A Hunger With No Name was a familiar story.
A story of the manipulation of a tribe of herdsmen, the Astravans, by the sophisticated Glass City of Miravat. Miravat is an Oz-like shiny city filled with technological advancements, greedily gobbling up desert-dwellers by offering them a better life and then using them as resources to help power its basic needs.
The main character, Thurava, is an intelligent sixteen-year-old herder of lucerva. These are desert-dwelling, goat-like creatures whose skins clothe the Astravans and who help keep them fed. Thurava is filled with curiosity about her world and its history and remembers the lore of her village, as taught by her mother and the village elders, intent on preserving their heritage.
When environmental challenges to their lifestyle force the Astravans to pack up and move to the Glass City, her curiosity and hunger for knowledge of what lies behind the curtain are awakened. The regime she discovers horrifies her, and so a righteous rebel is born.
“We all have a choice, Thurava. To give up, to destroy, or to go on the best we can.”
To Thurava, the choice is simple.
I found the first third of the novella too slow-paced for my taste and would probably have DNFd if this had not been a competition finalist. I am so glad I persevered, as the story became much more compelling once the tribe reached the Glass City, and by the end, I was thoroughly enjoying it.
The final acts of the story took me by surprise. I did not believe that this main character, who had lived her life caring for other creatures, putting up with hardship to keep them alive, was capable of such destruction and disregard for human life. I think there was a lack of emotional description in places earlier in the story that would have prepared me more for this.
The final sentences were chilling. Can everyone be corrupted by power, eventually?
I read this book as a finalist in the SFINCS3 competition. My opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my team members.
