Life First by RJ Crayton

Life First is Book 1 of the Dystopian Series created by RJ Crayton.

Kelsey Reed just gets marked. She is found to be the best match for a man in Virginia with failing kidneys. According to the law of Federation of Surviving States (FoSS), what was left of the former United States after a pandemic that wiped out 80 percent of the population, the government is to take one of Kelsey’s kidneys and give it to the ailing man.

Kelsey has no problem sacrificing a part of her body, but, if she does, it must be on her own free will and not because it is mandated by law. So, she decides to escape. In order to do that, however, she needs to take out her life monitoring system.

Kelsey knows she cannot do it alone. She needs the help of her boyfriend, her best friend, a shady doctor, and other individuals who, unexpectedly, turn out to be on her side.

Told in the first-person perspective of Kelsey Reed, this is a fast-paced, exciting, and suspenseful dystopian thriller that will keep the readers on the edge of their seats. The plot is very unpredictable with plenty of surprising twists and unexpected turns of events. It is made more exciting and interesting by a combination of medical and court drama. Scenes are described in vivid detail and dialogues are fitting. In addition to the exciting plot, the author creates a set of interesting characters, some of them quite endearing. Though the obvious favorite is Kelsey, I find Luke Geary the ultimate hero while Susan Harper is the brave and devoted best friend.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the book immensely. I find it thought-provoking. It questions how much the readers value their freedom to decide over their own body. It is interesting, exciting, and suspenseful. It is a great first installment for a book series.  

Congratulations to RJ Crayton (@RJCrayton) on such an enjoyable book. For more books about the author, click HERE.  

World, Incorporated by Tom Gariffo

World,Incorporated: A Modern Dystopia is a suspenseful political thriller written by Tom Gariffo.

Agent Sliver is the personal covert operative to the CEO of World, Incorporated, one of the five supercorporations that practically run the country in the year 2058. With a hazy past and a dicey future, Agent Sliver lives in the Chrome Wind, an airship with several state-of-the-art systems including a talking computer that serves as his companion and the closest he gets for a friend.

Agent Sliver’s life is ostensibly simple. He works for the CEO of World, Incorporated by eliminating possible threats to the supercorporation in exchange for a lucrative compensation package which include the Chrome Wind, an indeterminate credit points for his purchases, a supply of Serum that he very much needed to function, and an outstanding promise of revenge against the CEO of a rival supercorporation. Then, an unexpected turn in one of his missions disrupts his routinary existence.

This is an exciting and suspenseful thriller that depicts the possible future of the United States of America. Personally, I find it well conceptualized albeit a little complex which other readers may find more exciting. The writing style varies from casual and conversational with a predominantly sarcastic tone to journalistic and academic. The major character is well-developed with a sense of humor and relatable need for revenge. However, other readers may have mixed or even conflicting emotions toward Agent Sliver. I, for one, find him compassionate one instance and callous the next. Finally, though I prefer it to be more conclusive, I enjoyed the ending of this book which somehow promises more from the author.   

All in all, this is a very enjoyable read with its shocking revelations and unexpected turns of events. However, I find it too detailed for my taste, thus a bit verbose. Though this is generally a good thing, other readers may find it taxing. Moreover, I noticed errors within the entire book which, though only a few, may detract from the overall reading experience.

Congratulations to Tom Gariffo (@TomGariffo) on such a great book!

World, Incorporated was OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day on August 1^st 2018. You may check it out at Online BookClub.

The Divinity Bureau by Tessa Clare

The DivinityBureau is a dystopian thriller written by Tessa Clare.

The world is in chaos. Water is scarce. The air is polluted. Jobs are rare and low paying. So, Roman Irvine considers himself lucky to work in the Divinity Bureau as an IT Technician. The Divinity Bureau is in-charge of controlling the population explosion by randomly electing a certain number of people to die of lethal injection every quarter of a year.

As an ordinary employee who is dependent to the bureau in order to survive, Roman does his job seemingly indifferent to the bureau’s activities. That is until he sees April McIntyre’s name on the list.

In addition to a quite interesting premise, the book offers a beautiful romance that defies the law. It is told in alternating first person perspective between the two protagonists. The book is an easy read with consistently casual and conversational tone. References to futuristic inventions like the Mobiroid, BIONs and CLEO may excite some readers.  

However, I find the back stories on the founding of the Confederal Districts a little vague. There are also some questions that I find unanswered. Moreover, though Roman for me is a very relatable character with his financial problems and needs, April is not my ideal female protagonist. I find her a little insensitive and uncaring towards her family. Furthermore, though the ending is how I hoped it would be it feels incomplete because of the unanswered questions. Finally, I noticed too many errors (if you free tomorrow, fill the silence my cutting my veal, I can select the which) in the copy I read which made for a difficult reading experience.

Still, it was a very interesting read and I enjoyed it.

Congratulations to Tessa Clare (@tessaclaretdb) on such an enjoyable book.