Predictably, many citizens of Nevermoor and the Free State in general, start to call for all Wunimals to be locked up, for their own safety of course. Hollowpox, the name given to the disease in the book, only infects Wunimals, but infected Wunimals become violent at the peak of their infection and attack everyone around them. Rumours and inaccuracies spread like wildfire, until nobody knew what to believe, could have easily been written about our own world and the spread of misinformation about COVID-19.Īnd apart from the parallels to the pandemic, much of the storyline seems centred around other current global issues, such as racism and rights of citizens. The line, But in many ways the lack of official information made it worse. But I read the publicity blurb for this book around a year ago, so it seems Jessica Townsend might actually be an oracle (like Lambeth, one of Morrigan's classmates from Wunsoc, whose knack is being a short range oracle). If someone were to read this book in about ten years’ time, I think they would roughly look at the release date and assume that it had been written after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Morrigan also increasingly takes a more active and independent role with each new book, reflecting that she is both growing up and growing into her responsibilities.įantasy novels are usually escapist, but many parts of this story were scarily like our current world. This third book centres around a much broader problem, with the outbreak of a highly contagious disease that infects only Wunimals (anthropomorphic animals who are generally peaceful and highly intelligent members of Nevermoor society). It also had the wider problem of the illegal market where Wunsoc members with extremely valuable talents are sold like animals.

The second book, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, has Morrigan safely in Wunsoc but having to establish trust with her classmates. The first book, Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, was mostly about Morrigan, about the importance of her earning a place in the Wundrous Society (Wunsoc). The story is getting darker as the series continues, and the impact is getting wider. I've been looking forward to this latest book for about a year and I wasn't disappointed: the story and the expanded world live up to the previous books. This third book in the wonderful Nevermoor series, Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow, continues the story of Morrigan Crow and her friends in Nevermoor.

Hollowpox by Jessica Townsend