Farmer, Nancy. The Lord of Opium.

Farmer, Nancy.  The Lord of Opium.  Simon & Schuster/ Atheneum    2013 411p ISBN 978-1-4424-8254-8   ms/hs  E-BN  Fantasy     

In this sequel to Farmer’s House of the Scorpion, Matteo, the worthless 14-year-old clone of El Patron, becomes the very human El Patron.  Finding himself in charge of the country of Opium, and overseer of the mind-controlled populace, Matt decides to change the order of things.  As with her other books, Nancy Farmer has created an exceptional YA page turner. The relationships between Matteo and leaders of the other drug countries, as well as his relationships with his most trusted employees and advisors, are truly the pivot points of this book. The story is another of the dystopian variety, with the well-meaning Matt struggling to find answers to the many ills of Opium, and is very well plotted. But it is the storylines involving friends and enemies that truly make this such a fantastic read.  This reader could not find a single negative point to highlight in this review.  While this book is classed as YA, as with so many YA titles, adults will enjoy reading it as well, as did this reviewer.  

Summary: In this sequel to Farmer’s House of the Scorpion, Matteo, the worthless 14-year-old clone of El Patron, becomes the very human El Patron.  Finding himself in charge of the country of Opium, and overseer of the mind-controlled populace, Matt decides to change the order of things. 

Dystopian novels                                            --Lynn Fisher