The Dazzling Heights

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The Dazzling Heights is the sequel to Katharine McGee’s spell-binding The Thousandth Floor. It’s a young adult dystopian novel set in a futuristic New York City completely different from anything I’ve ever imagined. McGee’s NYC is encased in an enormous tower with a thousand stories, and the higher the floor, the richer the residents. One family lives on the thousandth floor, a family everyone considers perfect, but the truth is far more complicated.

The first book introduces us to a cast of unforgettable, deeply flawed characters. Avery is in love with her adopted brother Atlas. Leda has just returned from rehab, more determined than ever to claim Atlas for her own, and she hires hacker Watt, who has created an illegal super computer which he has managed to implant into his brain, to help her. Rylin lives on one of the lower floors, where she struggles to make a good life for her younger sister following the death of their mother while fighting her attraction to a boy who is far above her in social status. Eris is used to living the privileged life, but long held family secrets force her into new and complex situations that will challenge everything she thought she knew about herself and those she loves.

The Dazzling Heights picks up a couple of months after The Thousandth Floor ends, and it’s essential that you read this series in order. This review will contain spoilers for book one, as it’s impossible to discuss events in this story without giving certain things away.

Leda is haunted by Eris’s fall from the roof of the tower, and she’s scared someone will tell the truth about what really happened that night. True, she and Watt have plenty of dirt on those who witnessed the argument that led to the tragic event, but what if that’s not enough to keep everyone quiet? She didn’t mean to push Eris, but she knows her intentions don’t matter all that much in the wake of such a terrible tragedy.

Avery and Atlas long to bring their forbidden love out into the open, but of course, things aren’t quite as simple as that. They aren’t related by blood, but they’ve lived as brother and sister for most of their lives, and everyone is sure to frown on a romantic relationship between them. Sometimes, Avery is tempted to throw caution to the wind and announce her love for Atlas to the world at large, but she knows such an announcement would destroy her parents. Surely, there’s somewhere the two of them can be together, even if it means leaving behind everything that’s familiar.

Rylin has just received a scholarship to an elite, upper-level school. It’s an amazing chance that will grant her opportunities she’s only ever dreamed of, but it will also put her directly in the path of the boy she’s always loved, and whose heart she may have broken beyond repair. Still, her first responsibility is to her sister, and Rylin knows she can’t turn her back on something that could better their lot in such extreme ways, even if it ends up putting her at odds with those she once called friends.

Watt will do just about anything to protect Nadia, the super computer that continues to operate from within his brain. Creating her is his crowning achievement, but it’s something he can never talk about, since computers like Nadia were outlawed generations ago. Leda knows his secret, and she’s threatening to reveal it if he doesn’t help her keep Avery, Atlas, and Rylin in line, so he continues to spy on all of them, relaying his findings to Leda. He dreams of attending a prominent computer college someday, but shifting loyalties and dark secrets might just stand in his way forever.

These characters will be familiar to readers of The Thousandth Floor, but Ms. McGee has allowed them to grow by leaps and bounds here. When the first book ended, I had what I thought were some fairly concrete ideas about where the author would take things, but I was wrong on pretty much all counts. These characters seemed to take on a life of their own, challenging everything I thought I knew about them, their lives, their loves, and their secrets.

We’re also introduced to a new character, Calliope, who has come to the tower under very suspicious circumstances. She and her mother are con artists who thrive on the thrill of pulling off elaborate heists. Now, Calliope has set her sights on Atlas, something that will put her at odds with both Leda and Avery. She knows nothing of the complicated history shared by Atlas and those around him, and her attempts to uncover the secrets they’re working so hard to keep buried just might put all of them directly in the path of a malevolent danger none of them will see coming before it’s too late.

If you’re looking for a book that’s heavy on drama and intrigue, you can’t go wrong with The Dazzling Heights. Alliances are constantly evolving as people fight to stay one step ahead of those they believe are intent on bringing them down. No one is who they seem, and it’s impossible to know who to trust.

Ms. McGee is a master at creating complex but believable worlds. She gives the reader just enough information to immerse them in her creation without resorting to the dreaded info dump and I never felt bogged down by terms or concepts I didn’t understand. I thought I understood the world the author has created after reading the first book, but I learned even more about Manhattan in the twenty-second century here. McGee has created some truly marvelous technology, some of which would be pretty nifty if it actually existed. Watt’s supercomputer was especially fascinating, and I found myself occasionally wishing I had access to such an invention.

The Dazzling Heights is exactly the kind of guilty pleasure read I find myself engrossed in late into the night. Although I found some of the teenaged angst a little hard to take at times, I needed to know how things would turn out for Avery and the rest of the gang (although there are still a number of loose ends to be tied up, so if you don’t like cliffhangers, you might want to wait to read this until the final book is published.)  It was almost impossible to put this book down, and I can’t wait for the final installment to come out sometime next year.

Buy Now: A/BN/iB/K

Reviewed by Shannon Dyer

Grade: B+

Book Type: Young Adult

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date: 20/08/17

Publication Date: 08/2017

Review Tags: dystopian fiction

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

I'm Shannon from Michigan. I've been an avid reader all my life. I adore romance, psychological fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and the occasional memoir. I share my home with my life partner, two dogs, and a very feisty feline.

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Lisa Fernandes
Lisa Fernandes
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08/24/2017 2:59 am

I didn’t quite take to the first volume of the book (the Avery/Atlas romance wasn’t handled very well or to my taste IMO). Watt was my favorite character and your review intrigued me enough to make me want to look this up.