It took me awhile to come across the genius that is Victoria Schwab, but reading the shortest series among all her works has definitely left me wanting for more of that refreshing originality and the glorious monsters she has dreamt up.

It’s a post- apocalyptic USA, where the border between the states have been dissolved and new territories have sprung up. The first book focuses on Verity, the most gruesome territory at the heart of the land. A “Phenomenon” has caused the collapse of society as we know it and now, actual, real, monsters with sharp claws and teeth roam just beyond the halo of light. But in both the books, it is the humans that are far more scary than the teeth and claw monsters, owing to the fact that it is their sins that give way to the creation of these monsters, in the first place.

The story follows two perspectives, one, Kate Harker and the other, August Flynn. Children of the archenemies across the border, in the same city. The politics and ethics have divided the people of Verity into two, the North side is governed by Callum Harker, where safety is purchased at a steep price and the privileged go on with their lives as if nothing has changed, at least in the daytime. While, the South side is governed by the Flynn family, Henry Flynn, the youngest son of the family, his wife, Emily Flynn, and their three adopted children, Ilsa, Leo and August, with the help of the Flynn Task Force (FTF), where the monsters are kept out of their borders and you purchase your safety by serving in the force. The lifestyles are very different on both sides and the three adopted children on the South side are not exactly human.

Verity has three kinds of monsters, Corsai that feeds on corpses, Malchai that feeds on blood, and Sunai that feeds on soul, of humans. The Corsai are mindless creatures of the darkness, while the Malchai are the more intelligent kind. Sunai looks human but is almost invincible, acts as a judge and feeds on the souls of the sinners. The beauty of Schwab’s creation kicks in with the way the Sunai reap the souls of the sinners. Music is their weapon. Music that brings the souls to the surface and then can be reaped by the Sunai through touch. Pain and passion have the same effect as well. Ilsa, Leo and August Flynn are Sunai.

Eager to get out of his ivory tower, August volunteers for more participation and ends up at the same school as Kate, only daughter of Callum Harker. He is on surveillance duty. The ruse lasts less than a week as an attempt is made on Kate’s life and a Sunai is set up to take the fall, inciting more violence and war.

The first book portrays a shy August who is struggling to find his place in the world with an unending yearning to be human and denying himself the violence that is characteristic of his monstrous nature. While, the Kate of the first book is pretending to be someone else to fit into the world that her father has created and banished her from. The story of friendship in the middle of a war ravaged territory and conspiracy, is not set to be simple from the beginning, but it is a story about friendship between the daughter of a monster who wore human skin and the monster that wanted to be human.

The five hundred page story is fast paced and full of twists you would not see coming. The ending leaves some lose threads that are taken up in the second book that deals with change in a changing territory and the tension of war threatening to boil over. Both the protagonists undergo severe character development within the span of six months, the time difference between the two books, as they both deal with loss and inhabit new roles in their lives.

The story, throughout both the books, challenge the binaries of good and evil, and questions who the real monsters are, the ones performing the deeds or the ones who control those monsters. The Sunai playing their instruments bring about the too familiar pied piper image. The role reversal of the master-slave relation, oppression and subsequent rebellion, is not entirely made of the stardust of fantasy. The darkness is given substance here as other territories are brought in with their gradually rising issues and new monsters being born out of new crimes of humans. August’s struggle for identity and finding a place where he belonged, touches a string with the reader. The endgame of the villain, the masterplan involved turning humans on to each other while the monsters swept in the wake of the carnage to reap the benefits. The very subtle difference between the mindless violence of the humans on its own kind and the hungry violence of the monsters on the humans, strikes a cord.

This is not a love story. It doesn’t have a happy ending. It is a story of growth, of duty and strategy. It is a story that delves into the deeper crevices of humanity and digs out the gore to put it on display with the help of the allegorical monsters. The dynamics between the characters are ever changing and betrayal is a constant theme.

Schwab has observed and analysed, she has found the perfect metaphors, for situations and characters, and has moulded her world after the one we inhabit, she has snuffed out the candle of illusion that we emphasise upon, in our reality. 5 stars out of 5 for these two books. Hope it’ll be a longer series than just these two or even a trilogy. We need more violin playing monsters with human hearts.