Divining the Secrets of Zodiac

By Benji C. 

Welcome back to blogging with Benji, where there’s no need to be shelf-conscious! This month, I’ll be talking about Zodiac by Romina Russell (pen name for Romina Garber). Published in 2014, Zodiac is a YA novel about a futuristic society set in a different galaxy, where humanity is divided into twelve houses/constellations (based on the traditional zodiac signs like Cancer or Libra) that are collectively referred to as the “Zodiac”. It follows a sixteen-year-old girl named Rho in her mission to unite the divided Zodiac, help her House recover from a recent calamity, and defeat an ancient evil that threatens to destroy everything. The Zodiac is the first in a four-book series that I would definitely recommend checking out. 

Rhoma Grace, or ‘Rho’, is a talented young acolyte studying to become a 'zodai' for her House. Zodai are ‘peacekeepers’ of the

galaxy and are talented in the art of reading the stars. Rho is Cancrian, meaning that she hails from House Cancer. Each house in the Zodiac has unique traits ranging from appearance to lifestyle, culture, governance, and even personality. For example, Cancrians are known to be nurturing, selfless, compassionate, curly-haired, live in a matriarchal society, and have eyes reflecting the color of the Cancer Sea. The Zodiac Galaxy has twelve planetary systems/constellations centered around ‘Helios’, a galactic sun which is regarded as the ‘anchor to life’. The Crab Constellation consists of Cancer, an ocean planet, and four moons. There is a lot of tension between Houses that stems from a lack of unity and trust. Each House is largely isolated from the others, and each planetary system is not very diverse (e.g. the Crab Constellation has very few non-Cancrians). Technology has made large strides, with holographic technology, space travel, and artificial intelligence present in everyday life. The world of the Zodiac also has a metaphysical aspect that revolves around star reading. Each House has a ‘Guardian’ who predicts future events in order to prevent potential calamities. The leading ‘creation theory’ is that humans came through Helios to escape from a collapsing Earth many eons ago. Each constellation gave up its ‘Guardian Star’ that fell to their respective planets to guide humanity. These

immensely powerful original guardians took on mortal forms and founded societies that would last long after they eventually perished. 

A Map of the Zodiac Galaxy

However, when the guardian of House Cancer dies after failing to predict a disaster that damages Cancer’s ecosystem and causes the death of many Cancrians, Rho must unexpectedly step up as the next guardian. She suspects that there is a larger force behind the recent turbulence in Zodiac history that has been marked by destructive natural disasters and dissent between the Houses of the Zodiac. As she struggles to restore Cancer, new threats emerge and Rho must unite the Zodiac before it is destroyed. This proves to be an extremely difficult task since no one believes her claim that

The sign of Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus, a mythical thirteenth guardian referenced only in conspiracy theories, is the mastermind behind the string of disasters that continue to occur across the galaxy.

The summary above does not do justice to the amazing universe in Zodiac. Romina Russell does an excellent job with the setting, creating an intricate world that seems like it could be real. Zodiac is packed with imagery that drew me in as a reader since I could envision everything in the book with vivid detail. The first sentence of the novel is, “When I think of home, I see blue. The swirling blue of the seawater, the infinite blue of the sky, the brilliant blue of Mom’s gaze.” I was immediately hooked by this imagery since it painted a picture of what the planet Cancer is like without just saying “it’s blue”. Russell does a great job of consistently using intense descriptions throughout the book. The world in Zodiac is also very satisfying to read about since the rules of how it functions are always consistent. Russell weaves everything together so that the reader understands how things work, making Zodiac seem realistic even though it is set in another universe with supernatural elements like a “Psy network” where people can communicate telepathically. 

However, though Zodiac excels at setting and world-building, it was somewhat lacking in plot and character development. Zodiac has a very cliché romance with a classic love triangle. If you enjoy reading stereotypical YA novels, I would highly recommend Zodiac. If you are in search of a novel with a more unique romance and plot, I would still highly recommend Zodiac since I think everyone should experience the beautiful Zodiac Galaxy. All things considered, I think Zodiac deserves a greasy 10/13 slices on the extensively researched and 100% accurate Bologna Blog Scale.