Reviewer

Gilde has spent her life isolated in the wild marshlands, a place too wet for the dragon to go. She’s safe there, according to her father. So why is he asking her to leave with him now that she has come of age? There is more to Gilde’s family than she knows, and debts need to be paid. Betrayed and shattered, she wakes in a crumbling mountain castle with the beast of her nightmares. Except this dragon speaks like a man and reads books. His kindness confuses her and opens a forgotten longing in her heart, all while Gilde plans her escape from a mountain full of secrets.

Her name is H8626-E. On the outside, she lives the normal life of any functioning robot. But on the inside? Well, that's a completely different story. She is a master of hiding, a master of masks. She masks her inability to follow the Three Decrees. She masks her faulty programming from all the other robots. She hides her emotions, errors, and opinions from The Authority. And most of all, though she doesn’t know it, she is hidden from herself. But more difficult than any of the plethora of masks she maintains is that she is completely and utterly alone.

When dream technology goes wrong, a virus spreads across the globe, trapping people in a universal dreamscape. They call it the Nightmare Virus. Cain Cross is determined to find a cure . . . if he can decipher his brother’s chicken-scratch formula notes. But when he gets infected, he has only 22 days until he’s trapped in the mental prison forever. Now, every time he falls asleep, he must fight in a Nightmare Arena until he earns his freedom to live in the “new world” that exists only in the mind.

Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias. Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.

Darkness divides the land. Half of Er'Rets is locked beneath an impenetrable shroud. On the side that still sees the sun, two young people struggle to understand the mind-communication abilities thrust upon them. It's called bloodvoicing. Some say it's a gift. One of the newly "gifted" wish it had never come. While Achan learns to use his new ability, Vrell struggles to shut hers down. All the voices strive to learn Achan and Vrell's true identities - and a different kind of voice is calling them both. Toward a destination that is by darkness hid.