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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Downfall by Abigail Morrison is set in Castia, a snowbound city built in strict levels, where engineering student Rebecca Dalton discovers that strange power surges near the great support pillars may be manufactured. When she investigates one signal, she is attacked and wakes up in the Bones, the lowest district, where waste worker Reuben—aka Jakes—hides her from a gang hunting for reward money. Rebecca needs proof that someone is tampering with the pillars before the city blames the poor districts for a crisis they may not have caused. Reuben knows the lower routes, but his past links him to one of Castia’s ruling families. As Rebecca searches for a way back to the upper levels, the evidence points toward people trusted to protect the city, placing her work, her name, and Reuben’s life at risk.
Downfall by Abigail Morrison is class-coded dystopian science fiction, and the author gives Castia’s domed city a sharp social design rooted in its unequal power system. The technology is easy to follow because the author uses the science as an anchor, but not a crutch, and the engineering language is readable as Rebecca moves from places like the Voon pillar data to Voren’s false spike device. The strongest question is civic: who is permitted to call a system broken when that system benefits its rulers? Rebecca is a brilliant female lead, and she becomes more than a privileged witness; Reuben's survival in the Bones has a similar backstory. The pace is good, and Morrison ties each set piece to Castia’s failing order. Well written and immersive, readers who like political sci-fi with class conflict, a female lead who is also a POC, and a unique premise will adore this book. I'm excited to see where Morrison takes us next in the Chronicles of Castia series.
