The Hollow People (The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus Series) Book

I have this absolutely ridiculous, probably unhealthy love of dystopian fiction. If it takes place in a nasty-sounding society with lots of crazy government and crazier people in charge of it -- I'm so there. If it's futuristic-y, or science fiction-y, or fantasy-y [ugh, I know, but I had to keep the pattern up] -- then I'm there in 1/2 the time. So, I feel like I should get that disclaimer out of the way because I've been reading a LOT of dystopian fiction lately. It's like I'm on a major pessimism kick or something. Who knows. But here's another dystopian, the first in a series.

The Hollow People was a pretty good read. It had the hallmark of a good dystopian, which is the crazy authorities who have gone, well... crazy. And have thus created a society in which everyone is controlled intensely, situated on the isolated island of Tarnegar, home to a mental asylum and a small community made up of those who work at the institution. In this book, the controlling is done through the use of a drug called Ichor, which makes people become obedient mush and suppresses their dreams. But unbeknownst to those in charge, Dante the lowly kitchen boy is still dreaming. And so does Beatrice, but that's because he has yet to go through the coming of age ceremony where kids receive their first dosing of Ichor. Beatrice, however, has been dreaming of a ruined city and this makes her interesting to both Dante and one of the asylum's "patients" (really prisoners), Ezekiel. I don't want to say much more than that so that I don't give away too much. But there's a little bit of magic, some adventure, and a whole lot of creepiness. (Asylums freak me out.)

The book is definitely an interesting one, particularly if you're as crazy as I am about dystopian novels. It was a pretty quick read and the story's pace was good. I enjoyed it and will be reading the next book in the trilogy. (They've all been released now, which is nice.)