Masks

After putting down a rebellion, the Autarch of Aygrima devises a plan to ensure the loyalty of citizens. At the age of 15, citizens don a magic-infused mask, which they must wear at all times in public. The mask confers social status, with those few magical citizens wearing more elaborate masks, and which denote their particular occupation in society. On her fifteenth birthday, Mara, daughter of a renowned mask-maker, looks forward to her masking, which will ensure her plans to apprentice with her father. Then, to her surprise, her mask rejects her, and she is taken away from her family and home, to toil in the mines with those like her. But while working in those mines she begins to understand the hidden truths about the Autarch and his rule over society.

The marketing material with this first novel in a fantasy trilogy suggests that it will appeal to fans of Pullman’s Golden Compass, or Collins’ Hunger Games. However, I would relate this highly readable book more closely to Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind, or Britain’s Green Rider Series.