This page contains spoilers. You Have Been Warned.
In the aftermath of a deadly magic disease, much of the former United States has become an uninhabitable wasteland with the exception of the militaristic Carolinia. When an outbreak among refugees leaves him the sole survivor and a technopath, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro is thrust into an elite new world.
Feverwake is a YA duology written by Victoria Lee. It consists of two novels: The Fever King, released March 1st, 2019, and the sequel The Electric Heir which was released March 5th, 2020. On June 29th, 2019, Website/Webtoon launched a webcomic adaption illustrated by Sara Deek.
You can purchase the first book here
. And read the webcomic adaption here.
Feverwake contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Lehrer who is emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive to Dara
- Ambiguously Brown: It's unclear what race Dara is. His Persian name suggests he is Southeast Asian, but he could also very well be black or mixed race.
- Broken Bird: Dara, who has been sexually abused for years by his adoptive father and cannot confide in anyone for fear of their safety.
- Divided States of America: Atlantia, Carolinia, and Texas are what's left of the United States. And from what we are told, Atlantia isn't doing very well.
- Ephebophile: General Ames, who began a sexual relationship with Dara when he was a younger teen, and also Lehrer, who sexually abuses Dara and later enters a relationship with Noam.
- Synthetic Plague: In the second book, it is revealed that the virus was engineered by Lehrer.
- Fille Fatale: Dara is a male deconstruction of this trope, having been sexually abused for years and feeling desperate for a sense of control.
- Official Couple: Noam and Dara.
- Promiscuity After Rape: Heavily implied to be the case with Dara.
- Sole Survivor: Noam is the sole survivor of an outbreak that kills nearly everyone he knows. And also Carter Ames, who was the only survivor after General Ames intentionally infected his family with the virus.
- 20 Minutes into the Future: Takes place in 2122, but outside of the virus and witchings, society itself is still very much the same. The xenophobia towards Atlantian refugees, and later Texans, very much mirrors the modern United States attitude towards South American and Middle Eastern immigrants. Technology is also not shown to have advanced much, but this is implied to be the effect of ongoing war and isolationism.
- Vestigial Empire: Texas is implied to have become this as a result of their long-standing conflict with Carolinia.
