THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER by Maria Ereni Dampman is high fantasy. After all, America isn’t a country that would slide backward, take away personal freedoms, and put religion ahead of science, right? Dampman’s vision of the near future depicts a dystopian America run by hypocritical religious zealots and strong-arm goons known as the Purity Police. A divine monarchy has replaced democracy, and the future of America depends on an unborn heir. The plausibility of this dystopian vision may vary depending on readers’ political leanings. But most readers will agree THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER tells a compelling story about a feisty band of rebels fighting back against a fascist government.
At the heart of this story are Emma and Declan. Emma is the black sheep daughter of the sadistic leader, Edward, who Dampman portrays as a mix of Darth Vadar and Tywin Lannister from George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. Emma and Declan separate during a rebel attack; Declan is seriously injured, and Emma becomes her father’s captive. The novel has a mild “Star Wars: A New Hope” feel, with a captured princess rescued by good guy rebels. But Dampman ups the ante when Emma learns she’s pregnant. Edward believes his daughter’s child makes him heir to the throne. But Declan, Emma’s brother, Alec, and a team of rebels plan a daring rescue and counterattack from their headquarters beneath the ruins of Philadelphia.
THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER has a lot of characters and complex storylines, but Dampman keeps them succinct and barreling forward through excellent pacing. The author does an outstanding job of world-building using subtle clues and subtext to convey just how backward and bizarre the America of tomorrow has become. The scars of a terrible civil war and its psychological aftermath are everywhere in this novel. While primarily a futuristic action thriller, THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER also dabbles in romance, with the passionate reunion of Emma and Declan, as well as brother Alec’s complicated relationship with double-agent Alex. There are a couple of sex scenes in the book that seem better suited for an R-rated romance novel and the lengthy and somewhat graphic descriptions of love-making disrupt the flow of this otherwise straightforward science fiction swashbuckler.
With an epic compelling story and sympathetic characters, Maria Ereni Dampman’s THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER is a fast-paced tale of a dystopian, war-torn America that’s structured solidly enough to stand on its own and delivers a satisfying conclusion with enough loose ends to keep readers anticipating the next book in the series.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader