Author: Jill Williamson
Title: Captives
Publisher: Zondervan
Just like she has with her previous award-winning science fiction and fantasy titles including By Darkness Hid and Replication: The Jason Experiment , author Jill Williamson spins another extraordinary tale that’ll keep you engaged right ‘til the end with Captives from her “The Safe Lands” series.
Underscoring the power of personal choices, Williamson introduces readers to the brave new dystopian world inhabited by 18-year-old Levi. In fact, Levi has just gotten the shock of a lifetime when he heads back to his hometown of Glenrock. Let’s just say it doesn’t look like he remembered it.
Not only has the city been rocked to its very core architecturally speaking, but worse yet, many of his loved ones have been killed, or in the case of his beloved fiancée Jenn, taken captive.
While those circumstances would leave most people feeling discouraged, Levi is fiercely determined as he looks to the future. Even if it involves entertaining the titular “Safe Lands,” an ominous city that’s surrounded by walls, he is intent on rescuing whoever’s left.
Adding texture and depth to Levi’s tale, there’s a couple of competing storylines that also can’t help holding your attention as the truth about the mysterious Safe Lands, and the people living there, begins unfolding.
Fast-paced, thoughtful and absorbing, it’s Williamson’s economy of words that truly stands out. Instead of bogging down the reader with endless description and dialogue, she allows the reader to use his/her imagination with a story that has “movie” written all over it. Here’s hoping Hollywood gets the memo because Captives is a winner.
*This Article First Published 3/20/2013