“A page turner with cinematic qualities… I gasped an involuntary No! when I turned the final page; I really want to find out what happens next!”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
I discovered Sarah Govett at a literary event earlier this year and bought the first two books in the Territory Trilogy for by TBR. I finally got around to reading them this month and I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get around to them.
The Territory begins in a dystopian Britain, sea levels have risen and only the higher land remains. With land at a premium, only people useful to the Territory can stay, those who fail the test must fend for themselves in the wetlands.
The story is told from the perspective of Noa, a 15-year-old girl about to sit the exam and it’s through her that you learn the pressures on children to study, the importance put on academic subjects and the pressures of resisting government sanctioned intelligence.
Though the idea takes it inspiration from a scope of dystopian fiction, the Territory is unique and offers an interest insight into a world that has succumbed to a very real problem. Believable, thrilling and exciting, it was a great read that was over all too soon. Noa is bright, insightful and eloquent, making her the perfect protagonist, though she’s far from perfect either and feels very real in the mind of the reader.
My only complaint is that it was far too short, when I finished it I immediately scrambled to my bookshelf for The Territory: Escape, book two in the trilogy.
Reviewed by:
Kath Cross
Added 27th June 2017
