Fantasy Fun Reads: Review: Niko by Kayti Nika Raet

Blurb: One can live for several weeks without food but only a few days without water, a fact seventeen year old Niko is only too aware of as she struggles to provide for her two younger brothers in a post apocalyptic landscape where the rain burns like acid, food grows increasingly scarce and any Slither that crosses her path is laid low before it can sink its teeth into her.

Then one night everything she'd ever worked for and loved is consumed by a raging fire, leaving her with one brother missing, the other dead and herself gravely injured.

She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a rogue group of Slither hunters. They sneak her into Amaryllis City, a decadent metropolis where those able to pay the exorbitant entrance fee live a life of relative ease.

But for Niko, Amaryllis City is not the haven she grew up believing it would be and her unique abilities as a Slither hunter make her a particularly visible target to a city with hopes of experimentation, replication and other nasty bits.

All Niko ever wanted to do was find her baby brother, but that's proving to be harder than expected.

MY REVIEW

First, Niko is a badass girl with a baseball bat, an improvised Slither killing device. I love kickass heroines and Niko has the courage and determination to hold her own in a harsh world full of terrible monsters.

Second, this is not your average post-apocalyptic young adult dystopian novel. The story line is really unique and the world building and imagination of the author really stands out. The world building is well done and the imagery is superb.

Third, there is considerable diversity among the characters, both in skin color and sexual orientation but it is not an in your face, look at me diversity. It is simply the way the world is. I really appreciated the way this was handled.

Fourth, the writing style appealed to me. The author just has a way with words that paints a picture in your mind and I found myself re-reading certain passages not because I was not understanding them but so I could savor the words a second time. I was reminded of Robin McKinley's writing style with this and I can think of only a very few authors I have read with such a talent for painting a picture with words or making even the fighting scenes flow with a certain beauty that is impossible not to admire.