Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac (review)

When a mysterious alien cloud touched Earth years ago, all technology ceased to function, leaving survivors to eke out an existence in isolated rural communities. Seventeen-year-old Apache hunter Lozen is both protector and prisoner after being forcibly recruited by one of these communities to fight on their behalf. In exchange for food, shelter, and the lives of her remaining family, she hunts the genetically modified monsters that prowl the sparse forests that surround the compound and runs errands across the dangerous landscapes. Lozen, though, is planning her escape, and her emerging ability to read the thoughts of others helps her find allies, including a shy, musical young gardener, a disfigured leader with secrets of his own, and a sasquatch who could be seeing Lozen as a friend or as a meal. This unusual survival story brings a tight, emotionally spare narrative into the often overwrought dystopian genre. Lozen is a captivating heroine who uses her heritage of survival to find hope and strength, and the novel as a whole draws strongly on Apache language and folklore without being heavy-handed. The plotting has an episodic, almost mythological, feel, as Lozen ventures out to kill terrifying beasts only to be forced home for new assignments. Vivid descriptions of her kills and bloody fights with her humanenemies are authentically gory, and the battle scenes are well paced for maximum heart-racing effect. Readers who prefer their warrior heroines with more battle-hardened sass and less self-reflection will find a lot to love here, as will fans of post-apocalyptic survival stories in less well-worn settings.