While Deathless Divide was a fun reading experience overall, I didn’t love everything about this sequel and ultimately prefer its predecessor Dread Nation. Despite that, I still think Justina Ireland is a great writer. Her character work was standout and the conclusion to this duology was satisfying.

Deathless Divide kicks off right after the ending of Dread Nation. Jane and the crew have escaped the shambler overrun town of Summerland and are well on their way to their city on the hill, Nicodemus. Unfortunately, the supposedly Egalitarian town is plagued with the same demons that haunted Summerland and Jane and Katherine are forced to overcome yet another trial out west.

Justina Ireland’s writing was a joy to read. I flew through this 560 paged tome in three days because her distinct authorial voice for both Jane and Katherine was a delight to read. I appreciated the depth and complexity of these two characters. Neither of them was perfect and Ireland’s eye for fulfilling character progression that kept me hooked.

Jane goes through a harrowing journey throughout this story. I felt her desolation at the losses she suffered, and the layer of cynicism and bitterness she coated herself in to survive was frustrating but understandable. This was a book about coming back from the brink, letting go of vengeance, and learning to let people love you, and every beat of Jane’s arc was emotional and impactful.

The addition of Katherine’s point of view was seamless. Ireland distinguished these two easily and I could flip to any page in this novel and almost instantly know whose head we were in. Katherine’s perspective was a refreshing contrast to Jane’s, and seeing her deal with generalized anxiety on top of the same loss and trauma Jane goes through was gripping. I loved the unwavering support she offered towards Jane. Katherine fought for Jane no matter how hard she tried to push her away. Seeing such a powerful female friendship take center stage in a novel was moving.

While I found this novel fun and fast-paced, it would have been much better split in two. Deathless Divide takes place in two distinct halves separated by an 18 month time jump and the pacing of this story would have been more satisfying if Ireland had been allowed to flesh each part out into its own novel. The first section taking place in Nicodemus felt rushed. We had very little time to introduce and flesh out the new characters and reconnect with characters from Dread Nation. Its plot felt constricted because events stacked on top of each other and there was barely time to see the blowback of plot points before we moved on to the next beat. The emotional heavy hitter at the midpoint of the story would have been more emotionally impactful if the story had been given more room to breathe.

The second half of Deathless Divide fully leaned into the vengeance quest western feel and I had a lot of fun seeing Jane as a take no prisoners bounty hunter. This half had a lot of emotional weight to it and the development of Jane’s character was particularly well done. However, it did again feel rushed. After the time jump both Jane and Katherine are in very different places in their life. Because the story was so fast-paced I didn’t feel fully settled in their new lives before the plot kicked into high gear. A few more chapters exploring their new lives would have been greatly appreciated. I also felt intriguing side characters like Jane’s girlfriend Callie as well as Daniel and Lily could have had a bit more screen time given how important they were to the plot and characters.

I also took issue with the way Ireland wrote Native Americans. While Ireland attempted to be inclusive in her representation her depiction of the community was divisive in a way that made me uncomfortable. While I love stories about black power and excellence however the framing of the black struggle as the worst among people of colour in America felt ill-considered given the cultural and literal genocide of Native American people. If you want an ownvoices analysis of the representation of Native people in Dread Nation I would highly encourage you to read this post by Debbie Reese of the American Indians in Children’s Literature blog. The tension between black and Chinese Americans also didn’t sit well with me. While I don’t doubt the veracity of the depiction of the relationship between black Americans and Chinese Americans during this time the antagonism central to that dynamic just didn’t sit right with me.

In the end, I think the Dread Nation duology was solid. Ireland shone in depicting a layered and moving female friendship and had fantastic characters. While the pacing could have been better and the representation didn’t quite sit right with me this series was a fun romp overall. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes open for any projects Ireland has in the works.