Violet Black:
Set in the near future of Aotearoa, the world is ravaged by an extremely lethal virus called m-fever. Many kiwis find themselves suffering with little chance of recovery. Two teenagers, Ethan and Violet miraculously recover from m-fever to find themselves able to do things they couldn’t before. Their brains optimised to a higher level of function, they discover they have the power of telepathy. As a result of their newfound abilities they are taken away by a mysterious organisation calling themselves ‘the foundation’ and begin training to be deployed as psychic weapons.
This book has a lot to offer, with an enjoyable premise and an interesting situation for the characters to throw into. Making for intrigue that kept me reading the sequel. However, it’s a bit of a red flag when the first pages give you a list of characters and their relation to one another. I personally felt that most of the important characters' relation to one another was established fairly well. This was an unnecessary addition to the book and while I understand the intention, it detracts from the enjoyment of discovering the world for yourself as a reader.
The main draw for Violet Black is the way it’s protagonists are able to interact with each other, and while love at first sight is a cliche in most books, the relationship between Ethan and Violet is believable and progresses naturally. The descriptions for their conversations and the way two telepaths understand and read one another are genuinely interesting and make for much more interesting conversation within the story.
An interesting choice for this series is the writing style, slightly segmented, told in the present tense, describing each action in a staccato fashion. In a lot of ways it fits the tone of the story but I found it a little difficult to get used to. Despite this, I enjoyed the way each chapter swaps between the two protagonists, the difference in perspective kept some mystery. I would’ve liked to see more chapters dedicated to the antagonists perspective, as sometimes it was difficult to sympathise or feel invested about the conflict when you’re as confused as the protagonists about their situation and the people they’re up against.
The highlight of this book for me was the last third, where the telepathic abilities are brought to their logical extreme and get the application they deserve. It doesn’t end on much of a cliffhanger but the introduction of threats at the end influenced me to read the sequel. I can recommend this series to teenagers 14 and up, as there are some slightly more mature themes of sex and drug use mentioned but presented in a perfectly restrained way. Violet Black is an enjoyable read with a lot of potential in its sequels, I always love to see Aotearoa as a set piece represented well. Overall, a good addition to any YA novel library.
Black Wolf:
Eileen Merriman, an award winning kiwi author released Black Wolf in August 202, a sequel to Violet Black in the black spiral trilogy. Set in the near future, teenagers who’ve survived an epidemic have gained incredible abilities as a result of their brain becoming fully optimised, and are imprisoned by a secret organisation to have their powers and skills harvested and taken advantage of. After a traumatic defeat, and a great loss, our heroes plan to escape the foundation and figure out the truth behind their powers. Black wolf is a relatively strong follow up to the first novel that expands on the threats the characters face, develops their relationships, and increases the intrigue of what these virally optimised teenagers can do.
After a fairly bleak ending to its predecessor, this book fills a hole in it’s protagonists by expanding on my favourite character, Johnny/Johnno/Fletcher/Phoenix/Black wolf/Wolf Black, the angsty teenage soldier with a storied past and a hundred pseudonyms. The building of his relationship with Violet takes up a bulk of the story and is handled in a tasteful fashion that lends to the tone and suits the audience. Once again though, this entry relies on the ‘instalove’ trope. Which occasionally can be acceptable in a narrative, it just feels unearned and strange for some of this book, considering how many pages are devoted to them fawning over one another after a lot of conflict in the early chapters. Like a switch was flipped halfway. However, with their telepathic interactions growing in complexity and raising a tonne of questions about their capabilities and their connection that make me enthusiastic for a follow up. Discovering more of Johnno’s history and unravelling some of the trauma that makes him interesting is a strong element of the story, I’d love to see him developed more as he’s set up with a lot of potential complexity. Another thing that this new entry manages to improve upon is making its villains hateable. Bringing them into the forefront and driving the plot more than in the first book. This time around their names and actions are memorable and their evil made me root for the protagonists.
In conclusion. This was a strong second entry to the series, and I powered through it much faster than the first, as the intrigue develops through character relationships, powers, and the stakes are much higher than before. If anything, I wish the novel was longer so we could have gotten more than a few hundred pages about two superpowered teenagers taking a road trip around the desert having unprotected sex. As the conflict with the foundation is what I find most compelling about the series. I definitely think it’s worth reading as a follow up to Violet Black, as it sets up for what I hope will be a powerful conclusion.
(A third review is to come as soon as I finish the final book)
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