Naslouchač – Stehlíková Petra (2018)

The second, paperback edition of the original Czech fantasy novel from a fascinating dark world where truth and hope have almost been forgotten. The Great War divided the world into two parts, one of which is habitable and the other contaminated by toxic gases. The habitable half is protected by a shield that draws energy from a mineral called sklenit. Near the shield lives a nation of glassmakers, who are the only ones capable of mining sklenit. However, they pay a high price for it. The energy field of the shield condemns the glassmakers to live in medieval conditions, the people from the lowlands have enslaved them, and the mining of sklenit causes them diseases and deformities. Thirteen-year-old Ilan is one of the few born without deformities and also possesses a rare gift – she can listen to sklenit. To avoid being taken away from her family, she has disguised herself as a boy since childhood and hides in a mask and robe that glassmakers must wear as a sign of subservience. Thanks to her gift, she might have a slightly better life, as she can train to become a glassmaker's polisher. However, her abilities are already so exceptional that she catches the eye of the captain of the twenty-five, a squad that protects the glassmaker cities from dangerous creatures born from the poisoned air beyond the shield. Ilan knows she must keep her secret from the twenty-five warriors for...