Tag Archives: Dystopian

Book Review: The Blackout by Stephanie Erickson

by in Book Review and tagged , ,

The Blackout by Stephanie Erickson

A Dystopian Novel published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. (01/26/2014)

 

Summary:

Molly and Cindy are professors at the local college in Florida in the middle of the teaching day when the power goes out. After twenty minutes the school is let out and they discover that more than just the power is gone. Cell phones, cars, appliances, running water are all not working. Molly is most worried about her husband, Gary, a pilot currently in Pennsylvania. Gary’s first concern is for his customers, but after several days of no power and no help he decides to make the long trek on foot back home. There are dangers for both Gary on his journey and Molly as she stays put in their small neighborhood community. All it took was an EMP blast for chaos to reign in the United States and a blackout lasting indefinitely. Will Gary be reunited with Molly again?

 

Keywords:

 Apocalypse, Power-loss, blackout, brownout, chaos, EMP, government shutdown, military, coming together, community, family, hope, loss, scarcity of supplies, primitive living, violence, wandering thieves and murderers

My Review:

Erickson is not the first to imagine a world without power, but her story is not less frightening. She shows us a brief glimpse into a world we are familiar with and worries we may have ourselves about our day to day lives. After the blackout, Erickson shows us the step by step fall into chaos as a world falls apart without order and electricity. Erickson captures the attitude of those in her world as they go through the stages of disbelief and acceptance of this mind-numbing, terrible disaster. “The darkness was so… penetrating. She couldn’t wait for morning, when the world would be returned to the light.” (Page 31).

Erickson switches POV from Gary the husband in Pennsylvania to Molly the wife in hometown Florida. I liked having both perspectives and two different paths to survival. Gary was trying to get home, walking through cities and outskirts of town and he had different troubles and similar problems to Molly who stayed put in her neighborhood home. The Wanderers, the scum that rose up to take what they needed and wanted during the time of instability, plagued both Gary and Molly, providing an extra element of suspense and horror to the book.

Books like these are chilling. Can you ever be ready for this kind of total world chaos? Gary was a pilot and Molly a teacher, both nearly useless skills in a world without modernity. Almost nobody had supplies stocked or weapons ready. Almost nobody was prepared for what followed after the Blackout.

“Everyone in the world thought normalcy would be restored any minute, and no one was thinking in terms of permanency – not yet at least. Each community assumed they were the only ones stricken with the debilitating problem, and that soon their neighboring cities would come to their aid. They were wrong.” (Page 44).

My only complaint is why wouldn’t Gary find a bike to help him go faster in the beginning of his journey and to cover more than 10 miles a day?

 

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 01/26/2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: The Sun Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 3) by David Estes

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

The Sun Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 3) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published on amazon.com (11/27/2012)

 

Summary:

“While the star dwellers live in squalor and filth and darkness, and the moon dwellers are impoverished, hungry, and hopeless, the sun dwellers enjoy the high life, basking in their beautiful sunlight, surrounded by elegant buildings, pristine city streets, and everything money can buy. (Kindle Locations 1998-2000).”

It is this injustice that Adele and the lower Tri-Realms are fighting against. The Sun Dwellers picks up where the Star Dwellers left off and it is the second to last book in this series, but by no means is it the final book in the world of Adele, her friends, and her fellow Dwellers.

Adele’s mission in Sun Dwellers is to assassinate President Nailin. The assassination attempt isn’t all that is going on in this book, though, it is full of secrets revealed and fights and strength to the end. The romance that began in Moon Dwellers, blossomed in Star Dwellers, will be put to the test in Sun Dwellers.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival, assassination attempt

My Review:

It seems like a lot of what happens in the Dweller Saga is travel. Adele and her trusty companions are constantly on the move, using stealth and secrecy to accomplish their goals. The Sun Dwellers takes place mostly in the Sun Realm and mostly out of sight of any main pathways. It also takes place within only several days, but there is no want for action and adventure and emotion.

I love the tension present in this book between Adele and Tristan. Their relationship was really put through a loop with some secrets revealed and discovered. Why were they so instantly attracted to each other to begin with? Estes gives us more insight into this answer and more. Adele and Tristan each go through heartache as they come to terms with the answers they discover and their feelings for each other. It is both heartbreaking and exhilarating to watch them in their relationship.

If you like a story full of suspense and secrets, action and adventure, love and emotion, then go no further and grab the Dweller Saga by David Estes because they are excellent.

 

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 11/27/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: The Cure by Stephanie Erickson

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

The Cure by Stephanie Erickson

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published on amazon.com (11/27/2013)

 

Summary:

“I gladly sacrifice my life for the good of others. One life will make the difference, and that life could be mine. For this reason, I’m devoted to finding the cure.” (Kindle Locations 59-60).

In a world that is on quarantine from a disease that kills 75% of the population, the push for the cure also lowers life expectancies. It is only through human trials that the government thinks a cure can be found. “Sixteen was a big birthday, though. The year everyone got their date— the day when you would live or die, the day when you would endure the experiments to find a cure. Everyone was given a date that would not precede their twentieth birthday. The date was then effective for the rest of your life. Every ten years, you would endure the testing on that date, until your sixtieth birthday— if you lived that long.” (Kindle Locations 457-459).

Macey questions the system of dates. Is there really even a disease or is the Cure a way to keep the people in line and the population in control? Macey is an artist about to enter her final year of schooling when she finds out her date will arrive two years earlier than anybody else’s has. She feels gypped, that her whole world and all that she knows is in chaos. She ponders quitting school and starting an artist apprenticeship. She ponders politically incorrect drawings. She ponders life as those around her come up on their own dates and may never return.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, Dystopian, Controlling Government, Disease, Cure, Testing, Art, Questioning Everything, Romance, Family, Love, Saving Lives, Sacrifice, Routine, Tradition

My Review:

Stephanie Erickson is able to build her world from the very first sentence. She evokes the time and the setting with those first words. I was shown right away a totalitarian society in a post-apocalyptic dying world and I knew I was going to love this book. Erickson lays out all the important information in the beginning of the story, but layers it throughout the interactions the main character Macey has with her world and environment.

I enjoyed the fact that Macey had one skill and one activity she liked above others. She was an artist and her world revolved around her art and the way she creatively viewed herself and her world. I have never been much of an artist or understood having that kind of skill, so seeing it through Macey’s eyes was exhilarating and eye-opening. On top of a good story with emotional draw, Erickson gave me something else to take away from The Cure.

After the initial setup for the plot and showing the condition the main characters lived in and how their world was set up, the plot began to meander and you’re just waiting for the other boot to drop. It is Macey’s date. Her date is significant. Will the book just end? What will happen? The reader isn’t given much information, just like Macey isn’t until she gets there.

I like how Erickson crafted the ultimate difficult situation for her main character and showed how Macey thought through her decision and the supposed consequences of each decision and how they would affect her life. It’s always fascinating to watch someone struggle with an important decision and to feel their anxiety and watch as they choose their paths in life. Erickson captured Macey’s emotional struggle in this novel.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 11/27/2013 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: The Dead Room by Stephanie Erickson

by in Book Review and tagged , , ,

The Dead Room by Stephanie Erickson

A YA Dystopian Novel published by Pickles Press (03/10/2015)

 

Summary:

“Civilization had crumbled at its own hands, and the islanders were the only survivors.” (Location 131)

Far few books have accurate book descriptions and the Dead Room is one of them. You get exactly what you read with the summary. This is why I’m not including my own summary of the book and suggest you read Stephanie Erickson’s book summary if you want to know what the book is about.

 

Keywords:

 Apocalypse, Intrigue, Secrets, Inquisitive Main Character, Two Main Characters, Guarding Secrets, Survivors, Refuge, Political Subterfuge, Kept in the Dark, Jealousy, Power Hungry, Twists, Island, Mainland

My Review:

 

Right from the start, Erickson pulls the reader into her world. There are a plethora of post-apocalyptic books out there, but she puts her survivors on an island. The island is like the silos in Hugh Howey’s Wool, separate and apart from society in order to preserve humanity for future generations. Just like a silo, an island has limited space, creating tension and the necessity for law and order. The island is run by the elders who are not all men, thank you Erickson. Too many books repeat real life stereotypes and only place men in positions of power, but The Dead Room has several females as authority figures.

Erickson creates a unique world and describes it so that it is vivid in the reader’s mind. She sets up the plot efficiently and with tension between the main characters and what their goals are. “Questions were more Ashly’s department. Mason preferred a go-along-to-get-along attitude.” (Location 793). Ashley’s inquisitive nature immediately butts heads with the elders. Mason seems like he’s only along for the ride, until he’s pulled along by Ashley into a new world.

This story had a great hook and a great plot and solid storytelling…

But!

SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
What’s wrong with you Stephanie Erickson? The plot was plodding along steadily, the buildup to where Ashely and Mason leave the island leaves the reader in great suspense and on the edge of the seat and then Wham! You kill Ashley. No, no, and no. You cannot kill your main character and then attempt to promote Mason. Suddenly Ashely is dead and the book takes a twisted turn, but the pacing is thrown off kilter and you’ve killed a character unnecessarily, the main one at that! There were so few important people in the book and Ashley moved the entire plot along, she was the inquisitive mind and the do-it-yourself to get-it-done girl, she can’t be gone! This death was way too abrupt and the rest of the book is left hanging and the entire narrative is left to Mason. He is not up to snuff, though he does his best. The book was about Ashely, you cannot just get rid of her. I very much do not appreciate this turn of events and have docked the entire book’s rating down from a 5-star to a 4-star because of this jolting uneven pacing.

 

This novel was published by Pickles Press 03/10/2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 6 – David Estes

by in author platform, Miscellaneous Mondays and tagged , , , , , , , ,

The Moon Dwellers The Moon Dwellers 16047633 17678661

 

I’ve had David Estes’ The Moon Dwellers on my TBR list for a while. I think I found his book on a promo day and was intrigued by the back page summary. I love dystopian and YA, so the Dwellers Saga was a good looking fit for me.

Check him out on my Indie Stars Page here.

From the first few pages I was hooked. David Estes is one of my new favorite authors and I had a hard time putting down his books. I have read the first three books in his Dwellers Saga and have been waiting to read the Country Saga and finally the Earth Dwellers after giving some attention to some other authors, but I know that I will love each and every new book I read of Estes. He is phenomenal. He is my author hero. He has done something that is difficult to find in YA books. He has balanced the narrative between two main characters, one is a female and the other is a male. Both characters are equally important. Both characters have something to say. Both characters are strong yet vulnerable. Both characters are uniquely different. For this reason and more David Estes is a great writer. His story is compelling and fits nicely into the YA Dystopian genre. There is action and fighting and romance in his books. There is struggle and perseverance. There is death. There is survival. I look forward to all the other books David Estes has written.

download (1) download

Book Review: The Star Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 2) by David Estes

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Star Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 2) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published by David Estes (09/24/2012)

 

Summary:

The Star Dwellers continues Adele’s and Tristan’s stories within the impending uprising against the Sun Dwellers. Adele rescued both her sister and father in the first book (The Moon Dwellers) and now must find and rescue her mother in the Star Realm below. With the help of the friend she made while in the Moon Dweller prison, Tawni, Adele ventures down into the deepest depths of the Tri-Realms. Meanwhile, Tristan and his trusty best friend Roc must convince the Moon Dwellers to unite with the Star Dwellers against the Sun Dwellers. The Star Dwellers continues revealing secrets about the rebellion and war as well as the unique romantic relationship developing between Tristan and Adele.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival

 

My Review:

This second book in the series, like most seconds, was not quite as exciting as the first book, but I loved it just the same! It had all of the great elements I saw in the first book and continued the story I fell in love with in Moon Dwellers.

David Estes has a way with dialogue and describing action and setting the scene. His second book, much like his first in the series, is full of lovely quotable passages and great lines in the dialogue. The book is full of uplifting quotes, such as “Speak from your heart, and everything else will work itself out.” (Page 209) and “The only way to make things better is to fix the bigger problem.” (Page 219).

We are given a little more information on the overall plot regarding the inequality between the Tri-Realms as well as more intrigue into the now blossoming romance between Tristan and Adele. Roc and Tawni also continue with the story and we are given a few new characters. At this point in the series, Elsey, Adele’s younger sister, shows how wise she is.

Estes continues alternating Adele’s and Tristan’s point of views each chapter, which is done amazing well and adds so much to the complexity of the story as we get both the main characters’ inner thoughts.

I think it is still amazing how equivalent Adele’s and Tristan’s roles are in the importance of the fight for freedom and justice from the oppression of the Sun Realm and President Nailin. I love series like Hunger Games and Divergent for giving me a kick butt female character, but Estes goes a step further and gives us both a male and female kick butt characters at the same time! This series is great for both males and females alike, not just creating a role model for one gender or the other. The characters are also physically diverse and personality-wise diverse. I love them! After finishing up the Dweller Series, I will look into other books by David Estes as I think he is a fantastically gifted writer with amazing books.

 

This novel was published by David Estes 09/24/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 1) by David Estes

by in Book Review and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Moon Dwellers (The Dwellers Saga Book 1) by David Estes

A YA Sci-fi/Dystopian Novel published on amazon.com (06/27/2012)

 

Summary:

“Like I said before, you have no control over what situation you’re born into.” (Location 2151).

When a meteor is about to wipe out humanity as we know it on Earth, a select number are gifted the chance to live underground and continue the human race as natural disasters destroy everything aboveground. Decades after this decision, and the lottery to get a chance to survive below, there is a distinct segregation of class between the Tri-Realms: Sun Dwellers have all the power and most of the electricity and resources, Moon Dwellers live further down while the Star Dwellers live the furthest from the surface and suffer the most at the hands of those above.
The Moon Dwellers centers on two main characters, Adele from the Moon Dwellers and Tristan, the son of the ‘President’ from the Sun Dwellers. Adele is thrown into juvie after her parents are accused of treason against the government. Tristan is next in line to inherit the power to control the Tri-Realms, but he is disgusted by the inequality and finds his chance to rebel against his father when he first sees Adele. There is something that draws them to each other and for Tristan, finding out who she is brings him out of his comfort zone and into the plot of something much more sinister. For Adele, she is focused on escaping her prison and then reuniting with her sister and parents.

 

Keywords:

Post-apocalyptic, underground, uninhabitable earth, romance, segregated society, class system, unequal power, dictatorship, in the dark, secrets, power-hungry leaders, corrupt government, fight the power, resistance, escape, kick-butt female, friendship, survival

 

My Review:

I loved this book. It had a kickbutt girl character, a romance that wasn’t in the forefront of the plot, some dystopia and post-apocalyptic living, a corrupt government, the underdogs fighting for justice, POV change done well, subplots and characters with their own stories intertwined in the main plot, a good ending with a lot left open for the next book in the series, emotional highs, a good blend of action and story, excellent descriptions, etc.

I find it fascinating the reason for the apocalypse was a natural disaster (meteor). Humanity was saved by going underground, but not all of them could fit, therefore the world started over at Year Zero. The concept for the Lottery was well developed. The beginning of the book featured a brief history that was highly useful in getting an understanding of what was going on in the post-apocalyptic world. I really appreciated Estes putting this info in the very beginning of the first novel of the series.

Throughout the book Estes blended his action with his story to have a very well-spaced plot that moved along at a good pace. The descriptions the author used were excellent and stayed in character in the post-apocalyptic world Estes has created. The POV switching from Tristan to Adele from chapter to chapter was an excellent addition to the story and worked well. I thought it was excellent to make the two main characters have equal parts and equal abilities. It was a very balanced romance and I can’t say enough how much I wish more authors would make their main female and main male characters as equal as Estes has done.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 06/27/2012 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

David Estes’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: The Treemakers by Christina L. Rozelle

by in Book Review and tagged , , , ,

The Treemakers by Christina L. Rozelle

A Dystopian/Sci-Fi Adventure Novel published by A Spark in the Dark Press (12/03/14)

This review brought to you by Silverbow Promotions Tour

 

Summary:

“To be strong in the face of weakness,’ I begin. ‘This is something our sister, Abrilynne, and our brother, Miguel, taught me. To smile, though there’s pain. To laugh, though there’s sorrow. To love, no matter what. And to forgive.” (Page 206).

The Tree Factory. It sounds hopeful, but it isn’t. Inside the walls of the factory are Bygonne’s orphans and they have been forgotten by all but the evil Superiors who work the children to their death. The trees are meant to keep the dying outside world alive with fresh oxygen while inside the factory the children are dying and enslaved. One of the olders, Momma Joy, takes it upon herself to find a way to free them all. No matter where you look it’s a hard life. The world outside has suffocated under the heat and poisonous air. The world underground harbors monsters and killer beasts. The world in between is full of those who seek freedom and survival. It is there that Joy must bring her precious sisters and brothers and it is there that more hardships will be encountered.

 

Keywords:

 Factory, Orphans, Survival, Death, Exploration, Dystopian World, Polluted Air, Evil Intentions, AI, Motherliness, Help, Underground, Paradise, Fighting, Strength, Resilience, Spirit

 

My Review:

I was given a copy of the book in exchange for this review.

The world Rozelle has created is a mix between dystopian/fantasy/futuristic/jurassic/etc. She has pulled so many intriguing elements into the world of The Treemakers that every new part of it is fascinating and alive. The Treemakers doesn’t just take place in the factory, but moves among different environments that are each unique and mesmerizing in their own way. Not only is the environment a slight twist on the familiar, but the characters and the story and the depth involved contain their own twists.

The setup was well-written and instantly pulled the reader into the otherworldly dystopian setting. But Rozelle didn’t stop there, she went further. She pushed the boundaries of the world she created and the genres the novel falls under. This book kept surprising me with the layers upon layers that unwrapped and interconnected to the end.

Though I found the romance both distracting and unnecessary, I didn’t think it inappropriate and thought it only logical in the book. It’s always mildly disturbing for young children to be flirting and reproducing, but in a dystopian future where not many reach over 30 years, it’s perfectly natural and the only way to continue the line of humanity.

This novel was published by A Spark in the Dark Press on December 3rd, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.5

 

Links for more information:

Christina L. Rozelle’s Website

Christina L. Rozelle on Twitter

Goodreads

About the author:

Christina L. Rozelle

Christina L. Rozelle, author of the YA Dystopian-Scifi-Romance-Adventure, “The Treemakers,” is a mother of four currently residing in Dallas, Texas. She enjoys fiction that shines a light in the dark; has emotion, intensity, verve, depth, and truth. She writes what she’d love to read. Though her focus is currently YA speculative fiction, she dabbles in other genres as well, including adult speculative, fantasy, addiction/recovery fiction, and other general fiction. To find out more about her, as well as links to her other social media outposts, please visit her fan-site: http://christinalrozelle.com/