Though it’s sci-fi rather than fantasy, I thoroughly enjoyed Unearthed.
On Gaia’s unforgiving surface, academic Jules forges an unlikely and often uneasy alliance with scavver, Mia in his quest to decipher the cryptic riddle of an extinct alien race. While Mia’s mission – to raid the alien temples for loot – is abhorrent to Jules, she is his only hope of survival when he fails to rendezvous with his research team. Can he protect the ancient relics from raiders long enough to unravel the mystery of the aliens’ demise? Is the technology they’ve left behind Earth’s salvation or its doom?
This gripping narrative pulls you along as the teens battle the terrain alien traps and each others’ secrets, while trying to outmanoeuvre their competition. It has you constantly questioning who the real enemy is. It is the treasure hunters? The International Alliance who covet the technology? Do the aliens have an ulterior motive? Or do Jules and Mia have more to fear from each other?
5 stars