Book Review: Bound to Ashes (The Altered Sequence Book 1)

51f5PB+LgSL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_

The Fate (The Children of Wisdom Book 1) by Stephanie Erickson

A Fiction Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (07/21/2015)

Summary:

“I mean ‘apocalypse’, of course, but I hate using that term. It seems too impassable, too big. A ‘collapse’ you can recover from.” (Page 36).

Alessandra is only human, but she knows that to survive in this collapsed world, she will have to find a way into the Ecodome her father created. The only problem: it’s automated security system. System security is not the only issue that stands in the way of Aless and her friends’ survival. The only way in is to make friends with the genetically altered super soldiers who were never meant to be alive and could kill a human with their thumbs. What does Aless have to offer them to get them to help her and how does she really know so much about these Altereds in the first place?

Keywords:

Super soldiers, Collapse, Dystopian, Apocalypse, Disease, New Life, Ecodome, Advanced Technology, Warfare, Genetically Altered, Fighting, Death, Destruction, Survival, Loyalty, Trust, Family, Friendships

My Review:

Bound to Ashes is told from multiple points of view. The many characters that trade off telling the story really give the story more breadth since each POV is from first person, from the point of view of the character. The story is rich from each perspective.

As dystopian literature goes, Bound to Ashes is well told and a unique twist on the common dystopian stories and subplots. If you enjoyed the Maze Runner books, especially the Scorch Trials, by James Dashner, you will love this book. Bound to Ashes is everything I wish Maze Runner was. Bound to Ashes has the action and adventure and fighting to survive. It has the harsh world and the need for friendships. It has the fight to get out and the fight to find a better life. It also has a balance of genders that Maze Runner never did. Bound to Ashes also has a more realistic explanation for the collapse and a less stereotypical world the characters live in.

The only letdown in this book was Heydrich. He became a stereotype, but this didn’t detract from the book and only became a disappointment to me toward the end of the book. The rest of the characters were well written and had different personalities and back stories.

As genetically altereds go, this book had a great variety. They were unique in their abilities and Cromwell gave them faults as well as limitations to their powers. I loved seeing the interactions between the super soldiers and the humans.

I look forward to book two in the series, even though the author expertly ended book one. Everything that needed to be tied up and concluded was finished, even though there is much more to tell of this collapsed world.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 07/21/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Maranda Cromwell’s website