A new talent in the fantasy genre (The Midnight Charter - David Whitley)

Member Name: Mildew82

Product:	The Midnight Charter - David Whitley
Date:	15/08/09 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Complex and imaginitive new world, an intriguing story with great potential

Disadvantages: Too much time spent on setting the scene and not enough on characterisation

Aimed at children/young adults, The Midnight Charter is not normally the type of book I would read, but it was so highly recommended by a friend that I just had to give it a go. Despite being aimed at a slightly younger audience, there are some dark undertones and plenty more in this story to appeal to an older audience.

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A bit about the author
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David Whitley was born in 1984 so is a mere 25 years old as I write this review - not a bad age to have your first published novel! He had shown some potential before this by being shortlisted for the Kathleen Fidler Award aged 17 and winning the Cheshire Prize for Literature aged 20 so is definitely an up-and-coming talent.

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History of Agora
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The Midnight Charter is a fantasy book set in the city of Agora (derived from the name given to the place of assembly or marketplace in ancient Greece), circa 18th Century. The dynamics of Agora are simple - absolutely anything can be bought and sold - even human emotions and reputation is everything - once lost, ruin and debt follows. In fact, even children are possessions owned by their parents until their twelfth birthday or their "title day" - the day when they own themselves. Even they can be bartered away.

The city of Agora is ruled by the Director who presides over the Directory of Receipts. Within the city, those that are in debt are called Debtors and are forced to live in slums with practically no way to trade themselves out of debt. The Receivers are given the task to keep up the law and order of Agora, as well as acting as debt collectors.

Astrology factors a great deal in this story with both the months of the year being named after the star signs, plus the 12 districts of Agora:

Gemini - this is the learning district filled with rich museums, the University and the Astrologer's Tower.

Cancer - where the river Ora enters the city and the part of the city where all the food is grown.

Leo - the wealthy district with magnificent houses, clean streets, and the splendorous Leo Gardens - the Leo District is a paradise where only the rich are allowed to enter.

Virgo - the district of the artisans and craftsmen that provide the rich with all their ornamentations. Before the rise of the Leo District the Virgo District was the wealthiest district in Agora, but now house those that have fallen from high society.

Libra - the district of justice and the law and where all the administration of Agora takes place. With the Sun Court and the Directory of Receipts buildings this is a formidable district.

Scorpio - the district where the receivers live and where the city's prison stands. A dreaded district where nobody is trusted and people avoid wherever possible.

Sagittarius - the commerce district - the ultimate place for trading - if you can't find what you're looking for anywhere else, you'll find it in the Sagittarius.

Capricorn - the district where the tanners and metalworkers operate their businesses filling the air with toxic odours. Another district to avoid if possible, but a good place to trade for cheap food and cheap lodgings if you can stand the horrible atmosphere.

Aquarius - the canal district - where the water from the River Ora is processed and diverted to other areas of Agora, the transport of heavy goods by Riverboat captains takes place and where the fishermen make their living.

Pisces - the most dangerous district in Agora. This is the slum where the debtors are forced to live, in constant danger from the thieves and cutthroats lurking around every corner or the threat of disease.

Aries - the district where the ordinary folk of Agora live, not rich, but not debtors either. Not an exciting place to visit, it's simply a place that keeps Agora ticking along. The orphanage run by Matron Angelina is also located here.

Taurus - the district of writers where the paper mills are and the journalists reside - this is the place where alcohol and gossip flows.

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The Plot
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The story of The Midnight Charter follows the lives of Mark and Lily, who through separate paths find themselves in the Astrologer's Tower in the Gemini District. Mark, sold by his father and Lily an orphan who bartered for her life upon her title day are under the servitude of Count Stelli the mysterious and highest esteemed member of the Astrologer's Guild.

But events transpire that enable them to escape their servitude and their lives begin to take separate paths slipping further away from each other, but somehow despite the distance, are still inescapably intertwined. As treachery befalls them, with their lives being constantly watched by the Director can they discover their importance to the city of Agora and will they survive the forces that conspire against them?

Their only chance of survival depends on discovering just exactly what the Midnight Charter is.

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My Opinion
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This is an excellent debut novel. David Whitley has managed to create a fabulously complex and extremely well thought out new fantasy world in the form of the city of Agora. As the name suggests the heart of the city relies on trade which leads to great prosperity for the elite of the city, and great poverty for those with nothing to trade. There are a lot of intricate social messages in this story which are open to interpretation - for me I feel there are a lot of digs on consumerism and the injustices of social class divide, and how desperation leads to selling out your own family if necessary just to survive.

David Whitley has a very easy writing style well suited to the young adult audience that just allows the plot to flow, rich with description and some subtle humour in places, and not afraid to touch on darker undertones which keeps the story both exciting and intriguing.

The only thing I feel that was slightly lacking from this story is to gain a real affinity with any of the characters. Whilst we learn a bit about Mark and Lily, we learn very little else about the other characters' pasts which makes it hard to empathise with them - perhaps as this was the first book in the trilogy a little too much time was spent setting the scene and building the world and not quite enough time was devoted to characterisation. But I suspect as the story develops through the next novels the characterisation will develop as well.

The Midnight Charter ends on an excellent point in the story to leave you highly anticipating the next instalment - The Children of The Lost, expected for release in August 2010. Something, despite this book being aimed at a younger audience I'll be waiting for with bated breath.

I would thoroughly recommend this book for any fantasy fan despite your age and I believe David Whitley will be a talent in the genre for many years to come.

To find out more about the world of Agora and the author visit:

www.davidwhitley.co.uk

Summary: An exciting debut for what should be a great new fantasy series for young adults