But what was once a relatively stable system is headed for a shakeup as the gulf between the haves and have-nots widens. Populated by the refugees and descendants of refugees from nations destroyed by social upheaval and environmental disasters, Qaanaaq is run by software while political and economic power rests in the hands of landlords, crime gangs, and the ultrawealthy, never-seen shareholders. Secrets are revealed and a power structure is under threat in this near-future, almost-but-not-quite dystopian tale set in a floating Arctic Circle city.
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They see her as nothing but a young woman, easily used for their own ends and discarded. But even that peace is threatened when the powerful men of Egypt plot to replace her. But a woman on the throne defies maat, and even Hatshepsut is not so bold as to risk the safety of the Two Lands for her own ends.As God's Wife of Amun, she believes she has found the perfect balance of power and maat, and has reconciled herself to contentment with her station. Her mother claims Hatshepsut is destined for Egypt's throne - not as the king's chief wife, but as the king herself, despite her female body. The son of the god must take her rightful place on Egypt's throne.Hatshepsut longs for power, but she is constrained by her commitment to maat - the sacred order of righteousness, the way things must be. Over the course of the long voyage, Jessie grows more and more sickened by the greed of the sailors and the cruelty with which the slaves are treated. Jessie’s job is to provide music for the slaves to dance to on the ship’s deck-not for amusement but for exercise, as a way to keep their muscles strong and their bodies profitable. There, the Moonlight picks up ninety-eight black prisoners, and the men, women, and children, chained hand and foot, are methodically crammed into the ship’s hold. When he wakes up, Jessie finds himself aboard a slave ship, bound for Africa. One night, on his way home, a canvas is thrown over his head and he’s knocked unconscious. Thirteen-year-old Jessie Bollier earns a few pennies playing his fife on the docks of New Orleans. In this iconic, wrenching Newbery Medal winning book, a young Louisiana boy faces the horrors of slavery when he is kidnapped and forced to work on a slave ship. |