Fog & Fireflies

Hundreds of seasons ago, a wizard’s war scarred the earth, leaving a malevolent fog blanketing the land, and carrying the settlements within it like ships adrift at sea. The phantoms, the fog created are deadly to adults, so children must guard the walls now, and care for each other. Ogma and the other children of her village have only themselves to depend upon, with only their courage to guide them against the phantoms of the night in this cruel and blacked world.

The very best of YA (young adult) media are the ones that manage to both empower and unnerve their target audience. Young readers who have spent the whole of their lives being dependent on parents, slowly longing for independence; now witnessing through literary surrogates the challenges and rewards that such independence can yield. The very media and novels that serve as bridges between the escapist fantasy of childhood and the self-sufficient autonomy of adulthood.

The captivating Fog & Fireflies by T.H. Lehnen certainly fits and exceeds that total order. Lehnen has created a compelling world of rich, dangerous elements, and vivid detail. Ogma is a perfect character for the reader to relate and root for. Envision Dorothy in a world of cruel mists summoning up her last bites of courage to save all her Oz companions. Ogma is by now a seasoned warrior, she is far more prepared and wiry than most of her other YA genre counterparts.

A literary world in which the social order has not only broken down is a common trope of fantasy. But, here Lehnen has turned it on its head, our author is less interested in the process of decay, than in the ability of humanity to withstand it. To find the courage to adapt and keep pushing forward. A world in which children are robbed of a carefree childhood and have to take on guardianship of younger children and teach them all the life lessons they’ve managed to absorb. Ogma is one of the eldest children in the Windmill Town, and there is a muted uncertainty in the reader’s mind as she races to protect a much of her fellow towns people, for as long as she can, before the fog comes for her.

Make no mistake, this is a great and triumphant tale. Dark and soulful; haunting and hopeful. Epic world building, beautiful prose, and the uncertainty of what moves and screams beyond walls of protection. It’s the kind of book and author that makes a darning, masterful, and compelling bid for literary greatness!