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The Burning Days #2
Mountain Arrow
"We hunt to live. We do not live to hunt."
The River People and the Mountain People have survived for another season. But at what cost? Pandora has returned to her village. She is haunted both by her failure to bring her friend home and the vision she has seen of the last days, The Burning, when creatures swarmed the city. How did these monsters come into being in the first place? And are the last remnants of humanity really safe from them?
Whilst Pan now knows how to shoot an arrow, she still does not know the shape of her own heart and the river stone remains in pieces …
The second book in The Burning Days trilogy, a Young Adult dystopian series from award winning author Rachel Hennessy.
‘River Stone is a cut above … I’m sure I won’t be alone in eagerly anticipating the next instalment in this stellar new series.’
–The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Reading Time
‘… a gripping Young Adult dystopia with a unique flavour, filling the genre’s bones with its vibrant characters, relentless storytelling and a phenomenal world.’
–ReadingsKids
The River People and the Mountain People have survived for another season. But at what cost? Pandora has returned to her village. She is haunted both by her failure to bring her friend home and the vision she has seen of the last days, The Burning, when creatures swarmed the city. How did these monsters come into being in the first place? And are the last remnants of humanity really safe from them?
Whilst Pan now knows how to shoot an arrow, she still does not know the shape of her own heart and the river stone remains in pieces …
The second book in The Burning Days trilogy, a Young Adult dystopian series from award winning author Rachel Hennessy.
‘River Stone is a cut above … I’m sure I won’t be alone in eagerly anticipating the next instalment in this stellar new series.’
–The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Reading Time
‘… a gripping Young Adult dystopia with a unique flavour, filling the genre’s bones with its vibrant characters, relentless storytelling and a phenomenal world.’
–ReadingsKids
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2020
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Hennessy
10 books7 followersRachel Hennessy’s first novel THE QUAKERS won the Adelaide Festival Award for an Unpublished Manuscript and was launched at Writers’ Week in February 2008. The manuscript was also short-listed for the Varuna Writers’ Centre Manuscript Development program and won the ArtsSA prize for Creative Writing. It was described by John Birmingham as "un-put-down-able".
Her second novel, THE HEAVEN I SWALLOWED, was runner-up in the Australian/Vogel Award and longlisted for the Nita B Kibble Award for an established woman writer.
Her first YA novel, RIVER STONE, was released by MidnightSun Publishing in 2019 and is to be followed up by the second book in the trilogy MOUNTAIN ARROW, in November 2020.
"RIVER STONE will send chills down your spine and have you reading just one more chapter late into the night." Kids' Books Reviews
Her second novel, THE HEAVEN I SWALLOWED, was runner-up in the Australian/Vogel Award and longlisted for the Nita B Kibble Award for an established woman writer.
Her first YA novel, RIVER STONE, was released by MidnightSun Publishing in 2019 and is to be followed up by the second book in the trilogy MOUNTAIN ARROW, in November 2020.
"RIVER STONE will send chills down your spine and have you reading just one more chapter late into the night." Kids' Books Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 18, 2023
Thank you to the Children’s Book Council for the opportunity to review this book. This review was originally published on readingtime.com.au.
River Stone – Book One of The Burning Days was published in April 2019. It was original and fresh, and I gave it a very positive review.
Mountain Arrow – Book Two of The Burning Days unfortunately suffers the fate of many second instalments in book trilogies; not a lot happens. Its main purpose is to set up the story for the climactic conclusion – which will be in book three.
I’m struggling to offer a synopsis, as the narrative is so weak. In River Stone we are introduced to Pandora, who is a strong and principled young woman, torn by her commitment to her parents’ way of life, and her strong attraction to Bayat, a young man from another tribe. So much happens in River Stone, including the quintessential ‘journey’, which usually occurs in book two of a trilogy. With the journey already travelled, Mountain Arrow is bereft of a core.
The bulk of the novel is taken up with Pandora vacillating between staying with Matthew, the partner chosen for her by her village as the perfect ‘mate’, or following her heart, and going with Bayat. I often found her irritating and whingey and wished she’d just get on with it! The pace was sluggish at times and I found myself skimming paragraphs. It is overly long at 368 pages.
Part of the issue with the book is the many references to people and incidents from River Stone, but Hennessy does not provide the context to help the reader remember their relevance. Younger, more agile minds may not find this an issue, but with a gap of eighteen months since I last travelled with Pandora, I was struggling to remember!
A number of chapters are narrated by Pan’s friend Fatima, who was lost on their journey to the city in River Stone. She is using an old cassette recorder to tell Pan where she is and what is happening to her. These chapters are more dynamic, as the community in which she finds herself is close to where the ‘ferals’ (or ‘chimera’) are lurking. The community leader, Kalina, is also key to understanding how the ferals were created and is linked to Bayat and his twin brother.
In Mountain Arrow, Hennessy has drawn the different strands of the story towards a climax, which will obviously occur in Book Three. It is, in of itself, not a riveting read. However, it does give the reader the key elements necessary for the conclusion of the story.
River Stone – Book One of The Burning Days was published in April 2019. It was original and fresh, and I gave it a very positive review.
Mountain Arrow – Book Two of The Burning Days unfortunately suffers the fate of many second instalments in book trilogies; not a lot happens. Its main purpose is to set up the story for the climactic conclusion – which will be in book three.
I’m struggling to offer a synopsis, as the narrative is so weak. In River Stone we are introduced to Pandora, who is a strong and principled young woman, torn by her commitment to her parents’ way of life, and her strong attraction to Bayat, a young man from another tribe. So much happens in River Stone, including the quintessential ‘journey’, which usually occurs in book two of a trilogy. With the journey already travelled, Mountain Arrow is bereft of a core.
The bulk of the novel is taken up with Pandora vacillating between staying with Matthew, the partner chosen for her by her village as the perfect ‘mate’, or following her heart, and going with Bayat. I often found her irritating and whingey and wished she’d just get on with it! The pace was sluggish at times and I found myself skimming paragraphs. It is overly long at 368 pages.
Part of the issue with the book is the many references to people and incidents from River Stone, but Hennessy does not provide the context to help the reader remember their relevance. Younger, more agile minds may not find this an issue, but with a gap of eighteen months since I last travelled with Pandora, I was struggling to remember!
A number of chapters are narrated by Pan’s friend Fatima, who was lost on their journey to the city in River Stone. She is using an old cassette recorder to tell Pan where she is and what is happening to her. These chapters are more dynamic, as the community in which she finds herself is close to where the ‘ferals’ (or ‘chimera’) are lurking. The community leader, Kalina, is also key to understanding how the ferals were created and is linked to Bayat and his twin brother.
In Mountain Arrow, Hennessy has drawn the different strands of the story towards a climax, which will obviously occur in Book Three. It is, in of itself, not a riveting read. However, it does give the reader the key elements necessary for the conclusion of the story.
November 4, 2020
Mountain Arrow, book #2 of The Burning Days trilogy was hard to put down. Picking up from just after the end of River Stone, I was immediately taken straight back to the dystopian world of a time after The Burning, knowing now that creatures, feral or chimera exist, but not knowing how they came to be, only that they possibly pose a great danger to the people of the Mountain and River tribes.
Despite having read book #1 in May last year, I was easily able to remember the trials and the journey that Pan, Bayat and their friends had been on, and the outcomes of that journey.
Separated again, Pan back with the River people and Bayat back with the Mountain people, Pan is trying to make peace with what she knows and with having to once again live for the greater good.
Pan is faced with decisions, does she follow her own path, or live the one her people have laid out for her, (she was only slightly annoying once or twice in this book compared to my annoyance with her in book #1, her indecision between Bayat and Matthew, being my only bugbear).
When Bayat and his people show up asking for help, and then another group of survivors stumbles into their village, along with the issue of Emmaline, who was bitten in book one, turning into a creature, and secrets being unearthed, Pan and Bayat must once again go on a journey, this time to find answers and hopefully their friend Fatima who went missing in River Stone.
There are plenty of secrets unearthed in book #2 and plenty of danger coming from several directions. Mountain Arrow kept me interested the whole time.
I have no idea how the end is going to conclude, but I can't wait to see if Pan and Bayat manage to achieve the goal they decide upon at the end of Mountain Arrow, I'm looking forward to the final book City Knife, next year.
Thanks to Midnight Sun Publishing for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
Despite having read book #1 in May last year, I was easily able to remember the trials and the journey that Pan, Bayat and their friends had been on, and the outcomes of that journey.
Separated again, Pan back with the River people and Bayat back with the Mountain people, Pan is trying to make peace with what she knows and with having to once again live for the greater good.
Pan is faced with decisions, does she follow her own path, or live the one her people have laid out for her, (she was only slightly annoying once or twice in this book compared to my annoyance with her in book #1, her indecision between Bayat and Matthew, being my only bugbear).
When Bayat and his people show up asking for help, and then another group of survivors stumbles into their village, along with the issue of Emmaline, who was bitten in book one, turning into a creature, and secrets being unearthed, Pan and Bayat must once again go on a journey, this time to find answers and hopefully their friend Fatima who went missing in River Stone.
There are plenty of secrets unearthed in book #2 and plenty of danger coming from several directions. Mountain Arrow kept me interested the whole time.
I have no idea how the end is going to conclude, but I can't wait to see if Pan and Bayat manage to achieve the goal they decide upon at the end of Mountain Arrow, I'm looking forward to the final book City Knife, next year.
Thanks to Midnight Sun Publishing for a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
October 22, 2022
Mountain Arrow is a strong follow on form River Stone and deals with the aftermath of the the group's trip to the abandoned city to find medicine to save their villages. Focusing on Pandora and her village, and her tumultuous feelings for her partner Matthew and the allure of Bayat, both communities are struggling to come to turns with many deaths and severe weather events that are making it hared to grow and find food. With one of the Fatima left behind and Emmaline suffering the effects of being bitten by a feral, Pandora feels action is needed.
Like its predecessor Mountain Arrow explores the issues and ethics of serving the greater good and the needs of the community against what you believe is inherently right, or what you want. The ferals feature more strongly in this book, and as Fatima and then those that search for her explore the surrounds of the city they find other communities and the history that led to The Burning starts to unfold which presents further ethical consequences.
As with book two, there are two narrative voices, with Fatima recording her experiences in the community that she stumbles into. This adds greatly to the readers understanding of the catastrophe and the hidden familial connection between the different communities. This was a thoroughly engrossing read but it was good pick it up shortly after book 1 as there was little backstory to consolidate earlier events. The story providing strong direction and grounding for what is to come and did round off the main threads rather than leaving the reader without any resolution. Unfortunately I will have to wait for the concluding title as it is not yet published!
Like its predecessor Mountain Arrow explores the issues and ethics of serving the greater good and the needs of the community against what you believe is inherently right, or what you want. The ferals feature more strongly in this book, and as Fatima and then those that search for her explore the surrounds of the city they find other communities and the history that led to The Burning starts to unfold which presents further ethical consequences.
As with book two, there are two narrative voices, with Fatima recording her experiences in the community that she stumbles into. This adds greatly to the readers understanding of the catastrophe and the hidden familial connection between the different communities. This was a thoroughly engrossing read but it was good pick it up shortly after book 1 as there was little backstory to consolidate earlier events. The story providing strong direction and grounding for what is to come and did round off the main threads rather than leaving the reader without any resolution. Unfortunately I will have to wait for the concluding title as it is not yet published!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews