Daughter of the Centaurs (Centauriad #1)
by Kate Klimo
3 stars: A Good Book
Format: ARC
Publication: January 24, 2012 (Hardback)
Pages: 384
Publisher: Random House BFYR
Author: website | twitter
Buy it: Amazon Hardcopy | Kindle | B&N | Book Depository
Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.
Kate Klimo has masterfully created a new world, which at first seems to be an ancient one or perhaps another world altogether, but is in fact set on earth sometime far in the future.
It was strange for me getting into the story at first because I’m not used to reading books in third-person present tense. However, once I got into the story, it became less noticeable. The Centaurs are an amazing race. It is hard to believe that there world was once the world we live in today. While technology seems to have regressed, the Centaurs have done a magnificent job of making do with what they have and with progressing the arts.
The story starts with Malora as a young girl, aspiring to be like her father. She will, but not in the way that she hoped. After Leatherwings destroy her village, Malora must survive on her own, and there is a rapid transition of time to where Malora is a teenage girl leading a band of wild horses. Malora’s backstory interesting, and it helps the reader get to know Malora, doubly so if you prefer linear sequencing of events. For me, I wanted to get to the heart of the story when Malora meets the Centaurs.
And once she meets them, the story takes off. While the biggest action in this book would have to be the Leatherwing attack on Malora’s village, the rest of the story stands on its own with Malora learning how to integrate within Centaur society and working to gain their trust. I had fun exploring with Malora and learning more about the Centaurs and their way of life. I love the Centaurs she befriends, the Twani, and how she eventually finds her place.
Daughter of the Centaurs is a fantasy that has the potential to captivate tweens, young adults, and perhaps older adults alike, though it seems geared more towards younger readers. I look forward to seeing where Kate Klimo takes us with book two!
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. No payment was received in return for a review. The receipt of the book had no influence on the opinions expressed in my review.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Christina Kit. says
I have to say mythology isn't one of my favorites, but the heroine sounds interesting, and the whole mythology is something that hasn't been done before.