Precepture and once that compound itself is attacked their entire lifestyle and the concept of deterrence is threatened. The Scorpion Rules offers an intriguing look at what is good and evil– do the costs for the few justify the benefits for the many? In fact, the title was inspired by a quote from Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the nuclear bomb.

The Scorpion Rules is not short (374 pages), but it is a fabulous choice even for reluctant readers since the Lexile is relatively low (about 600); plus, there is so much to THINK about (love and family, war and technology, what does it mean to be human?) and the suspense is high!  As its subtitle says, “one wrong move could kill you.”

Starred reviews from Kirkus (“not to be missed”), Publisher’s Weekly and School Library Journal.