A Torch Against the Night, Sabaa Tahir’s second Young Adult novel continues the saga of Elias and Laia as they journey north through the treacherous Martian Empire in their quest to save Laia’s brother from prison. Trying to elude the Empire’s Commandant Helen, their once great friend who is now following orders from the Emperor to destroy them, all three must deal with both their pasts as well as the present as they fight to stay alive.
Reviewers of Tahir’s first book in the series, An Ember in Ashes, compared it to Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones for its intensity, suspense and her ability to create a realistic fantasy world.
“The book took on a life of its own,” says Tahir, describing the sequel as much more difficult to write. “I feel sometimes like I’m just writing their stories, that I’m a scribe. It’s funny that way. It might be useful for my plot if I could get control of them, if I could get them to follow me.”
So immersed does Tahir get in her writing that her friends and family describe her as impo
ssible.
“I forget that I’m supposed to do things with friends, go to appointments, do things that other people are doing,” she says.
Her background in journalism—she was a night editor for the Wall Street Journal and her upbringing in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s eighteen-room motel where she avidly read her brother’s comic book collection as well as any Science Fiction novels she could get a hold of, helped prepare her for
deft, fast moving story telling.
Already at work on her third book of the series, Tahir says she hopes readers find her book compelling and enjoyable.
“I would also love that they read it and see that hope is more powerful than fear,” she says. “I think we can find a reason to hope, even in the darkest times.”
Ifyougo:
What: Talk and book signing
When: September 14, 2016 at 7:00 PM
Presentation and Book Signing at Anderson’s Bookshop
Where: Anderson’s Bookshop, 5112 Main St, Downers Grove, IL
Cost: Free
FYI: (630) 963-2665
Shelf Life 