The City Bleeds Gold
Reviewed By Ian Banks September 13, 2017
Author Lucy Saxon
Distributor: Bloomsbury
ISBN: 9781408847732
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children
Release Date: May 2017
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com
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Set in the world of fantasy Noah is a young man considered one of the finest mask makers in the city of Calen, on the Island of Erova, one of the Talus group of Islands. His family have established a very good life on the right side of the City, having a respected business and a respectable lifestyle.
But here is another side to Noah, that of a young man who ventures into the other side of the city, where he is known as Daniel, a man who looks, dresses and behaves like one of them; the lower cast, the people who have nothing, the people who live from day to day, under the influence of the criminal element headed by Dior. There he has earned his place, with the people starting to depend on his support and help, seeing him as some sort of crusader.
The Festival of the Goddess is fast approaching; the demand for Masks is putting a huge stress on the small family business. This Festival is the biggest event in the City, as it is devoted to ensuring the crops and the rains arrive for the coming year, and that the harvest will be good for everyone, bringing prosperity to the people.
But meantime, Noah has won the heart of the Princess Royal and nuptials are being planned, much to the excitement of his family, as he is just a commoner.
On one of his journeys into the other side of the City, Daniel uncovers a plot to destroy the Festival by the arch villain Dior, a man who has no conscience, and will stop at nothing to achieve his end. But what is to be done about this hideous plot as the rumours have already been spread that Noah, being a commoner and courting the future Queen of Erova, is angering the Goddess and nothing good will come of the liaison.
The two very separate lives of Noah are beginning to come to a collision but what decision will he come to: to step out of his life as Daniel or continue on destroying all that he and his family have achieved. He needs to make a decision, but which ever course he chooses, it will make irrevocable changes to the City and those he loves the most.
Lucy Saxon has once again created a riveting tale based firmly in the world of Fantasy that will keep the pages turning as there is romance, mystery, good and evil intertwined with a great panache