Children of the Sun set in the Adirondacks – Beth Lewis

Submitted: 28th April 2023

Just listen to this blurb. I immediately wanted to go to the Adirondacks. Not to join a cult, but well, the one in this book was fine! Cults are quite fascinating and I was dying to know what it entailed.

We go back to 1982 – Deep in the Adirondack Mountains, over three hundred people live off-grid in a secret community. Atlas is a refuge for broken souls who long for a different life. They believe that another world is out there, waiting…well is it? I am off to find out!

BookTrail locations in Children of the Sun

Boarding Pass Information: Adirondack Mountains

Author guide: Beth Lewis

Genre: thriller

Food and drink to accompany: whatever you can forage

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BookTrail locations in Children of the Sun

This is a book about a cult, but it’s about so much more at the same time. It’s a complex read in some ways given the many threads and various POVs, timelines etc so you do have to concentrate. It’s worth it though as the payoff is good as is the journey and time spent in Atlas, the cult at the heart of the story.

The cult is described with raw emotion. I have never been in a cult and don’t know much about them apart from that one in The Beach and those I’ve seen on TV. This one is unique and a law unto itself. There are many different characters who act and think in unique ways. I’m not sure I liked any of them, but I was keen to read about them all. Type of people who are great in novels but not so much in real life. Many of them are running from something or someone. Therefore, there’s a sense of danger even in the backstories which works well.

BookTrail locations in Children of the Sun

James is the reporter who heads into this world to investigate. He comes with the reader so it was nice to have him to find things out as we all wondered. Root was an odd ball, not sure I warmed to him at all. Then there’s Lewis, Eve and of course, the leader Sol.

Cults are known for making you think the same, one narrative, one made up narrative. This is the case here and we as readers are fed certain lines for a while, until then, the narrative changes. That’s when the book gets fun. What do you believe? What do you hope to find out? Who is telling the truth?

The time I spent in this cult was pure magic. Scary, but magical. The Adirondacks sound lovely so now I have escaped the cult, I would like to go back but under different circumstances. That’s why literary holidays are the best.

A cult classic. Recommended.