Cry of Justice
Jason Pratt
Reviewed by Vanessa Lee
Cry of Justice begins with a promise and ends with a promise of more.
In between, a large cast of characters struggle to tell their stories,
to rebuild their world, and to find what was ripped from them in a
recently ended war. It is an interesting, evocative tale, but not one
that is for everyone. It's brutal and harsh at times, and quite frankly
difficult to follow if you're not paying attention. This is not a
"beach read."
Pratt's greatest strength with Cry of Justice is also his greatest
weakness. He writes powerful, evocative scenes and asks questions with
and in them that makes you think as you read. He doesn't string them
together in a way that a lot of readers will find easy to follow. There
is a dream-like quality to a lot of this book, with scenes beginning
and ending abruptly and often seeming only tangentially related to each
other.
However, when strung together and examined with care, these
almost-vignettes tell a powerful story of rebuilding and finding
oneself when the world has gone topsy-turvy. In some ways, Cry of
Justice is several stories, one for each of the characters who all
develop separately even as they travel together and who each reacts in
his own way to the stresses of their recently upturned world.
As brigades converge and everyone fights for a place in the new order,
it is up to each individual to decide if he or she is going to stick to
the codes of the old. Each decision must be examined carefully, each
action thoroughly thought out. The difference between friend and foe is
slight, and not always easy to determine.
Pratt creates a real, hard, dirty world that is somehow still
fantastical and full of magic and mystery. It's all in how you look at
it... and how closely you want to follow the saga. It's daunting, but
worthwhile and fortunately readers who are drawn in to Pratt's dream
will have additional chances to visit as there are more books to come.