The Midnight Charter [Hardcover]

In a nod to the harsh realities for children in Dickens' Oliver Twist, the magic in the Harry Potter series, and the kind of society-building of Neal Stephenson's Anathem and Bernard Beckett's Genesis, David Whitley presents a superbly paced novel about two children whose brooding, plague-infested city puts a price on everything, including human life. In The Midnight Charter, Agora is a walled metropolis that seems rooted in the eighteenth century in terms of its level of industrial development, but is simultaneously clearly outside of our known history, much as is Harry Potter's magic school. Agora is run by the reclusive Director who commands an army of "receivers" whose job it is to collect and monitor every single contract citizens make. Barter runs the city's economy for everything from food to feelings.

After coming down with the gray-spot plague and being sold to a doctor by his father, a boy named Mark reaches his twelfth birthday, his "title day," and is given the coinciding right to make his own contracts. Becoming an apprentice to the city's most famous astrologer, he decides to work inside the system to gain security and respect. Meanwhile, Lily, only a little older than Mark, has other ideas. She begins the tale as a servant of that same great astrologer, Count Stelli, and living in his dark tower -- where she and Mark first meet -- but, when the opportunity arises, she leaves for a less certain life out among those who barely subsist. Lily wants to prove that charity, not profit, ought to be the basis for a good and healthy society. Although she and Mark live by polar opposite world views, they maintain their connections over the next couple years as the secretive and ruthless Powers-That-Be in Agora manipulate their lives, and those of their friends, and force them to make fateful decisions. Can this young pair change dystopian Agora forever? Can they see things more clearly than their elders? And can they hope to gain the lives they want for themselves?

THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER is supposedly meant for readers ages 11-14, but it will likely appeal to people of all ages who enjoy fantasy with finely-etched characters, a constantly moving plot, clear-eyed and focused writing, and some thought-provoking ideas about the extent to which commerce ought to dominate a society (a fitting topic for us twenty-first century folk living through some serious economic "adjustments"). This novel kicks off what will be, one assumes and hopes, a series of adventures for Mark and Lily. I'm already chompin' at the bit for the anticipated sequel..... (4.5 stars)

The Midnight Charter / 978-1-596-43381-6

Possibly the most intriguing thing about "Midnight Charter" is the city setting itself. The city of Agora is a closed world, with tall walls preventing any entry or exit to the outside world. Within the city, there is no money - only an elaborate barter system where everything is available for trade, including the emotions of the poor and desperate. The system is, however, inherently unstable - how does one hoard wealth and power in a barter-based economy (particularly one that doesn't seem to have non-perishable food goods)? The paintings that one invests in today may be worthless tomorrow with the changing of the fashions; the perfumes that one bought in bulk yesterday may spoil in the heat and become rancid.

Inside this world, two orphans struggle to make their way - Mark, by working within the system in an attempt to survive and thrive, and Lily, by working subversively against the system with a revolutionary alms-house in which the poor and desperate may eat food for *free*, a radical and possibly illegal idea.

Whitley is an intelligent author and regards his readers as such. The world-building occurs at a pleasant pace, without obscuring the story or placing it on hold. Plot twists are revealed in a sensible manner, without overdone build-up or silly, contrived coincidences to propel the plot. I particularly enjoy Whitley's clever use of names ("Agora" for a city afraid of the outside world, "Laud" for a character whose living is made praising his clients, "Lily" and "Lilith" as two very different names for a complex character, and so forth) as well as his remarkable restraint and subtlety in never, ever pointing out how clever his names are.

The only thing that displeased me about "Midnight Charter" is the lack of resolution, or at least the manner of the ending chapters. While I may not be pleased to be left hanging for an obvious attempt at a sequel, I recognize that every series must have a first installment, and I don't hold that against the book. Rather, I was frustrated with the somewhat rushed feel of the final chapters, with an expositionary "please-explain-what-all-has-been-happening" extended scene lifted right out of The Matrix Reloaded a la 'The Architect' and a final page that almost screams for a movie tie-in, with the perfect zooming out to the credits as the heroes gaze about their surroundings in awe and bewilderment. I deeply dislike "Here is your choice" set-ups in books and movies where the protagonists simply accept the simplistic framing handed to them without at least considering alternatives. Having said all that, these complaints are extremely minor, and I will definitely be procuring the sequel just as soon as it gets written.

NOTE: This review is based on a free Advance Review Copy of this book provided through Amazon Vine.

~ Ana Mardoll

I have a hard time leaving a book I have started reading unfinished. Even when I hate the book, I usually still find myself wanting to know what happened. That being said, there were many times when I considered putting this book down.

The story follows Lily and Mark as they go from orphaned servants to important members of Agoran society. Lily has been an orphan her entire life and was sold by her orphange to work. She comes to work as an astrologer's servant, where she comes to meet Mark, a boy who grew up in the slums and was sold by his father to the astrologer's son--Dr. Theopilis when they had both contracted a plague that was sweeping the poor in the city. Agora is a city where everything is about contracts, ownership, and sales. Even emotions can be extracted from a person and sold. Events conspire to lead the pair of friends of opposite paths--Lily works to help the poor of the city while Mark becomes rich and influential. But something bigger is at stake--Lily and Mark are part of a mysterious prophecy meant to determine the future of the city itself.

It feels like we are missing steps throughout the story. We jump from point A to point D to point G, etc. So much time elapses from one chapter to the next that we are always being given summary of the time we missed. As a result, we can't get involved in the story and just settle into it. It also makes the development of the characters and story feel forced and unrealistic because we didn't get to see it happen.

The message of the story, about the need for charity, the importance of human life, and how money can corrupt, feels a little preachy instead of natural. I would have liked it to be slightly more subtle. (Perhaps without Lily literally spelling it out at one point...)

Ultimately, I couldn't get into the story and have major issues with the way it ended. It simply didn't seem to make sense logically [Spoiler]: How can they change the city if they cannot return to it?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 33 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars