Retribution.

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Set at some future time, the Triskelia trilogy posits a greatly depopulated world in which North America is ruled by a cruel elite, the Keylanders, who live within the confines of eight Keys, or walled cities. By controlling the weather, the Keylanders have caused the continent’s remaining inhabitants to exist in a drought-like situation wherein their numbers are reduced by disease or the murderous raids of the Keys’ militia, the Guards. The Droughtlanders’ sole hope for a better future resides in their belief in the possibility of a revolution led by a rebel group, the Triskelians. Both sides of the conflict are represented within the trilogy’s central characters, the Maddox family. Edmund is Chancellor of the Eastern Key, but, unknown to him, his wife, Lisette, was a Triskelian agent. While Edmund believes he fathered twins, the favoured macho Seth and the disappointingly weak Eli, both now 16, the twins are actually triplets, with the third, Sabine, having been secretly sent to Triskelia at birth.

The concluding two volumes in the Triskelia trilogy most satisfactorily resolve the numerous issues raised by the opening book, The Droughtlanders, the conclusion of which saw the rebel base, Triskelia, destroyed by the Guards. In Retribution, the Triskelian survivors regroup and move forward, with each of the triplets taking on a role in the future revolution. On her deathbed, the Triskelian leader appoints Sabine as her successor while Seth, perceiving himself to be the revolution’s military commander, recruits and trains a child army. Eschewing violence, Eli believes that the Highers are calling him to become the revolution’s spiritual leader. In Storm, as the Triskelian-led Droughtlanders rise up in revolt, the siblings continue to confront a variety of personal struggles, including Sabine’s self-doubt, Eli’s drug addiction, and Seth’s residual Keylander-bred quest for personal power.

            Although Mac has created a massive cast of first- and second-level characters, they remain identifiable to readers who follow the story’s events via the perspectives of the triplets and their father. As in The Droughtlanders, Mac divides the books’ contents into three titled sections. Unlike many authors of sequels or trilogies, in neither Retribution nor Storm does Mac provide a summing-up chapter, a situation which demands that adolescents read the titles in order. Nonetheless, strong characterization embedded in an action-packed plot will make the Triskelia trilogy a hit with SF fans. Highly recommended.