The Knowledge Seeker: A Young-Adult Dystopian Novel

By Rae Knightly

Book Overview

I AM LOOKING AT YOU - YOU, WHO HAD ACCESS TO INFINITE KNOWLEDGE.

I never asked to be the sole bearer of the entire Knowledge of your civilization. Yet, here I am, barely sixteen-years-old, and it has fallen upon my shoulders to save what remains of humanity from a second Dark Ages.

Your civilization is gone now, lost six hundred years ago in cataclysmic wars brought on by climate change. Your virtual information vanished along with electricity. Only your ancient printed books remain, and they have been scanned into a memory device hanging around my neck, to which only I have access.

For Knowledge is power, and the dreaded Wraith Lord knows this. He would keep the Knowledge for himself. He would hunt me down and force me to give it up, submitting humanity to infinite darkness and servitude.

Knowledge must belong to all, or to none. I must find a way to spread Knowledge back to the world, or die trying.

International bestselling, award-winning author Rae Knightly presents a thrilling young-adult dystopian novel, The Knowledge Seeker, which takes a thought-provoking look at what would remain of our civilization six-hundred-years from now, were we to disappear today. This coming-of-age story will captivate fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, and is ideal for readers aged 12 to 16.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1989605311
• ISBN13: 9781989605318
• Release Date: November 2021
• Publisher: Poco Publishers
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

3 Stars: Worth giving a try

Too many plot lines dilute the story; consequently, none of them land like they should. "The Knowledge Seeker" has an interesting premise and starts out steeped in action. The main character is a lovable underdog swept up in events and machinations far beyond his control. The post-apocalyptic setting is certainly not a new idea, but the world’s relationship with knowledge and technology makes it unique, providing an opportunity to explore the relationship of humanity to knowledge and technology. The novel’s name drives home the point that this is supposed to be the primary theme of the story. Unfortunately, the book never delves in any meaningful way into the relationship between humanity and knowledge and technology. At its core, the story is one about seizing power and revenge, and the generic plot could exist in just about any setting. The concepts of knowledge and technology do not drive or even affect the plot in any meaningful way. Without a competent handling of the main hook and boasting a generic plot, the quality of the book falls back on writing, characters, and world, and these are all middle-of-the-road. The writing does not stand out as anything special but is completely serviceable. There are several errors both in punctuation and word choice, but none which seriously detract from the quality of the writing. Characters are not great and not terrible. Developmental arcs are uniformly flat while aspects of each person which should drastically define them are downplayed and often forgotten about. This results in a cast, heroes and villains alike, who are not memorable in the least. Finally, the world, which should be one of the best parts of this book, ends up being cliched and inconsistent as a uniquely specific setting with a vast array of benefits and difficulties is routinely set aside for a more generic setting. The best example I can give of this is the number and variety of things which exist in this world, six hundred years after said items were originally made. Computers, solar panels, vehicles, ships, clothing, plastic bottles, and even the all-important books exist in working order. First of all, how does this make sense? More importantly, the could have creatively shown the struggle of living only with technologies of hundreds of years ago juxtaposed with the hopeful looking backward to knowledge and technology of the “ancients,” technology which is hardly understood. Instead, the readily available items of today make this feel more like the setting of a zombie story or some other near-future post-apocalyptic tale. In conclusion, this story was entertaining enough that it was not a drag to read, though inconsistencies did leave me scratching my head at times. Meanwhile, flat characters and the unrealized potential of the world mean I would definitely finish everything on my reading list before giving this one a try.