I was moved to tears by Exodus and couldn't wait for Zenith to be published. One of the things that I loved about Exodus was the narrative perspective of the main character, Mara, so I found it a bit difficult at first to adjust to the multiple narrative focuses, including Fox, Mara's lover now separated from her. But the effect was to make their separation, and their separate narratives of discovery, all the more moving.
Exodus explored three very inventive spaces: an island at the end of the world, a refugee camp and strange survivors' underground area beneath a Sky city, and the futuristic Sky city itself. Zenith has a broader canvas, one filled with incredible wonders that are reminiscent of the discoveries made by Ged in the Earthsea books: a ramshackle floating pirate city who worship Colonel Sanders, a cargo cult in the Far North with caves closed by car doors, an ice cave that opens onto the top of the world. It's so richly imagined that it's hard to believe it's not real.
Part of the reason for that is Bertagna's gorgeous prose, which is unafraid to be lyrical and equally unafraid to get its hands dirty, particularly in an astonishing sequence near the end that seemed so brave and wonderful for a young adult's book (I won't give a spoiler). The ending, in which three new perspectives emerge, seems full of hard-earned promise: a triumph for a book which began with loss, disaster and despair.
