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

July 9, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged David Estes, Dystopian, The Dwellers Saga, The Sun Dwellers, YA

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:

Check him out on my Indie Stars Page here.

Miscellaneous Mondays: My Favorite Indie Authors 6 – David Estes

May 11, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in author platform, Miscellaneous Mondays and tagged David Estes, Dystopian, Indie authors, Indie Stars, The Dwellers Saga, The Earth Dwellers, The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, YA

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.

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.

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

May 7, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged David Estes, Dystopian, The Dwellers Saga, The Star Dwellers, YA | 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:

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

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

May 5, 2015 by rachelauthorbarnard in Book Review and tagged David Estes, Dystopian, The Dwellers Saga, The Moon Dwellers, YA | 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:

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: