For Darkness Shows the Stars - Diana Peterfreund

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Source/Format: Borrowed from the library || Hardcover

It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Sometimes, it feels like mere words will not be enough to convey the depth of my affection for a particular novel. I’m fairly predictable when it comes to books that I like – there has to be romance, relatable characters and an interesting story. For Darkness Shows the Stars certainly delivers successfully on all three fronts, and has found a place as one of my favorite reads. 

(Before I continue writing my review, I’m just going to throw out the fact that I have not yet read Jane Austen’s Persuasion, which inspired this novel. I am, however, feeling much more inclined to pick up the original novel by Austen after reading this book.) 

Elliot is a female character I hold in high regard. She’s obviously strong, resilient, intelligent and able to think like a leader, as she basically takes charge of managing her family’s estate. But she’s also soft-hearted and kind, especially when it comes to the Reduced under her care. I admired her strong work ethic, and the fact that she willingly took on the responsibility of making sure things ran as smoothly as possible, and that everyone got their fair share. What’s even more amazing is the fact that Elliot is still very much a girl, especially when it came to love and relationships. Her character was extremely well-crafted, and I enjoyed learning about all these different sides to her. 

And Kai, or Captain Malakai Wentforth, is one of those love interests that grows on you. He’s incredibly aloof and standoffish to Elliot when he first appears, and he does some things that made me want to toss the book across the room. I even cried at one point! But through his letters when he was still Kai, and eventually, in person, we see a glimpse of the feelings he possesses for Elliot. From that point on, just with that knowledge, my regard for him changed completely – and I really rooted for him and Elliot. 

Apart from a great female lead and her love interest, the situation the book presents us with is pretty awesome. It's all about the Reduced and the Luddites, two classes of people that remain after a big apocalyptic-like genetic experiment gone wrong that happens way before the book begins. The Reduced are limited in terms of memory and speech, while the Luddites have retained all their faculties. This was because, back in the day, the Luddites foresaw that the rise of technological and scientific advances was going to be more harmful than helpful, and basically decided to boycott all those things. They hid in their star caverns the day everything in the world changed, and came out unscathed afterwards. Since the Reduced don’t have all their wits about them, obviously the Luddites became the “elite class”. However, thanks to the CoR (Children of Reduced) or Post-Reduction (Posts), things are starting to change...

I’m sure, if you’ve read my blog before, you’re aware how I love when there are important questions of morality and society intertwined into a novel. And I certainly encountered a few while reading this one. I started thinking about the impact of technology – when can you tell that you’re crossing the line and playing god? I also started thinking about the society that these characters lived in – how long would the Reduced have to be “under” the Luddites? Who says the Luddite way of living was the only right way? This might just be me, as I do tend to think a lot while I read, but I really enjoyed the questions this novel inspired me to ask and think about. 

Though it took me a while to really get into this novel, the pages of For Darkness Shows the Stars simply flew by past a certain pivotal point (which happened near the end of the first part of the book for me). I could not read it fast enough, and when I’d finished, I almost didn’t want to leave the world that I’d discovered. It’s such a beautifully written novel, and I will probably reread it at some point in the future. I highly recommend this book, and definitely consider it one of my favorite reads of 2012.