Gilded Cage is an exquisitely wicked book. The gilded cover only hints at what lies within. Author Vic James unleashes a lavishly opulent, yet brutally vivid, alternate England which subtly questions modern beliefs, challenging readers from the start. The key concept is that aristocratic families with a magical ‘Skill’ rule the country. Those without this magical ability must serve 10 years’ service by doing the undesirable jobs no one aspires to. Most (though not all) of which involve being walled up in slave towns.
Part dark industrial fantasy, part intelligent urban fantasy with a healthy dose of reality to blitz away any preconceived notions, Gilded Cage toys with the reader’s emotions and beliefs. There have been comparisons to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Hunger Games, and even A Song of Fire and Ice. This first instalment of The Dark Gifts certainly has the remarkable elements found in each of these, but it isn’t any one of them.
Though the Gilded Cage will be found on the Young Adult shelves in most books stores, it should not be limited to them, any more than its origins on Wattpad should be reason to consider it beneath any reader.
Confident Abigail Hadley engineers the best of a bad situation by putting her career on hold to ensure her whole family serve their slave days on the powerful Jardine Estate. Despite the family’s luxurious surroundings, though, all is not as it appears. As Abigail’s risk-taking brother Luke is split from the family, we’re truly allowed to see the scale of this realm’s division. By veering away from the preferred singular view point of most YA novels, this vicious world is revealed with greater depth because of it.
While Abigail and the rest of her family discover how best to serve out their slave days without raising the wrath of the most powerful family in the kingdom, Luke’s service involves a more dangerous game. Each game challenges his own perceptions while his actions gain wider attention.
Vic James’ world building clearly stems from her love and knowledge of history as much as her experience in film-making, she makes the alternative north and south of England as tangible as her characters.
From young to old, Skilled or commoner, the characters are believable as the plot entwines them and expected tropes are toyed with. Political ambition plays its part and romance shows its head. The issues of being the voice of reason and common sense in a sea of self-preservation also has a role. Unlike many stories Gilded Cage will compete with, the love interest doesn’t become the plot.
All of these mature, adult concepts are hidden away in this frustratingly well-paced novel which immerses its reader, leaving them little time to nit-pick. It’s hard not to see the comparatives to the current world around us. If ever there was a speculative fiction book that captured the zeitgeist of an era this is it – but only if you actively look for those signs. Personally I’d suggest you sit back and enjoy the magic, the real world will find you later.
Published by TorUK in the UK and Del Rey in the US, Gilded Cage has certainly set the bar high for other books on my TBR this year. The first chapter is available to read for free here. This is the first novel by Vic James, and a strong one which leaves me in no doubt by the end of this year she will have more impatient fans demanding to know what happens next!
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by Shellie Horst – SFFWorld.com © 2017
