← Back to search
Cover of The Gift

The Gift

Patrick O'Leary (1997)

SubgenreSoft SF / Social SF
Age groupYA 12-17
Content ratingPG-13
Pages (Standard (250-400))
Setting
CSM age14
Goodreads3.89

Content levels

ViolenceModerate
Sexual contentNone
LanguageMild

Trigger warnings

Child AbuseTortureManipulationBody HorrorTrauma

Positive tags

Coming of AgeFound FamilyRedemption ArcHurt/Comfort

Tropes

Lost ColonyDystopiaReluctant HeroMorally Gray ProtagonistFound FamilySoft SF

Themes

Innocence BetrayedPower and CorruptionMagic as CurseChildhood TraumaAmbition and FallRevengeComing of Age

Synopsis

A story within a story, The Gift is a story of innocence betrayed and magic rejected. Tim is robbed of his childhood, and Simon is tormented by hearing made too acute. Both are victims of The Usher of the Night, once a boy like them, now pathetically twisted by his own ambition and by Tomen, a malevolent creature of magic. Together Simon and Tim must rid their land of the magic that has been misused by Tomen and The Usher.

Tags

Dark FantasyFabulistFairy Tale ElementsPsychological