SEEK THE TRAITOR’S SON
Veronica Roth
Tor Books
After making a name for herself as a lauded dystopian writer with her debut book series Divergent, Veronica Roth has stayed true to the genre. But, with a growing collection of published books, she’s picked up a few tricks along the way as she has produced standalone novels and series that have increasingly tapped into the science fiction and fantasy genres. Her latest book, however, is the kind of genre-bending experiment that — at the very least — seems convoluted or overdone; at the worst, it seems too complicated to pull off successfully. Truth be told, it’s neither.
Seek the Traitor’s Son is the first in the new two-part The Burning Empire book series. Part dystopian, science fiction, fantasy, and romance, Roth had no intention of publishing the book when she started writing it. As she says in her acknowledgments: “I had it in my head that a book that made all the pleasure centres of my brain fire at once just couldn’t be a serious project.” More than serious, it’s a scrumptious feast.
The book is set on a planet Earth so far into the future that, at first, the dystopian elements read like science fiction, with descriptions of space travel and a planet teeming with dreams of exploration.
As it transpires, the inhabitants of Earth find themselves split into two groups: those living with the Fever, the Talusar, and those living in the small pockets around the world that remain Fever-free, the Cedrae. And both groups are at war with one another.
The Cedrae see the Fever for what it is: a virus that ravaged the world by killing half of those it infects, but the Talusar worship it as a god for its ability to resurrect the other half and bring them back to life with the gift of seeing either the past or the future. The people of the Cedre nation may not have these gifts that the Talusar receive once they’re infected and survive to receive them, but the trade-off is that they don’t need to force their children to become infected when they come of age, and retain the ability to use the advanced technology that powers their civilization.
When a prophecy declares that one of two women will lead her people to victory, Cedrae soldier Elegy Ahn at first denies its truth. For one, she’s married and happy and can’t accept that it will mean betraying the man she loves. But the prophecy is clear: “I saw a man. You have never said his name. He will bring you death. You will fall in love with him.”
As the son of a Talusar exile whose mother fled her home to spare her son from facing his 50-50 odds of living once infected with the Fever, Theren grew up knowing that his family’s allegiance to Cedre would be proven when he took his oath as a Knight. When Elegy is about to be revealed as the Hope of Cedre, it’s to her he is to swear his servitude. But when Elegy’s nemesis, the feared Talusar warrior Rava Vidar, strikes to ensure her own victory, the life Theren stepped into is stripped away, and the life Elegy once knew is swiftly erased.
I had it in my head that a book that made all the pleasure centres of my brain fire at once just couldn’t be a serious project.
— Veronica Roth
As a result, events are set in motion, forcing Elegy to accept that there may be more truth to the prophecy than she wanted to believe.
As you weave your way through an intricate narrative, you learn of all this and the tragedy of what happened to an Earth as we know it, now completely changed but still beautiful in many parts, in digestible bites, cutting across different characters’ points of view, each one with an important role to play in the build-up to where the second book will take us.
With Seek the Traitor’s Son, Roth has managed to do what few writers achieve when they set out to introduce a series that requires this level of world-building: she jumps headfirst, springing action upon the reader from the first page, and doesn’t draw out her plot progression in favour of establishing her layered, cross-genre world. She manages this near-impossible task with finesse while delivering a satisfying and refreshing pace.
She’s written Elegy as the kind of headstrong character you are drawn to from the get-go, and takes her time to carve out Theren’s to the point that you are left teary-eyed halfway through the book as you delve into his depth.
In fairness, her development of the two main characters’ relationship felt rushed at times, but she did not use an enemies-to-lovers trope, a sickly-sweet romance, or lust-dripping attraction in doing so. At its core, it’s one built on deep devotion and empathy. For this — and her other flourishes as a writer who has clearly matured — she draws one in hook, line, and star-crossed sinker.
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