Author: Julian North
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: February 6th 2017
Pages: 407
Spoilers: NO SPOILERS!
Rating: 
(4 / 5)
Age of Order is the debut novel of Julian North and it is a great debut as well! Age of Order was given to me by Julian North himself after reading my review of The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, because he thought I might be interested in his novel. I can tell you now that he was definitely right and I have rated Age of Order even higher than The Windup Girl. You can read the review of The Windup Girl here.
“What if the people who thought they were better than you… really were?
In this world, inequality is a science. Giant machines maintain order. And all people are not created equal.
Daniela Machado is offered a chance to escape the deprivation of Bronx City through a coveted slot at the elite Tuck school. There, among the highborn of Manhattan, she discovers an unimaginable world of splendor and greed. But her opportunity is part of a darker plan, and Daniela soon learns that those at society’s apex will stop at nothing to keep power for themselves. She may have a chance to change the world, if it doesn’t change her first.” [Goodreads]
Age of Order is about Daniela, who lives in a very, very bad neighborhood and gets a chance to go to the elite school where only the rich and powerful send their children. Daniela then has to struggle to find a balance between her own poor neighborhood and the rich environment of the school and she has to find out why she was picked to go there.
The novel starts mid action and at first I was a bit confused as to what was going on and why the main character was running from machines shooting pallets at her, but later on in the novel everything starts to make sense and I wasn’t too confused to be bothered by it, if anything it made me want to continue reading even more!
I liked the main character Daniela a lot, because she was a strong character and also because has a kind of sixth sense, which I was afraid might be a little too convenient for her, but instead of it being cheesy it was done very well and in the end it fit into the story quite nicely. I also need to mention my favorite character, Nythan! He’s both funny and intelligent and any science fiction fan will love him for all the references he makes. He mentions all kinds of classics, such as The Matrix, Brave New World and Planet of the Apes and I absolutely love it when authors mention other works and show their knowledge of the genre.
The novel is young adult, but also has a bit of an adult voice and that really come out in the way it was written. There are some foreign words in the text, but nothing that you have to look up and I like that, because if there are too many words in different languages you have to get yourself out of the story to look it up. Fortunately I never had to do that.
I recommend this novel for anyone who enjoyed The Windup Girl, but also for anyone who wants to read a fast paced and interesting story about inequality and the struggle that comes with it. Age of Order is an exciting novel with lots of action, but also with interesting characters. The novel is a debut and I must say that Julian North has done a great job and I’m already hoping that there will be more novels!
Are you interested in dystopian novels? Would you like to read Age of Order as well? Let me know in the comments!
