Dystopian novel, “Gilded Cage”, fails to inspire magic

‘Gilded Cage” by Vic James received quite a bit of buzz in the book blogger world early in 2017. Set in a dystopian world ruled with a hint of magic, 'Gilded Cage” showed some promise as being the next hot read.

Sadly, 'Gilded Cage” failed to deliver and has quietly faded into the background. By the time I finished reading it, I was left with too many questions and had me feeling frustrated and at a loss.

The rules of the world are never fully laid out for the reader. The Equals rule the world with their magic that is hinted at in stories of the past (there was a magical revolution) and with brief pops when conflict arises in the plot. No one explains how the Equals got their power or why they got their power. At certain points, when an attempt is made, not even the Equals understand how or why they have the powers they do and how they are passed from generation to generation.

Adding to the confusion were multiple points of view. In about 300 pages, you are confronted with seven different points of view. As a result, you never get a complete picture of the political game that is happening. The snippets and short conversations you do get are intriguing and kept me reading, hoping more would be revealed. Unfortunately, James never delivers leaving you detached from the story and characters. It's hard to root for the good guys (or bad guys in the case of Silyen who showed some promise) if you never get a grasp on the reason they are doing what they are doing.

With so many points of view, you never get a complete painting of the world, its political structure, its magical rules or what game is being played. There are too many players for a young adult novel. 'Gilded Cage” attempts to aspire to the 'A Song of Ice and Fire” series (aka 'The Game of Thrones”) for kids, but is less masterfully composed.