For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund

In this sci-fi adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, the human race is still reeling from scientific experiments gone wrong and is now being led by the Luddite nobility. Years before the events of this novel, some ambitious scientists found a way to manipulate DNA to make better humans. However, when the offspring of these people were all born with severe mental retardation, called the Reduction, it appeared to be the end of the human race until the Luddites, a strict religious minority who had been in hiding, came out and became the new majority. Elliot, our protagonist, has been managing her Luddite family's estate since the death of her mother four years prior, while her father and sister spend the family's money with no qualms about their impending poverty. When Elliot is approached by a post-reductionist fleet, the mentally capable children of the reduced, about renting property from her to build a boat, she grabs at the opportunity to make a little more money to help her family and those living on their property survive, not knowing that part of this fleet is Captain Malakai Wentforth, the boy who she refused to run away with after her mother's death.

This book was absolutely incredible. Whether you're a Jane Austen fan, a sci-fi fan, or neither, you should read this book anyway because it was so amazing (but if you are either or both of those you'll find it all the more entertaining). The science fiction part of the novel was relatively tame but still strong enough to keep the part of me that longs for the extraordinary happy.

Not only was the story and how Jane Austen's tale of long-lost love was adapted fascinating, but the way the story was written and told was exceptional as well. I thought the pace was perfect. Persuasion is not a particularly climactic tale, but Peterfreund managed to space out little tidbits of information to shock the reader just enough so that you absolutely have to continue reading. What I loved most though were the personalities of the characters. Almost every one was round, the heroes, villains, and un-labelable, and acted as a real person would. All in all, this was a phenomenal book and if you haven't read it yet, you're missing out.

5 stars.

 
It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.