Choice by Jodi Picoult is a Science Fiction Fantasy Story!
I love Dystopian Fiction and if it's mixed with Magical Realism and a narrator like Thérèse Choice by Jodi Picoult is a Science Fiction Fantasy Story!
I love Dystopian Fiction and if it's mixed with Magical Realism and a narrator like Thérèse Plummer, I'm all in!
Men becoming pregnant? In this Dystopian future, they are...
In a convoluted way, Choice does bring to the table a creative perspective of "what ifs" and when the 'said' table begins spinning out of control, it turns almost everything on its head.
Choice has several thought-provoking scenarios with thoughtfully intended humor yet it feels hurried in its attempt to shove too much into something too short. As a result, it loses me for lack of all the touchy, feely, nuanced content I love.
Choice is a 38M Audible Original that's creative, timely, and nearly perfect!
Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn is a Sapphic and Dystopian Fiction Story!
In the year 2050, the effects of climate change have impacted the worlYours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn is a Sapphic and Dystopian Fiction Story!
In the year 2050, the effects of climate change have impacted the world to the extent that soon being outside will no longer be safe. The one chance of survival is through The Inside Project and is only assured if your application to join is selected.
The Inside Project can offer safety from the elements within structures the size of large cities, stationed around the globe. The Manhattan site will be directed by billionaire and feminist, Jacqueline Millender, who has innovative ideas on how she envisions her location operating.
Jacqueline is quickly realizing her dream for the future...
Yours for the Taking has a premise that is so out there it's distracting and yet, at the same time, it's both thought-provoking and improbable. The writing is good and the storytelling is creative but I had trouble wrapping my head around what's happening because it feels almost too close to watching history repeat itself from the early 20th Century.
It's always a deal breaker for me in the inability to connect with the characters and it was glaring here. I didn't like, feel sorry for, want to share a meal, or have coffee with any of them. The emotional pull towards these characters just wasn't there. Perhaps a bit more character development and a little less plot focus would have made a difference with this.
This story is labeled as Adult Fiction but you can't fool me. This story reeks of Young Adult mixed with New Adult overtones. The characters are immature and I wasn't expecting that in this story as it was described in the synopsis.
This was an immersion reading experience through the gifted Digital Reading Copy and Advanced Listening Copy. The audiobook is narrated by Jasmin Savoy Brown, whose voicing skills are good, however, either format will deliver a satisfactory experience.
I'm an outlier with Yours for the Taking as most reviews are positive with high ratings and I'm glad for this positive support to the author. Dystopian Fiction is one of my favorite genres and I was expecting to love this story but not every book is for everyone and this one is definitely not for me.
2.5⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Gabrielle Korn for a DRC and an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review....more
The Morningside by Téa Obreht is a Family and Literary Fiction Story Sprinkled With Magical Realism and Set in a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic World!The Morningside by Téa Obreht is a Family and Literary Fiction Story Sprinkled With Magical Realism and Set in a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic World!
Holy-Moly! There's a lot going on in this story...
Silvia knows little about where she's from, why they had to leave, or why her mother keeps their past so secretive. The only thing she knows is now they're living at The Morningside, an aging luxury high-rise in Island City where her Aunt Ena has lived and worked for the past ten years.
Silvia loves her conversations with Aunt Ena, who feeds her imagination with stories about the homeland she doesn't remember. Silvia becomes enamored by Ena's tales and her imagination spills over with thoughts about the mysterious resident living in the penthouse. She makes it her focus to discover the truth about this woman's life...
The Morningside is a Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic story written in the first-person narrative of curious eleven-year-old Silvia. Silvia is quiet, bright, and observant and possesses keen senses for a child her age. Perhaps it's due to being raised by a mother who shares little that Silvia is driven to find answers on her own.
Silvia meets two individuals she develops friendships with and it's through these connections the story becomes more about the characters and relationships and less about the changing world described in Obreht's lovely writing.
The story can feel cramped with melodrama and distractions, jumping from one catastrophe to the next, and taking abrupt turns through unexpected decisions by the characters. For me, it added additional layers and interest.
The Morningside is creative and original storytelling about a mother-daughter relationship, finding family, and discovering your place in the world. I recommend it to readers who enjoy a well-written character-driven Family and Literary Fiction story with touches of Magical Realism like I do. I plan to look at Téa Obreht's backlist for more to read while I wait for her next book!
4⭐
Thank you to Random House and Téa Obreht for a physical ARC, and a DRC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. Due to publish 3/19/24!...more
The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins is a Speculative and Dystopian Fiction Story!
The Great Transition was a 'rag-tag' global movement that insThe Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins is a Speculative and Dystopian Fiction Story!
The Great Transition was a 'rag-tag' global movement that inspired the world to save the planet from going under due to climate change. The post-Transition is considered to be utopian-like compared to past generations.
Emi Vargas was born post-Transition, her parents, Kristina and Larch, were both instrumental in building the new society. Now a teenager, they tell her often how lucky she is to have been born after the climate crisis but Emi doesn't know life any other way.
Suddenly chaotic occurrences takes place concerning climate criminals and Kristina mysteriously goes missing. Emi begins to wonder how safe her life really is in this utopian-like society...
The Great Transition is this author's debut novel and I was hoping for more of a connection with the story, as Speculative and Dystopian Fiction are favorite genres for me.
My preference is always a character-driven story and what I found was primarily plot-driven.
Getting to know the Vargas family was difficult as not much was offered with the exception of conflict.
Connecting with the secondary characters was tough as none were likable or relatable.
There was a great deal of focus on the backstory, which I enjoyed, but little substance in the current timeline. There was a lot of telling and talking about climate change, and honestly, it felt over-the-top.
The Great Transition has a creative premise with loads of potential and I enjoyed the author's writing style. I'm glad to see the many positive reviews and ratings for this debut novel. Sadly, I was looking for a better connection to the story overall.
2.75⭐rounded up for the premise!
Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Nick Fuller Googins for an DRC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review. ...more
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel is a Speculative Fiction Short Read!
In the not-too-distant-future, Idir reports to take the British Citizenship Test. It coThe Test by Sylvain Neuvel is a Speculative Fiction Short Read!
In the not-too-distant-future, Idir reports to take the British Citizenship Test. It consists of twenty-five superfluous essential multiple choice questions. Process of elimination questions are always easier, right?
But things go haywire quickly and Idir is faced with answering questions of an entirely different nature...
The Test, a 2 hour and 12 minute audiobook is, in a word, "intense". This story turns a mundane scenario into an unexpected, unimaginable, yet powerful listen. The narrator, Neil Shah, is quite convincing in the variety of voicing skills he uses.
The author does an amazing feat of packing a huge and thought-provoking punch into such a short read/listen. This is so dang creative. It will also makes you brain sizzle and maybe even sting a lot little.
Whatever format you choose, you won't believe how many answers you'll get wrong on this test. Really, it's shocking!
My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse is a Speculative and Dystopian Fiction Story with Touches of Magical Realism!
In the near-future United States, the My Name Is Iris by Brando Skyhorse is a Speculative and Dystopian Fiction Story with Touches of Magical Realism!
In the near-future United States, the government is launching a new wrist band to replace driver's licenses and IDs for all who can prove parental citizenship.
Iris Prince is newly separated from her husband, Alex and happily living the American dream life of a single mother to their nine-year-old daughter, Melanie. New life. New house. New dream.
Unfortunately Iris's parents are undocumented Mexican immigrants and as a second-generation Mexican-American, Iris is now considered to be of "unverifiable origin".
Iris's dream is quickly turning into the nightmare she never saw coming...
My Name Is Iris has an interesting premise. What doesn't work for me are certain aspects of both the writing style and the storytelling.
Character development is lacking enough that I feel disconnected from all the characters. Although Iris seems fully developed, she is not a likable character. Her thoughts don't stay on topic, instead she veers off into superfluous territory chapter after chapter. It's giving the story and writing a repetitive feel and that's never good.
The topic of this story is serious, yet the author creates a main character, such as Iris, who resembles a caricature. This seems like an intentional decision that is lost on me as a reader.
The amount of Spanish in this book, mainly in the form of dialogue, is cumbersome for someone who is not bilingual. I toughed it out using google to translate for a good long time. I stopped at the 70% mark because it was taking a ridiculous amount of time to read this 274 page book. Is twelve days too long, I ask you?
A key piece missing from this story is "emotion". There's angry dialogue between family members and rants from Iris but I was hoping for something more palpable. I was looking for the kind of "emotion" that erupts, glues you to the story, tears your insides out, and has you ripping through to the end. None of that is here.
I read a fair number of Speculative and Dystopia Fiction books and this story feels predictable to me, lacking originality overall. With that said, the "Wall" and the Magical Realism within this story is creative and my favorite part. Sadly, it's not enough to hold this story together for me.
I'm glad this author has a strong following with many positive reviews and high ratings for this book. I wanted to enjoy My Name Is Iris more and honestly, I was looking for something uniquely different and expected a more intense reading experience from this author than I had.
2.5⭐rounded up for the creative Magical Realism!
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Avid Reader Press, and Brando Skyhorse for a physical ARC of this book through Shelf Awareness GLOW. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review....more
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Story and a Modern Classic!
The setting, an unidentified location in what was once known as tThe Road by Cormac McCarthy is a Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Story and a Modern Classic!
The setting, an unidentified location in what was once known as the United States, is now part of a post-apocalyptic world. A nameless disaster has turned the landscape into a charred wasteland. It's ashen and cold, a coldness that goes straight through you.
All wildlife has disappeared, what remains is a threatening wildness roaming through the land. It's a tangible shift in morality as society continues to disintegrate.
The man with his young son are constantly on the move and his focus is on their daily survival, at all costs. It's a constant struggle to find food, warmth, and safeness. The son doesn't understand how survival has altered the lines between right and wrong and he has many questions for the man in a quest for reassurance...
The Road is a Post-Apocalyptic Fiction story written by Cormac McCarthy that received the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 2007. After listening to the audiobook narrated by Tom Stechschulte, there is no question in my mind why this book is worthy of this award and recognized as a Modern Classic within the Post-Apocalyptic Fiction genre.
McCarthy's writing is simple, the sentences are brief, and the dialogue clipped. It's a writing style that makes the emotions feel intentionally reserved and it sets the tone of the story. The man and the boy are the two main characters with few secondary characters seen or heard from along their arduous journey on the road to the coast. Often without food for days, chronically exhausted, they travel side-by-side without much conversation, yet their connection is undeniably palpable.
How does a story of hopelessness and darkness keep the reader as enthralled as I was? My thoughts go to the author's minimally descriptive prose, poetic writing, and storytelling. This is a story of a father's love for his son as much as it is one about post-apocalyptic survival. The quiet, endearing, and raw emotions of this story are what pulls this reader into the story, like a magnet.
The Road is a Post-Apocalyptic Fiction story I will remember as one that is as minimal and stark as it is powerful and thought-provoking. This beautifully written story will immediately take a place of honor on my "favorites" shelf and I highly recommend it to everyone who reads this review!
Afterthought: I can't get this book out of my head! I keep thinking about it, the characters, the author. I've listened to numerous recordings of SilasAfterthought: I can't get this book out of my head! I keep thinking about it, the characters, the author. I've listened to numerous recordings of Silas House speak about this book, reading from it, and explaining why he wrote it. I've added the hardcover and audiobook to my personal library. Based on how this story has impacted me, I've changed my rating of this book to 5⭐. TR 7/21/23 __________________________
Lark Ascending by Silas House is a Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, and Speculative Fiction Story!
In the not-too-distant future the impact of climate change is realized...
The United States is on fire, water and food are scarce, fear of war looms large, and extremist militia freely police every corner with the use of force.
With nowhere left to shelter, Lark and his family are able to flee to Ireland where American refugees are welcomed. It's said to be free of the violence that ravages the rest of the world and rumors exist of a safe haven there called Glendalough.
They travel by boat and by the end of the horrendous voyage across the Atlantic, Lark is the sole survivor. Once he reaches land, his only choice is to continue on alone.
Lark spots something hiding in a bush and recognizes it as a beagle with the name Seamus on his dog tag. An unlikely find as dogs have been outlawed for years. With a mutual need between Lark and Seamus, a bond quickly develops.
As Lark and Seamus travel, they come upon a woman named Helen who's searching for her missing son. All three continue on together in hopes of finding the elusive Glendalough...
Lark Ascending is a Speculative Fiction story that feels as though something is lurking on the sidelines waiting to pounce. This expectant yet evasive feeling is in contrast to the descriptive beauty of Ireland. This story is a visual experience and whether you're listening or reading, there is a pervasive threat that surrounds it.
This is a seven hour listen narrated by Charlie Thurston that's contemplative and memorable. Global warming, threat of World War, post-apocalyptic existence, and dystopian society are topics we discuss and internalize every day. This story brings them to life in a frighteningly realistic way.
Lark Ascending is written in a first-person narrative from Lark with brief third-person narrations for Seamus. I love both of these characters. Lark for his bravery and resilience beyond his years and Seamus for being such a good dog and perfect companion. The character of Helen was a wonderful offering of additional texture to the story that begins at the halfway point.
Lastly, there is a bit of a mystery here and it keeps you curious. It's one more reason I kept listening and why I would listen to it again. I highly recommend Lark Ascending to all who enjoy Speculative Fiction and I'll definitely be researching this author's backlist for more.
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