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steadman_slick's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
moniquersqueek's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Pregnancy
Moderate: Grief and Blood
Minor: Miscarriage and Pandemic/Epidemic
myriadreads's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this genre-bending murder mystery set in a post-apocalyptic future. Vaughn expertly layers a tightly plotted mystery with the world building and atmosphere of the best speculative/post-apocalyptic novels. In the area once known as California, the Coast Road cities share a cooperative system that includes population control and resource quotas. People live in households of cooperating adults, and must earn the right to have a child by demonstrating that they have the resources to care for one. Enid is a novice investigator in this world that no longer has the forensic technology that we count on now. Interviews and observation carry a lot of weight. Generally, investigators mediate disputes over resources, or investigate charges of surpluses or hoarding. Murder is rare. In this novel of the Coast Road, a suspicious death has occurred, and it is up to Enid and her longtime friend and investigative partner to determine what happened. As in the best post-apocalyptic, the details of the world after the fall emerge slowly, organic to the story, rather than in a front-loaded "this is the world we live in now" narrative. Slowly finding out bits of what happened, seeing ancient technology, seeing how people move forward--these are the elements that bring me back over and over to post-apocalyptic fiction. Shifting the focus of the plot to a specific event, a mystery, and then solving that mystery was a brilliant way to focus in on the action of the characters while letting the world load in the background. I immediately started the second Bannerless book, The Wild Dead, and I'm finding it just as immersive as the first. I have a feeling I'll finish that book still wanting more.
ameyawarde's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not usually interested in murder mysteries, but I picked this up on a whim at the library in the sci-fi section and i'm glad I did. It's a dystopian/utopian world with a lot of interesting features. Of course the idea of "earning" the right to have children is both offensive and intriguing in different ways, but I like seeing how it plays out in this world. Especially contrasted with the "wild" folks who live in the old city's ruins and are free from such rules, but really do struggle to keep their kids alive. I think there's a whole lot of space to go into both sides of this idea deeper in this series, and I'm hoping Vaughn will in subsequent books. I also am an amateur historian of 19th century utopianism and so I really love the concept of the households in this world (they are small communal groups, not nuclear families) and am hoping to see those more fleshed out in upcoming books as well!
This was an enjoyable and interesting summer read, very well written and quick to read!
This was an enjoyable and interesting summer read, very well written and quick to read!
terranovanz's review against another edition
4.0
A subtle and clever dystopian novel that reminded me a little of Station Eleven. I love Enid, she is a wonderfully strong and interesting lead, who uses her brains and wit to solve a murder in a small, close knit community after the "Fall" of civilisation. I accidentally read the sequal first, but part one is better.
zaphod46's review against another edition
2.0
interesting world building, but the actual story was meh
literarylover37's review against another edition
4.0
Really great integration of murder-mystery and dystopian world-building.
lisawreading's review against another edition
4.0
2018 update: Re-read via audiobook, and loved it. Excellent narration, and the story is just as good as I'd remembered!
2017 original review: Bannerless is a unique and interesting approach to the dystopian genre. In fact, if you took away the references to "the Fall", you might almost think you were reading a story of agrarian life in the Middle Ages. Let me explain...
In Bannerless, we follow main character Enid, a resident of the town of Haven whose occupation is investigator. Investigators are both detectives and enforcers, sent from settlement to settlement to look into complaints, solve problems, and if needed, impose sentences. Investigators tend to be feared -- when these outsiders show up wearing their official brown tunics, it's likely to end in repercussions either for individuals, households, or possibly the entire town.
Enid's village lies among the geographic area known as the Coast Road, sets of smaller and larger settlements who interact for trading, messages, and resources. All follow the same general governing principles. The towns are primarily agrarian, and all members of a community have roles to play. Towns may only produce up to their quotas, so that resources are preserved for for the future. People form households to work together to show productivity, and if they prove that they can support more, they are awarded banners, which give them the right to have a child.
All in all, it sounds like a rather peaceful and healthy way to go about life. Community is all-important. People offer one another help when needed, and when help is provided, there's a commitment made to repay expended resources when the recipient is able.
As I mentioned, if you didn't know the setting, you might think this story takes place a few centuries ago. It has that old-fashioned, idyllic feel to it. But we do know that there was a Fall -- and while the author doesn't go into tremendous detail, it becomes clear that civilization fell over the course of years in which the world was devasted by epidemics, followed by substantial climate change that brought life-threatening changes in weather patterns. Enid's adult life takes place about a century after the Fall, and she still remembers her Aunt Kath, who was the oldest member of Haven and the only one to remember the time before. From Kath, Enid learns about how life used to be, from silly details (like a yearning for plastic wrap) to issues around birth control and reproduction.
In terms of the plot of Bannerless, we follow two timelines in alternating chapters. We see Enid and her investigator partner Tomas, a member of her birth household, as they investigate a suspicious death in the nearby town of Pasadan. This in itself is shocking -- while their investigations mainly focus on banner or quota violations, murder is pretty much unheard of. Meanwhile, in every other chapter, we follow the story of Enid from about 10 years earlier, when she followed her lover on his journeys from town to town, and along the way, learns much more about the communities, the ruins of cities, and her own calling.
What's unusual about Bannerless, and what makes me hesitate to call it "dystopian", is that the societal structure seems to work. There are no castes or debasing rules or the other types of harsh governance that seem to be the hallmark of the genre. Yes, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, but the people seem to have worked out a system that makes sense for them. The rules about banners and birth control don't strike me as autocratic or despotic; they go hand in hand with the focus on resources and quotas. The communities bear an awareness of the disasters that led to civilization's downfall, and they're determined to avoid the excesses that result in barren lands and starving children.
And while Enid and others occasionally yearn for the resources they've heard about through stories about life before the Fall (medical equipment and reliable lab tests, for example), they've found a way to manage and preserve what they have, to share and take communal responsibility for one another, and to sustain future generations by conserving current resources.
Yes, the breaking up of households who flout the rules may sound harsh, but there's a lot of reasonableness too. Of all the various fictional scenarios of life post-disaster, the world of Bannerless sounds pretty okay to me.
The book itself is a quick, engaging read. Don't expect explosions or intense battles or action scenes. The drama is all about the people, their interactions, and their motives -- although this book does a great job of demonstrating how scary it can be to be caught out in the open when a storm is on the way.
According to the author's page on Goodreads, she's working on a sequel, and Bannerless is listed as the first in a series. I had no idea while I was reading the book that this would be an ongoing story, and Bannerless works perfectly well as a stand-alone. (I'm glad I didn't know ahead of time; I tend to avoid starting new series, and I'd hate to think that I might have missed out on a good book because of my series-aversion!)
I've enjoyed other books and stories by Carrie Vaughn (although I haven't read her Kitty Norville series, which seems to be her best-known work), and I will definitely read the 2nd book whenever it comes out.
2017 original review: Bannerless is a unique and interesting approach to the dystopian genre. In fact, if you took away the references to "the Fall", you might almost think you were reading a story of agrarian life in the Middle Ages. Let me explain...
In Bannerless, we follow main character Enid, a resident of the town of Haven whose occupation is investigator. Investigators are both detectives and enforcers, sent from settlement to settlement to look into complaints, solve problems, and if needed, impose sentences. Investigators tend to be feared -- when these outsiders show up wearing their official brown tunics, it's likely to end in repercussions either for individuals, households, or possibly the entire town.
Enid's village lies among the geographic area known as the Coast Road, sets of smaller and larger settlements who interact for trading, messages, and resources. All follow the same general governing principles. The towns are primarily agrarian, and all members of a community have roles to play. Towns may only produce up to their quotas, so that resources are preserved for for the future. People form households to work together to show productivity, and if they prove that they can support more, they are awarded banners, which give them the right to have a child.
All in all, it sounds like a rather peaceful and healthy way to go about life. Community is all-important. People offer one another help when needed, and when help is provided, there's a commitment made to repay expended resources when the recipient is able.
As I mentioned, if you didn't know the setting, you might think this story takes place a few centuries ago. It has that old-fashioned, idyllic feel to it. But we do know that there was a Fall -- and while the author doesn't go into tremendous detail, it becomes clear that civilization fell over the course of years in which the world was devasted by epidemics, followed by substantial climate change that brought life-threatening changes in weather patterns. Enid's adult life takes place about a century after the Fall, and she still remembers her Aunt Kath, who was the oldest member of Haven and the only one to remember the time before. From Kath, Enid learns about how life used to be, from silly details (like a yearning for plastic wrap) to issues around birth control and reproduction.
In terms of the plot of Bannerless, we follow two timelines in alternating chapters. We see Enid and her investigator partner Tomas, a member of her birth household, as they investigate a suspicious death in the nearby town of Pasadan. This in itself is shocking -- while their investigations mainly focus on banner or quota violations, murder is pretty much unheard of. Meanwhile, in every other chapter, we follow the story of Enid from about 10 years earlier, when she followed her lover on his journeys from town to town, and along the way, learns much more about the communities, the ruins of cities, and her own calling.
What's unusual about Bannerless, and what makes me hesitate to call it "dystopian", is that the societal structure seems to work. There are no castes or debasing rules or the other types of harsh governance that seem to be the hallmark of the genre. Yes, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, but the people seem to have worked out a system that makes sense for them. The rules about banners and birth control don't strike me as autocratic or despotic; they go hand in hand with the focus on resources and quotas. The communities bear an awareness of the disasters that led to civilization's downfall, and they're determined to avoid the excesses that result in barren lands and starving children.
And while Enid and others occasionally yearn for the resources they've heard about through stories about life before the Fall (medical equipment and reliable lab tests, for example), they've found a way to manage and preserve what they have, to share and take communal responsibility for one another, and to sustain future generations by conserving current resources.
Yes, the breaking up of households who flout the rules may sound harsh, but there's a lot of reasonableness too. Of all the various fictional scenarios of life post-disaster, the world of Bannerless sounds pretty okay to me.
The book itself is a quick, engaging read. Don't expect explosions or intense battles or action scenes. The drama is all about the people, their interactions, and their motives -- although this book does a great job of demonstrating how scary it can be to be caught out in the open when a storm is on the way.
According to the author's page on Goodreads, she's working on a sequel, and Bannerless is listed as the first in a series. I had no idea while I was reading the book that this would be an ongoing story, and Bannerless works perfectly well as a stand-alone. (I'm glad I didn't know ahead of time; I tend to avoid starting new series, and I'd hate to think that I might have missed out on a good book because of my series-aversion!)
I've enjoyed other books and stories by Carrie Vaughn (although I haven't read her Kitty Norville series, which seems to be her best-known work), and I will definitely read the 2nd book whenever it comes out.
lkthomas07's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this! I saw book 2 at the library and wanted to read it? But then realized there was a first book! I am always a fan of dystopian novels - they’re always so intriguing. The characters were great, which always hooks me, and the plot was well done too. I’m looking forward to exploring more in this world :-)