Book Review: The Empty vol #1

Book: The Empty volume #1 (issues #1-6) by Jimmie Robinson

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Description:

Tanoor is a hunter struggling to feed her village in an apocalyptic world of poison and decay, but Tanoor finds hope when she discovers a stranger named Lila who has the ability to grow life from death—a power that could change the world of The Empty.


Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Review:

This surprised me, especially since I'm not a huge fan of apocalyptic stories. What started with a slow build up turned into a fascinating story.

After Tanoor, the village hunter, found a mysterious woman floating in the water near her village, she brought her back to town to see if she could help her. But this brought out fear in the elder who incited the townspeople to take action. However, something miraculous happened. The mystery woman named Lila not only learned the speech of the village but restored a nearly dead fruit tree.

In Tanoor's part of the world, which they call the Empty, the land is dry and unproductive due to these strange roots that poison the land, water and air. Nothing grows there and people are sick and dying. So, once Tanoor and the townspeople saw what Lila could do, Tanoor suggested they travel to where the roots are and cure the land.

Tanoor made a promise to help Lila get back home once the roots were taken care of. However, there is a problem for Lila, although she comes from a place of great abundance with clean air and healthy lands. She is still not quite sure how she wound up floating near Tanoor's village but she very much would like to go home.

The two along with Tanoor's pet Fenx, a fox like creature, set out at once to find the roots but lost their supplies and nearly their lives thanks to an ambush set by the elder who was still very fearful of Lila.

Their trip was already off to a bad start which got even worse after they were attacked by Mools, a dog like people. The trio got away but the Mools had another idea, they abducted Lila in the middle of the night. Once Tanoor and Fenx found Lila in the lair of the Mools, a greater understanding was found as well as a reluctant alliance between Tanoor and the Mools. Their trek to the roots now had another traveler, Gharak the son of the leader. The Mools have an interest in the roots being cured because they are suffering just as Tanoor's people are.

The new group now found themselves exploring new lands but the biggest surprise came when Lila tried to cure a part of the root. There was something strange found inside. From the discovery, they also found out that they needed to travel to the source of the roots to really cure it.

Trouble was brewing back in Lila's world, the people behind her disappearance were trying to stop Lila's boyfriend from continuing to question her whereabouts. He was stirring up too much trouble and they needed to figure out a way to stop it.

As Tanoor and the others continued their travels they unfortunately ended up being captured by a colony of giant bugs. The Queen had plans to use Lila to revitalize the land and since she had no use for the others, was planning to get rid of them. Lila tried to help her friends but that made things worse because Tanoor, Fenx and Gharak were now in a death battle with one of the Queen's fighters.

The fight had a surprising outcome and also showcased Lila's growing powers. The group was now getting another member who would also lessen their traveling time. Finally, at the source of the problem, they were in for a world of surprises. They couldn't believe what they were seeing and who they had met. I don't want to spoil anything but I will just say that all the problems were caused by a project that started out with the best intentions that eventually failed.

Getting Lila back home resulted in a few discoveries, she not only found out what happened to her and why but also will be able to make changes in her world.

This was a very interesting story and I like the characters because although they were different, they built a friendship.