Dystopian Blog Tour- Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson

20% of the author royalties for Feast of Ashes will be donated to African charity CharChar Literacy.

Delighted to be part of this Blog Tour for author Victoria Williamson’s unsettling YA dystopia #FeastofAshes . Thank you @strangelymagic @NeemTreePress @The_WriteReads.

CHARACTER ACROSTICS

Antagonistic

Desperate

Indignant

Neglectful

Aspirational

Dedicated

Earnest

Jealous

Engrossed

Natural Scientist

Omnipresent

Trouble

Impulsive

Energetic

Narcissistic

Neanderthal

One Track Mind

Cuckoo

Haunted

Intelligent

Kicked Out

Unloved

Tender

Attentive

Sister

Healer

Babbling

A Voice of Doom

Beleaguered

Alienated

Nothing There

Omnipresent in the Mind

Monsters

Animals

Lies

Imagination

Enemies

Sinister

BOOK BITE

A disturbing dystopia that addresses universal concerns about genetic mutation and exploitation.

BOOK HAIKU

Conflicted and torn

Adina keeps secrets but

what price will she pay?

Lying to herself

about what she really wants

makes her feel hollow.

Sinister truths mean

difficult decisions as

tensions boil over.

The world’s ecosystems are

at stake, what choice will she make?

BLURB

Rift Valley, Africa, 2123

The Earth’s Ecosystems have failed. Only eco bubbles remain. Has all hope died?

After a catastrophic event, a diverse group led by guilt stricken sixteen year old Adina, must travel through the Wastelands facing deadly dangers. Strange Nomalies are only the start of a terrifying journey fraught with hardship and pain. Can they make it out alive?

BOOK TASTERS

There came a long whining howl, and then silence.”

All I had to do was respond to his moods, reflecting back the flash of yearning whenever we happened to touch. “

A flash of energy sliced down so close to my face I could smell the bittersweet tang of my singed hair.”

Extracts from Feast of Ashes

BOOK BLOGGERS- SPOTLIGHT

Reading Feast of Ashes is an emotional rollercoaster. It is truly a unique dystopian with a very plausible theme of large global corporations destroying the ecosystem for profit. There are a lot of important themes covered that make you think, such as greed, environmental sustainability and corporate corruption.
https://anitaloughrey.blog/2023/10/07/blog-tour-feast-of-ashes-by-victoria-williamson/

While Adina isn’t the most likeable character at first, this changed for me by the end of the story, and the world she and the others find themselves in and the truths that are slowly revealed make not only for a dark, gripping and exciting dystopian story, but also make for an important warning about the world we live in today and what is happening with our environment ( more so if you recognise the clever use of a couple of names in the story!). .
https://thestrawberrypost.wordpress.com/2023/10/13/blog-tour-book-review-feast-of-ashes-by-victoria-williamson/

I wish there’d been more nuance and scientific accuracy rather than simply a deluge of fear. This is a big, divisive topic with many, many layers, but this book reduced the discussion to something one dimensional.
https://sifaelizabethreads.wordpress.com/2023/10/13/blog-tour-book-review-feast-of-ashes-by-victoria-williamson/

This is a powerful and highly evocative story that brings a number of unique, well presented ideas. With a thoughtful concept and an invitingly grim degree of foreboding, it conjures a hostile dystopian world that carries an arresting atmosphere and a genuine sense of trepidation, all inhabited by a group of characters who share some fascinating dynamics.
https://stephenwriterblog.wordpress.com/2023/10/07/blog-tour-review-feast-of-ashes-by-victoria-williamson/

I have to admit it was a bit hard for me to get into the book, but I think fans of YA dystopias will probably have less of a hard time and probably enjoy it a lot more.
In the end I was glad that I kept going, as the author just writes such complex characters you can’t help but feel invested in – whether you like them or not, an extraordinary worldbuilding that just stands out, and an intriguing storyline that keeps you hooked.
https://theartsyreader.com/book-review-feast-of-ashes-by-victoria-williamson-thewritereads-blogtour/

GOOD NIGHT TO READ MINI REVIEW

Victoria dramatically departs from the Middle Grade arena to deliver an ambitious, thought provoking and disturbing dystopian YA novel. Drawing on her experiences of time spent working on literacy projects in Africa she creates a compelling black female lead who is psychologically complex. Told through a first person narrative, she begins her novel [clever word play in the title] with a jaw dropping opening line.

I’ll never forget the date, September the third 2123. How could I? That was the day I killed fourteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty-six people.”

The plot is constructed in two parts, reflecting Adina’s memories in The Beginning of the End and creating a countdown urgency in Part Two where the reader is made aware of the increasing high stakes for the characters as more dark secrets are revealed. It’s a quest, a fight for survival and a study of the damaging nature of repression.

Williamson’s world building is intricate and believable as the action moves from a carefully constructed Eco Bubble community to desolate wastelands populated with horrific sights. She includes an artist’s impression and diagrammatic map of Eden 5 at the start to focus the reader.

The actual geography of Eden 5 later emerges as the story explores the thorny topic of “science manipulating genes in crops and animals”, the destructive nature of corporate greed and the divisiveness of brain washing. This topical and hotly debated issue is projected in a nightmarish futuristic speculative scenario. The novel also encompasses the universal themes of abuse, bullying, cruelty, friendship, growing pains, jealousy, magnetic attraction, denial, guilt, recklessness, moral lessons and self sacrifice. It has searing, cinematic imagery that startles and evokes emotional reactions. There are moments of shock and surprise.

While it is carefully crafted, where the novel falters is Williamson’s reliance on the “if I knew then what was going to happen”, “if only I’d listened” trope which has the effect of distracting and irritating the reader because it removes suspense, which is a key element of dystopian fiction, from her storyline. Otienno could also have more depth as a character rather than just being atavistic eye candy. He is simply a physical being who acts on impulse.

This book will attract fans of dystopian despair, zombie style horror and speculative eco fiction as it paints an appalling portrait of the devastation caused by monopolistic corporations who prioritise profit over people and manipulate nature for their own ends. The scary fact is that it’s not so far from reality as you might think. It also has Orwellian shades of thought control in the beliefs of the inhabitants of Eden 5, perpetuated by Director Eshe and typified by Adina’s attitude when her closest friend Dejen tries to open her eyes to the truth.

“If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
1984

GOOD NIGHT TO READ REVIEW RATING- 3.5 CHOCOLATE LIBRARIES

FIVE FACTS ABOUT VICTORIA WILLIAMSON

Victoria worked as a Reading Tutor with the Book Bus charity in Zambia
She is a patron of Reading with Char Char Literacy to promote early years phonics teaching in Malawi
She worked as a teacher trainer with VSO in Africa
She is passionate about creating inclusive worlds in her literature “where all children can see themselves reflected”
Victoria grew up in Kirkintilloch, North Glasgow, and is widely travelled

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Title: Feast of Ashes
Author: Victoria Williamson
Cover Design: Anna Morrison
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Publication date: October 2023
Length: 323 pp
Genre: Dystopia
Themes: Corporate Greed, Environmental Sustainability, Genetic Mutation, Fragility of Ecosystems
Age group: YA

Victoria will be speaking about her Dystopian YA debut at YALC in November.

BEYOND THE BOOK

Eagle eyes will also detect the clever use of anagrams in Feast of Ashes.

The thorny debate regarding the genetic manipulation of crops referred to as “Frankenfoods” rages on. You can read more about it here.

The work is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a grant from the UK Foreign Office with a condition of funding that the technology will be made freely available to farmers in developing nations in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. It could also have commercial applications elsewhere, although current laws would preclude GM crops being grown commercially in the UK and EU.
Devlin, H [August 2022]. New GM soya beans give 25% greater yield in global food security boost

Trial is first successful demonstration of genetic engineering being used to directly target photosynthesis process. The Guardian. aCCESSED AT: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/18/gm-soya-beans-greater-yield-global-food-security-boost