Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Saba is a young woman who has grown up in a future where the world is a desolate place. Her family has constructed a shack to live in near a small lake and far away from other humans. Her father believes he can predict the future by reading the stars. Saba helps her twin brother, Lugh, to scavenge materials left over by the Wreckers, people who destroyed the world. Saba and Lugh realize that their time at the lake is coming to an end. There has been a year long drought and the lake is all but dried up. By scavenging what they can they can eke out a meager existence for one more day. Emmi is Saba’s little sister and wants to help as much as possible, but Saba tells her to take care of their father. Her father daily dances and chants to call down rain from the sky but his magic doesn’t work, and Lugh fears for his father’s sanity.

Unfortunately for Saba and her family their lives are about to become worse then they can imagine. A gang of armored men on horseback arrive one day; kill her father, and kidnap her brother Lugh. Saba will do anything to get her brother back. She and Emmi set out to rescue him and begin a journey of hardship and violence. Beyond their lake the world is an ugly place where people are addicted to a substance called chaal, and who are entertained by bloody gladiatorial battles. What started off as a rescue mission quickly becomes a life of survival. Saba and Emmi are captured. Saba is forced to fight as a gladiator. And somewhere far off her brother may still be out there, or is possibly dead. Saba will need to learn the ways of violence to survive, but in order to succeed she will need to learn to make friends and trust people. Can Saba and Emmi escape captivity and save their brother? Can a person filled with so much hate and violence ever change into someone who can live, trust and love?

Blood Red Road is a gripping post-apocalyptic western. It remind me a lot of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome crossed with Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. People will inevitably compare it to the Hunger Games but I believe Blood Red Road distinguishes itself enough to stand on its own. Anyone who likes action and adventure will love this book. It is appropriate for ages 14 and up due to the amount of violence in it.

It should be noted that the book is also written in a certain vernacular to capture how the people in the novel really speak, so most common words are misspelled (jest for just is one example), but after a few chapters you will be so caught up in the story that you won’t mind.