TITLE:
STRAIN
AUTHOR:
AMELIA C. GORMLEY
Pages:
318
Date:
21/02/2014
Grade:
5-
Details:
Received from Riptide Publishing
Through Love Romances and More
Own
/ Kindle
The
blurb:
“In a world with little hope and no rules, the only thing they have to
lose is themselves.
Rhys Cooper is a dead man. Cut off
from the world since childhood, he’s finally exposed to the lethal virus that
wiped out most of the human race. Now his only hope for survival is infection
by another strain that might provide immunity. But it’s sexually transmitted,
and the degradation he feels at submitting to the entire squad of soldiers that
rescued him eclipses any potential for pleasure—except with Darius, the
squadron’s respected, capable leader.
Sergeant Darius Murrell has seen too
much death and too little humanity. He’s spent a decade putting plague victims
out of their misery and escorting survivors to a safe haven he can never enjoy.
He’d rather help Rhys live than put him down, so when Rhys can’t reconcile
himself to doing what’s necessary to survive, Darius is forced to save Rhys in
spite of himself.
But with
each passing day, it looks less and less likely that Rhys can be saved. And
that means that Darius might soon have to put a bullet in the head of the one person
in years who reminds him of what it means to be human.”
------------------------------------------------------------
My thoughts:
Occasionally
I read a book and I find myself having to take a time out after I finish it because
I just can’t get my head around everything I’ve just read and images and
thoughts won’t stop spinning through my head. ‘Strain’ is one of those books.
Although there was some time between finishing the story and going to bed last
night, I found myself dreaming about this book; the characters and the world
they inhabit were the first thing on my mind the one or two times I woke up.
And one question wouldn’t and still hasn’t left my mind; how far would I be
willing to go to save my own life, or to try saving someone else’s.
I
should probably begin this book with a warning. This is not an easy or light
read, quite the opposite in fact. This is also a book that could easily offend
and/or shock a lot of readers. Ultimately though this is a very powerful and
memorable story; one I’m very glad to have read and one that will probably
continue to play in my mind for a few more nights at least.
The
world ‘Strain’ is set in is a horrible place. A lethal and very contagious
virus has killed most humans and is still being spread by ‘Revenants’; infected
humans who have turned into monsters driven to kill the remaining uninfected
population. Contact with a Revenant is a death sentence; if they don’t kill you
on the spot they will infect you and seal your fate.
When
19 year old Rhys Cooper sacrifices himself in the hope of protecting others he
survives his encounter with the Revenants only because a troupe of ‘super-human’
soldiers arrives in time to kill them. Survival isn’t necessarily a blessing
though; those Rhys was trying to protect have died anyway, his arch-enemy and
bane of his young life, Jacob, is the only other survivor and both of them have
almost certainly been infected with the virus that will turn them into Revenants
before killing them.
The
soldiers offer both Rhys and Jacob a slim hope of survival. It is possible that
the virus can be counteracted if they manage to get infected with another
strain; a strain the soldiers carry. The only sure way to get infected though
is through frequent sexual contact with as many of the soldiers as possible.
Darius
Murrell is the 43 old leader of the squadron of soldiers who rescued the two men
and is determined to save them. He’s spent his life fighting and killing to
protect the remaining uninfected humans and would do anything to ensure he won’t
have to put a bullet in Rhys’ head once the plague sets in.
It
is difficult for Rhys though. While he doesn’t want to die and is interested in
men, he has huge issues dealing with the multiple partners he needs to have in
order to optimise his chances of immunity. Sex with Darius is something he,
reluctantly, enjoys. With anybody else he can barely make himself endure it,
putting Darius in a position where he has to force the young man to have sex if
he wants to save him.
“Look, far as I’m concerned, only thing evil
about sex is rape. Now, that puts us in a real gray area but I’m trying to
avoid it.”
Darius
and Rhys may be discovering feelings for each other; it is an impossible
situation for both. Darius can’t afford that get attached to a man he may have
to kill and Rhys is at best a reluctant participant in his own rescue.
I
have to admit this was, at times, a very difficult read for me. Reading about
Rhys, his insecurities, fears and shame at having to be intimate with all these
men who, as far as he can tell, are only with him out of a sense of duty, was
heartbreaking. In fact, the only thing that prevented this book from turning into
a very dark story about institutionalised rape was the fact that the soldiers volunteering
their services to Rhys grow ever more reluctant to do so as his distaste for
the act becomes more obvious.
“I
fought it for a long time because I didn’t want the only sex I ever had before
I died to not mean anything, especially when it was already something I didn’t
have a choice in. Then it didn’t feel meaningless anymore, and it was okay.
Better than okay.” – Rhys
Despite
appearances earlier on in this story, this isn’t ‘just’ a book about sex. Nor
is the story-line an excuse to introduce as many sex-scenes as possible.
Ultimately this is a story about love, finding it under the most unlikely of
circumstances and the things we are willing to do and endure for those we love.
It is also a book about what it means to be human and how to hang on to that
humanity even when the world around you doesn’t appear to have room for ‘luxuries’
like that.
“Knowing
people like you exist, people who won’t lie or kill or whore themselves out for
another day of pointless breathing, people who actually believe in something –
even if it’s just yourself and what you know is right – it makes it worth it,
boy.”
This
story broke my heart, forced me to look away in horror but ultimately made me
rejoice because of the sheer beauty of it. It was a joy to watch Rhys as he
tried to hang on the things he valued. I lost myself in his journey from scared
boy to sensible young man. And I may just have fallen in love with Darius, the
tough soldier who turns out to have very deep feelings despite his job and the
things it forces him to do.
I
have to applaud the author for releasing a book with a story-line that was
likely to find as many detractors as fans. I’m in awe that Amelia C. Gormley
managed to put this much beauty in what was for all intends and purposes a
horrific story, and find myself deeply grateful for having found a tale that
will linger for a long time to come.
“None
of us have much worth holding on to, which makes us hold on even tighter to
what we can.”
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