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
