Reckoning (Silver Blackthorn Trilogy #1) By Kerry Wilkinson | Review

Book Details
Author: Kerry Wilkinson
Ages: Young Adult
Rating: 6/10
Number of Pages: 360
Plot: In the village of Martindale, 16 year old Silver Blackthorn takes the Reckoning - a coming of age test that decides your place in society. Not only this but the test also selects a small group of 16 year olds to become Offerings to the aloof King Victor. When Silver is chosen as an Offering her future becomes uncertain forcing her to keep to herself. As the King begins to show his true colours the new recruits begin to realise that maybe being an Offering at Windsor Castle is not the privilege they had been led to believe their whole lives. Navigating through the ancient corridors of the old castle, Silver and her new friend Imrin find themselves in a world full of suspicion and intrigue not knowing who to trust. In a dystopian meets historical story, Wilkinson creates an interesting twist on the common dystopian novel.


Review: So my immediate reaction when I first started reading was that this was incredibly similar to other dystopian novels that I have read. Of course the use of a King and the more somewhat historical elements to the book did create a sense of originality in a genre that seems to be continually growing. As someone that has studied history at A Level and having read a wide range of historical fiction, I really liked this aspect of the book and I feel that Wilkinson was able to perfectly mix the ideas of a royal past and futuristic technology creating an unusual story. However, I did find some similarities between such dystopian novels as Divergent and The Hunger Games which made the book seem quite slow paced at the beginning and difficult to engage with. The ideas of different sections in society and the coming of age test reminded me of the factions in Divergent and reaping in The Hunger Games. As a result, I found the first fifty pages or so difficult to get through.

Despite the distinct similarities with other dystopian novels, the book really did pick up once the Offerings had arrived at Windsor Castle. The vicious nature of the King coupled with the suspicious Minister Prime created a unique power dynamic that could rival any tyrant from any other dystopian novel. The depiction of the castle as well offered a new lease of life on the futuristic settlements that often appear in dystopian franchises. I loved how Wilkinson was able to create secret passages and tunnels in such a famous castle whilst being able to add futuristic touches such as the incorporation of the thinkwatches and the high security. Wilkinson was really able to incorporate a new element to an already large genre.

"I am doing enough to survive but it isn't the same as living."

The relationships made in the book between Silver and the other Offerings seemed incredibly realistic. This could clearly be seen during Silver's time at the castle where she had to choose between survival and caring for the other characters. I especially liked how Wilkinson was able to create lots of different personalities within such a small group of the Offerings, for example the more mild characters of Jela and the more aggressive like Faith. Despite this, I did find that Wilkinson was setting up for a love triangle between Silver, Imrin and Opie and whilst it wasn't fully explored in this book I am sure that in the sequels this will come into the foreground. As someone who has begun to detest the notion of love triangles, I am unsure whether or not I will be able to invest in Silver's story. Surely a heroine doesn't always need a love interest let alone two.

Overall I would say that this book does offer a variation to the hundreds of dystopians that are currently on offer. The mix of historical elements and the futuristic technology gave the book some more originality and made up for the distinct similarities between other incredibly popular dystopian novels. I would recommend this to any reader who loves dystopian fiction or maybe a reader looking for a slight variation to the genre. However, I feel that the way in which the book progressed and ended, Wilkinson has opened up the rest of his series to direct comparisons with other dystopian fiction.

Have you read 'Reckoning'? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below!