America City - Chris Beckett

America, one century on: a warmer climate is causing vast movements of people. Droughts, floods and hurricanes force entire populations to simply abandon their homes. Tensions are mounting between north and south, and some northern states are threatening to close their borders against homeless fellow-Americans from the south.

Against this backdrop, an ambitious young British-born publicist, Holly Peacock, meets a new client, the charismatic Senator Slaymaker, a politician whose sole mission is to keep America together, reconfiguring the entire country in order to meet the challenge of the new climate realities as a single, united nation. When he runs for President, Holly becomes his right hand woman, doing battle on the whisperstream, where stories are everything and truth counts for little.

But can they bring America together - or have they set the country on a new, but equally devastating, path? 

Hardcover, 368 pages
Expected publication: November 2nd 2017 by Corvus
Fiction/futuristic/
I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

My thoughts:

I can totally see this happening, totally. I hope a certain president do not get ideas from it...

The world has gone to hell. And some people still doubt climate change. Yup, I can see that too. The East coast is plagued by super storms. The west coast and inland is a dust bowl. Further south, oh there is nothing there but death and starvation. And the people up north do not want to take care of storm trash and dusters. Yes they might be fellow Amercians but to take them all in, hell no! Not that rapist trash! I can totally see that happening, people looking out for nr 1. It is one thing to help a few, but when the half the country is unlivable...then that is another thing.

And in steps Holly who gets a new job. She is a delicado or as she would have been called now, a snowflake. Yes it is a derogatory term. She will help Senator Slaymaker win the presidential  race, and honestly, I wish Holly had never met him. Holly changes and at the end I do not like her. Or any American for that matter. I can not tell you what happens, but, still at the same time. Looking out for nr 1 is human nature. I get it.

It does make you sad. Because this future is way too real. If we do not stop global warming (eh what warming, fake news!) then this is out future and the world burns.

Conclusion:
It's one of those books that make you think, and fear the future too.

Review: The Waters rising - Sheri S.Tepper

Series: A plague of Angels #2
Genre: Futuristic fantasy sci-fi
Pages: 512
Published: Dec 2011
Publisher: Gollancz
Source: For review

The long-awaited and much-demanded sequel to A PLAGUE OF ANGELS, continuing the story of Abasio, once a farmboy, now, so Blue, his talking horse, is happy to inform people, a man who goes hither and thither helping orphans in this world where renascent mythical beasts and fairy tale 'archetypes' now live. When he comes across little Xulai from Tingawan, one of the Ten Thousand Islands, far across the western Sea, she informs him that she too is an orphan, and implores his help carrying out the last request of the Princess Xu-i-lok, who has been dying since the day she married Duke Justinian, who refused the royal order to marry Alicia, the Prince's sister. Xulai is Princess Xu-i-lok's Soul Carrier, and the task she must complete means visiting the scary forest in the dead of night - but it is the only thing that will bring the princess a measure of peace. Abasio, helper of orphans, promises though she must do this alone, he will be near, to aid her if necessary and it is, for there are dark things abroad. Xulai's job is not yet done, for with the princess now dead, the grieving Duke is left a widower - and Alicia, Duchess Altamont, still wishes to marry him. It's not just the man she wants, but his lands too and her plans do not bode well for anyone except her .

My thoughts:

This book was strange, but wondrous strange. But then all Tepper books I have read have been like that, she takes in things and turns into something utterly amazing and weird.

First, yes it is book two, but book 1 does not have to be read to understand this book. The only person from book 1 around is the hero Abasio. But here is he is all new and a bit different. I do not know how much time has gone by, and it takes place in a new land. It is a new book and it was published almost 20 years after book 1.

 I thought book 1 gave me answers what might have happened to our earth, but here I finally found out what The Big Kill, and the Time when no one moved around was. This our earth, which we destroyed and in its wake technology was no more. Which makes this a futuristic sci-fi book in a fantasy world. She explains it well at one time, how people when they do not understand something makes it into magic. There are a few things left over from the old times, and some do know things. Like when the baddie, Alicia curses someone. Some say it is magic, some know better. She took the pattern of that person and sent a cloud. Yes DNA and virus. The mix works so well, because what would happen if 99% died out? If machines were destroyed? 

And like that was not enough, now the waters are rising and even the highest mountain will be under water. Can humankind be saved? And do we deserve to be saved?

It's a book to read slowly because now and then something new comes along and everything slowly dawns on me. It's a good book, it is a strange story and I can't believe that this used to be earth. There are talking animals, the Kraken, a lovestory, and wicked witches. There is also a child's journey and the question why she is so important?

Conclusion:

Tepper needs to be read to be understand. I do not think I can make her world justice. But when you step in to her world you will be enchanted with it.

Cover:

Now I get it ;=)

Review: The Reapers are the angels - Alden Bell

Genre: Fiction, dystopian, futuristic
Pages: 225
Published: August 2010 Holt Paperbacks

 Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

Oh yes, zombies, you read it right, my biggest nightmare. Still I watch those movies, but this is actually only my second book about them.

25 years ago they started to emerge, humans tried to fight back, and fought for years, but now the land is dead. People hiding behind barricades, and hunters on the road, fighting one zombie at a time. Among theses are 15 year old Temple, all on her own. All she ever has know has been death and destruction. She moves from place to place, hiding, running, fighting, and soon running from more that just zombies.

I liked Temple, she was kick-ass for sure. But then she grew up in a world that had slowly lost the fight. She is a good with a knife, she says what she thinks, and she remembers those that have fallen. She also feels that there is a darkness within her, but growing up like that who can blame her.

It is not a scary book, there is no real zombie action. She avoids them the best she can, she knows their tricks, and they are pretty slow and stupid. The danger here is more from other humans. When society falls so does everything. You learn about those that prayed on other humans, raping, killing and then the most scary of them all show up, hillbillies, you'll see. But there are also nice people, just trying to get by, and helping each other.

The book had this strange and nice flow to it. It was like it was happening, and like it had happened, and would happen. I liked it, he has a talent. It was a good book, and a sad one.

What do I think, well if people just manage to survive, then they will outlive the zombies, or this world will become a barren wasteland. I do wonder, since I do not get that answer.

This was a different sort of zombie book. It reminded me a bit of The Road, I have only seen the movie, but it had the same hopelessness to it, and at the same time that glimmer of hope. It is a story about a young woman on the road, aged far beyond her years.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Not a fav, but fitting

Reason for reading: From the publisher

Final thoughts: I sure hope we don't get a zombie plague, and if we did, then I hope I could be so calm as she was.

4

Review: The Knife of Never letting Go - Patrick Ness

The Knife of never Letting Go

Chaos Walking, book 1

Genre: YA, futuristic, sci-fi, dystopian
Pages: 496
Published: 2008

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown.

But Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in a constant, overwhelming, never-ending Noise. There is no privacy. There are no secrets. Or are there?

Just one month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd unexpectedly stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. Which is impossible. Prentisstown has been lying to him. And now he's going to have to run...

Oh, oh, oh, ok I have found the kind of YA I like and it has to do with freaky futures! This is what I should stick with when it comes to YA.

Todd lives in Prentisstown with his two guardians. All the women died after the aliens on teh planet released something that made the men hear everything. Every thought, and I mean every. Trees, dogs, flowers. There is a never ending noise. Todd lives in this, but then one day he finds something, a place of nothing. Soon he is running for his life, for in this book nothing is what it seems. I can't tell you anything more because this book sure hides its secrets well. But of course first they killed all the aliens, and Todd is the last boy since there are no women anymore. That I can tell.

I read this book and never put it down, I could not stop, because the way he writes. He guards those secrets well and in the end I just read faster and faster. I can't say anything more, but wow. I do like scary worlds. And I would not want to live on this planet.

This book has got some violence, not much, but some things did make me cringe. Just because it was YA, but then again it was not graphic, and it was needed to show the horror.

It is not sci-fi either, I learn they got there by ship, but it was religious people fleeing the old crowded planet, so now they are simple farmers. No technology at all. 

It is also a strange book, sometimes he writes the noise, an entire page with nose. But it gives you an idea what it is like, and there are not many. I do like his style, and I can't wait to get my hands on book 2 because the end, again, he knows how to keep a girl on edge.

What can I say, if you liked the Hunger Games then I am sure you will like this one too. Anyone can read and and enjoy it. And it sure has some suspense, and the secrets, oh the secrets. For fans of dystopian like fiction, read this.

This will be one of the best books I have read this year. This sure did not disappoint me, Ness knows how to twist a tale.

Book 2, The Ask and the Answer, is already out, and book 3 Monsters of Men comes out in the fall. The perfect time to start this book then.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Sure, not pretty, but eye-catching and scary.

Reason for Reading: Library Book

Final thoughts: Read it!

Review: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book 2, The Hunger Games

Genre: YA futuristic
Pages: 400
Published: September 2009

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

I tried to hold out for the library to get the English copy, but when they got another Swedish copy I could no longer wait and got it. And started reading at once. I can't say how it is holding up so let's say that the English version is even better. (Yay I do get to find out and wont have to wait months for them to get that copy.)

I think the beginning might have been like the first book, good, and then suddenly great. I meant to read for 5 minutes but I started in that good/great gap and I could not stop reading. I did not want to put the book down. It was so intense and I had to know what happened next. She sure has a way to get a hold on you.

Katniss and Peeta are on their victory tour. Really creepy actually, it gives the president a chance to show the horror of the games again and to control the people. We don't get to see much of the victory tour and I would have liked more since that would have given us a chance to learn more about the districts. Then they get home and President Snow is still not happy and Katniss fears for her and her family. And a revolution is growing as the people turn their rage towards the capitol.

It's a great book, perhaps not as good as the first one because that first book is always amazing. But this one may start good, and it only gets better. At a certain point in the book it gets really intense and it stays that way. Now I can't wait for book 3 and see how it turns out. I want freedom for these people, The Hunger Games, I can't even start to explain my horror for them and how the districts are ruled with an iron hand. I love the world she created, a grim future without any hope.

The romance then, well I do not know if I am for Peeta or Gale. It changes, they both are great, and can be good for her. I do not know which she will choose, and I do not know who I want her to choose.

Still loving Katniss, she sure can be kick-ass, and the supporting characters are great too, this time you learn more about everyone.  And they all have something, if good or evil.

One thing though, I felt like the book stagnated at one time, sure it was great writing, but the story could have moved forward in a more different way.

The second book did not let me down, and how I will be able to wait a year, I do not know. The ending is good, and leaves you wanting more.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner: Not liking it, but it does show the bird, and the simple cover suits the mood.

Reason for Reading: Library Book

Final thoughts: Read this series, if you haven't read a YA book then start with The Hunger Games. It's amazing.

Review: Relentless - Lauren Dane

Relentless by Lauren Dane

Genre: Futuristic  romance
Pages: 352
Published: 2009

In this universe, passion knows no rank…

Since the first settlers came through the portals from Earth, fifteen Families have held the rule of the Federated Universes in their hands. There’s never been a better time than now to throw out the old and usher in a new order. Give voice to the unranked. Abbie Haws has spent her life battling the system. A fighter, she’s always been too busy and driven to pay much attention to finding love. But when she’s granted audience with Roman Lyons, the head of House Lyons, who stands for everything she hates, her instant attraction catches Abbie off-guard…

It’s common knowledge that the Known Universe revolves around Ravena—and that Ravena revolves around Roman Lyons, bred to lead since birth. Roman dreads his meeting with a defiant—if stunning—rabble-rouser. But, sometimes, headstrong personalities in the conference room make for hot-and-heavy, guilty trysts in private….

Now, Abbie will show Roman the parts of her world he wouldn’t otherwise get to see. And he’ll give her a glimpse of the Families’ age old tradition and unleash a sexuality he’d never given rein to before.

Lauren Dane is an excellent writer, I liked how her words just flowed and the story moved on so easily. It's a story set in a far away future where the space have been settled. It takes place in the city of Ravena, where a barrister named Abby is fighting for what she believes in. Then she meet Roman Lyons, the most powerful man in her 'verse. There is passion at once, passion that can not be.

I was not a fan of the feudal society they lived in, the families ruled everything and the people had no say in anything. Not to mention Roman was ranked, Abby was not, and because of that they could not be together. He was someone she was not, they did seem to live in the dark ages, and here I thought the future would know better. It seems not, rank still rule.

I liked the story, I have always been a sucker for future worlds. This society is then ruled by a lot of powerful families. They have the power, they have the say, and no one can question their will. They say it's democracy, but it is not. They also have the attitude that they are better and ranked are not allowed to marry unranked. But there are voices that wants to be heard, and they want change. A book sure needs a bit of that too, civil unrest, even if it doesn't amount to that here.

There was one thing that sadly killed my mood, I was not a fan of the sex, all the dirty talk, well I could not feel the love between them, just the sex, which is a shame. It was just too much for me, and yes I guess I am a romantic. I need to some love. Sure I was hoping they would end up together, but that was mostly because I knew it, I didn't feel it.

Still Abby was a good strong character who had gone through horrible thing, but she did not late them hold her down, and Roman, oh it was the power that did it for me. He was just so raw and powerful.

But it's a great story, with exceptions then for me, it flows, the story holds my attention and it's a great world she had created. She is a wonderful writer and the book is read with ease. Too bad the sex didn't work for me, because else I would have liked it even more.

Review: Grimspace - Ann Aguirre

Grimspace
Sirantha Jax Book 1

Genre: Sci.fi romance
Published:2008
Pages: 320

By all accounts, Sirantha Jax should have burned out years ago…
As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace—a talent which cuts into her life expectancy, but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she’s navigating crash-lands, and she’s accused of killing everyone on board. It’s hard for Jax to defend herself: she has no memory of the crash.

Now imprisoned and the subject of a ruthless interrogation, Jax is on the verge of madness. Then a mysterious man breaks into her cell, offering her freedom—for a price. March needs Jax to help his small band of rogue fighters break the Corp monopoly on interstellar travel—and establish a new breed of jumper.

Jax is only good at one thing—grimspace—and it will eventually kill her. So she may as well have some fun in the meantime…

(Author's site)

Even if I liked the beginning I had a hard time getting into the book, and then suddenly when i had read 1/3 of it I was in. What changed? Perhaps it was that I didn't like Sirantha in the beginning.

Sirantha jax is one tough chick, all mouth and no one gets in her way. She can be rather closed off, and even I thought she was kick-ass, I didn't like her. Then comes March, and frees her from her prison where she had been tortured. He was like her and those two were at each other like cat and dog. Then something changed and I started liking the both of them. The book got more meaning. There is a struggle because her wounds are fresh from the crash where she lost her pilot and lover, but you just know that those two are meant to be. And I long to find out.

I have always liked sci-fi so that was sure not a problem for me, though I have actually read way too few. perhaps because sci-fi is so male, ships and weapons. Therefore I have gone for the more philosophical and epic in the past. This, well this is a treat, romance, I love it and I get the space angle too. Not all romance has to take place at earth, or my fav, in the past.

There is her getting to know the crew of his, I like the doc by the way, and then learning what they want her to do. I do like a bit of political involved too, since the more I read the more I don't like the Corp. They may have lost they goal some time ago. There is colonies, seems to be a Swedish one, lol, and bounty hunters. Now what would a sci-fi book be without a alien bounty hunter.

Oh and yes there is romance, don't fear, and I am sure they will be more in the next books. Where she gets to free the the universe, read the other blurbs that there will be more aliens, bad aliens, I hope so.

It was a nice little read, some sci-fi, some romance. An escape read that always feels different from the paranormal ones, I guess it's cos I always think space could happen, but vampires and werewolves, I only wish.

Hard book to review, cos as always I don't wanna give away everything, I'll let the blurb talk.

Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westefeld
Uglies, book 2

Published: 2005
Genre: Futuristic YA
Pages: 384

Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect. Perfectly wrong.

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive. (good reads)

The second book is not as good as the first, but that would be a hard thing to do anyway. This is still a great book, and it leaves me with a cliffhanger that leaves me wanting more at once.

Tally has become pretty, she is perfect in every way and she is loving the parties, drinking and all the pretty things. The gang she is in is the coolest and she is drawn to the leader, Zane. But she cannot stay in her bubble forever and she is contacted by an ugly person, some bells ring in her head that they have met before. That is the beginning to trying to figure out what really happened before she became pretty, when she was "kidnapped" by uglies and taken to their camp, Smoke. But all is not what it seems to be. And the constant rush for a moment of clarity is dangerous.

It's great seeing Tally again, and this time she has fallen for Zane, who is troubled and who had started to figure out that when you become pretty, they do something to your personality too. I can see them as a couple even if I miss "ugly" David.

This book is about the struggle she has in pretty town where she is trying to figure things out. Not much happens in a way but it leaves more time to think. First I was horrified at what was being done to people, but now I see it has to be done. By doing this there are no wars, not even fights, people are happy and loving, and yes terribly shallow. They take care of nature and they live in their cities while nature takes care of itself outside. By doing this they are saving the world. The people that escape and go to Smoke, those burn the trees and cut them down. If there were more they would soon be too many and the planet would be harmed. Mankind stood on the brink of extinction and was only saved by this. Yes the way it's being handled is wrong, but there is a good thought behind it. It leaves me wondering, what is right and what is wrong? And what will Tally choose in the end?

He has managed to create an interesting world, and I like the concept behind these books. I really need to know what Tally will do and that cliffhanger, oh yes you should be ready with book 3 because it's a big one.

If you want to have a look at book one, here is a free download

Review: The Hungergames by Suzanne Collins

The Hungergames by Suzanne Collins
Book 1

Published: September 2008
Genre: Futuristic YA
Pages: 384
Cover: The Swedish publication

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.




Ok this book was messed up, not in a bad way, no, this book was amazing! But in the sense of the horrible world they have to live in. Everything is a struggle and the most horrifying thing of it all is The Hunger Games.

First, that is that Swedish cover, what can I say, I like it more, and it was on the cover of the book I read so here it is.

This is a bad world, but a world that feels real. Why could this not happen? It has happened before and it can sure happen again. It's a tool by a regime who wants to oppress it's people by sending their children to slaughter. No one dares to put anything against them, they have the power and the people out in the districts have nothing, and they are surrounded by wilderness, mutant killer bees, and other dangerous things. They must stay inside their compounds and starve.

Katniss is a 16 year old girl who is the provider for her mother and sister. She can hunt and she dares to venture outside in the constant struggle to survive. Each year there is the danger of being sent to the Hunger Games, and this year she takes her little sisters place, and faces certain death. 24 children will go into the games, and only one can come out. They will hunt each other down and kill each other. The one who wins will never starve again.

It's not a world I will like to even be in for a second, a terrible existent than they endure. And the Hunger Games are the worst things, the parents and friends have to watch their loved ones die on big tv screens. It's the leaderships way of saying, look what we can do to your children, now just sit still and be quiet.

Katniss is a great heroine, strong and willing to sacrifice herself for her younger sister, because at least she has a chance of getting anywhere in the games. I would not have her courage or will to live. There is one other big character, Peeta, the boy from her district since there are always a boy and a girl chosen. I like him, while she is more wild he can be quiet and nice. Another contender is 12 year old Rue, and my heart bleeds again thinking of a little girl in a situation like that, kill or be killed.

This is a great YA book, one of the best I have read. The future is very grim, but it does have something to say too. Like our obsession with reality tv, blood, death and all to get as many people to watch as possible, in this future world everyone gathers to see children be hunted down and die in agony. Of course do not all like it, they hate it, but they are forced to watch once a year.

I do recommend this book to all, I sat there and turned page after page wanting to see how Katt would get out of it, would she? It's not an easy book either, but it does manages to keep the blood under control. Not to much because that would be tasteless.

I want to read the next book at once, sadly I will have to wait a long time to see what happens, since I guess I will wait for the translation

Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Book 1

Genre: futuristic
Pages: 448
Age: YA
Published: 2005

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?


Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.


But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

(fantastic fiction...I so need to write my own blurb one of these days, but in a hurry as usual)

Finally a YA that made me think more than ok, this was a good book that had a depth to it. A scary new world after we have destroyed ours. It's a world where everyone gets pretty when they are 16 and then they live happily ever after. Now what is wrong with that? Well all the pretties seems to have no mind of their own, and they all have the same look in a way. It's supposed to stop people from hating each other, and that is good. But no one has a personality except from being pretty. It's not a world where I would like to live.

Tally is like all the other kids, she hates being ugly, and she cannot wait for her operation. I find myself liking her, I cannot help it. She is a good heroine that does what she thinks is right. And she grows as a person through out the book, and she learns the meaning of ugly, and pretty. The she meets Shay who doesn't want to have the operation. I am rather partial to Shay. Then there is the mysterious David, the one who frees the uglies. Him I like.

We learn how we destroyed the earth, oh that was creepy and made me fearful. One big accident. Because of this a new world was built, where pretty rule. I like his critique on society here. It gives the book depth and meaning. It's not just some futuristic YA book, I really understand why it became as big as it did. It's not like the other YA books I have read lately, and the subject fits the age group perfectly. I do not know if it would have worked as good with an adult theme.

I do recommend this book, it will make you think, and it's nicely written. Of course I read it in Swedish so I can't say where and how the translation played in. That is made is easier or things like that. Because if this was a good book, then is sure must be better in it's original language. Westerfeld is a good author and I really want to read book 2 now. Too bad I didn't pick it up the day it came to the library. If I had only known. This one restored my hope in YA again.

It has a good cast, a good story, and that depth behind it makes it a good book. And I do like a book that makes me think and feel. I am happy with my read.