The Culling (The Torch Keeper #1)

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Author(s)

Steven dos Santos

Publisher

Flux

Genre(s)

Dystopian

Age Range

12+

Release Date

March 08, 2013

ISBN

978-0738735375

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16 year-old Lucian Spark is the sole caretaker of his young brother, Cole, in a bleak and dangerous world that has arisen from the ashes of a devastating global apocalypse. Betrayed and drafted into the ruthless Establishment’s sadistic military boot camp, Lucian is plunged into the ultimate horror known as The Culling. Now, torn away from Cole, perhaps forever, Lucian must compete in a series of deadly challenges designed to purge the recruits of their humanity and transform them into amoral, cold-blooded killers by forcing them to make the most agonizing, emotionally devastating choices imaginable. During this terrifying ordeal, Lucian finds himself growing closer to Digory Tycho, a mysterious and rebellious young man who challenges him in ways he couldn’t have dreamed of, and awakens in him the courageous fires of rebellion. But in a world where loving someone can be used as the ultimate weapon, how can anyone stand a chance?

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Dark and emotional story with a courageous main character who makes choices he should never have to.

January 18, 2013

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

The Culling is a very dark and gritty story. It has gore, it has emotions out the wazoo, it has characters put in impossible situations, forced to make choices that kids should never, ever have to make, and I could not take my eyes from the page.
While I liked the book and respected what Lucky was trying to do for his little brother, I was pretty confused at the beginning. When you have a world and a government that is different from ours now, there needs to be some explanation of what exactly is going on, and I didn't quite get that. New terms and phrases were flying around and it took me out of the story because I couldn't remember if any explanation who or what that person's function was and what it really meant. I picked it up as I went along though, and because there is action and some depth of the characters going on, I didn't give up on it.
It was hard getting to know the characters though because I knew that all of them wouldn't survive. They were learning to work as a team, but then they would remember that alliances really are not going to help them because their family members are on the line.
I have read a lot of dystopias, and I see a lot of the same threads as the Hunger Games. This is not saying that Steven hasn't put his own twists on it, because he had, I just couldn't help lining up the kids making alliances, the different districts that contributed different things. Again, not a criticism, just a statement.
Being in Lucky's head was a good change. I feel like I don't read too much with a male POV, unless it is dual perspective, so that is always a positive. Though, I did keep almost forgetting that he was a guy because of the attraction and tension between him and Digory. Nothing against the LGBT, but I am straight, and it is a hot guy, and from the first person, it puts me in Lucky's shoes, so therefore...
Oh, and the ending. It broke my heart. Nothing was actually definite but I don't know how they could pull off not breaking my heart.

Bottom Line: Dark and emotional story with a courageous main character who makes choices he should never have to.