STRAIN

TITLE: STRAIN

AUTHOR: AMELIA C. GORMLEY

Pages: 318

Date: 21/02/2014

Grade: 5-

Details: Received from Riptide Publishing

            Through Love Romances and More

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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.”

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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.”

“Strain” on Riptide Publishing’s website.

BURN

TITLE: BURN

AUTHOR: JULIANNA BAGGOTT

Pages: 432

Date: 04/02/2014

Grade: 5

Details: no. 3 Pure Trilogy

            Received from Headline Publishing

            Through Nudge

Own 

First things first. Before I say anything else I have to stress that this book should not be read unless you’re familiar with the story up to now, as told in “Pure” and “Fuse”.

This book seamlessly picks the story up where Fuse ended. Partridge has returned to the Dome and has inherited his father’s position as leader now that Willox is dead. But if Partridge thought that gaining power would bring him the opportunity to put an end to the inequality between the Pure people inside the dome and the Wretches outside, he is in for a shocking surprise. Established powers have no intention of allowing him to change the status-quo and have the means to keep him in check. As his feelings of powerlessness grow, so do Partridge’s doubts about himself, his motives and what he might be able to achieve. By the time he realises that his desire to avoid all bloodshed might lead to nothing except more violence it may well be too late.

Meanwhile Pressia, Bradwell, El Capitan and Helmut are in Ireland, in the care of a small group of detonation survivors fighting their own battle to stay alive. When they board their airship to travel back to America they’ll have acquired the means to bring down the Dome. While Bradwell is pushing for their oppressors’ destruction, Pressia still holds on to the dream of getting the serum that could form the basis for a cure for the Wretches to scientists inside the Dome.

As violence erupts from the Dome, doubts about Partridge’s loyalty are raised. By the time it becomes clear that the only way to bring down a world created through an unspeakable act of destruction is to destroy its core, it may be too late for all participants to survive or find the answers they were looking for.

Before I get to the specifics of Burn I have to state that the ‘Pure’ trilogy is an amazing piece of imagination and writing. It has to take its place among the darkest works of fiction I have ever read, but it also stands out as one of the most well written and thought-provoking trilogies I’ve come across.

Julianna Baggott doesn’t look for easy answers, cosy endings or happily ever afters in these books. This trilogy brings the reader to a post-apocalyptic world in all its horrifying glory. And the final instalment, ‘Burn’ is, if possible, even darker than its two prequels.

On the surface this seems to be a story without hope. If you were to dig a little bit deeper though you’d see that actually there is some light in this book. It may not take the form of the exact happy ending you were hoping for, but it does reaffirm your belief in values such as friendship, loyalty, family, love and forgiveness. And that is where the strength of this book – this trilogy – lies. Julianna Baggott has created a world where people do what they have to do in order to survive. For some – the Pures - surviving depends on keeping their privileged world well closed off from others at all costs. For those on the outside, living in what are almost unliveable circumstances, it means there is little or no room for compassion. And yet, neither environment has managed to turn everybody who lives there into monsters. The power of this book lies in the message that despite the circumstances they find themselves in, some people will always try to do the right thing for the right reasons.

This is not an easy book to read; in fact, I found it quite heartbreaking. It is however a powerful story; one with a premise worth thinking about. This is a book that will stay with the reader long after they finish reading.

Burn, like its prequels, is a beautifully written yet very dark story about hope, love and courage against the odds. I’m almost sorry I’ve reached the end of this tale. I would love to know what happens next to Pressia in this world. And, considering the way the story ends I guess it is not impossible that the author will revisit this world and these characters at some point in the future. If she does I will be among the first readers to revisit this dust-filled world that has become almost real in my mind.

THE PLAGUE FORGE a review by Dermot Kennedy

TITLE: THE PLAGUE FORGE

AUTHOR: JASON M. HOUGH

Pages: 435

Date: 08/10/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 3 The Dire Earth Cycle

            Received from Titan Books

            Through Nudge.

Own

This third book in “the Dire Earth cycle” continues the search by Skyler Luiken and the Belem community for the last three Builder artefacts. Even though the community leaders are in the dark as to what will happen once all five artefacts have been returned to the Builder ship in orbit above Earth, the general consensus is that the task must be completed before the final Builder event is due to take place, and if it is not the consequences for the whole of humanity could be dire. Meanwhile in Darwin, Grillo, and his Jacobites, continues to tighten his stranglehold on the city and orbitals with his extreme fundamentalism. Unfortunately for Skyler, Grillo also has possession of one of the artefacts. Without it he will be unable to finally unlock the Builders secret and uncover the real reason for all that has befallen mankind.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and Hough has written a fitting climax to this excellent trilogy. The pace never lets up and indeed increases with the story now happening on three distinct fronts. Tayla Sharma takes a team to North America to recover one of the Builder artefacts. Skyler follows the trail left by the Builder towers exodus to Africa, only to discover the source of the deadly SUBS virus. And in Darwin, Prumble and Samantha undertake a dangerous mission to retrieve the artefact which is being kept in a high security vault by Grillo.

Hough’s writing is assured and his character development memorable with some of the characters showing some surprising and unanticipated traits. I especially liked the characters of Vanessa, who has developed into an “Amazonian” type warrior, and Prumble who, notwithstanding his obvious un-athletic physique, proves himself to be a very accomplished insurgent against Grillo’s religious inquisition. Again Hough keeps the overall feel of the story upbeat, notwithstanding the fact that this all takes place in a dystopian world. Without giving away any spoilers, the climax was not what I had expected and I was pleasantly surprised how this unfolded.  I also appreciated how Hough calls in to question our automatic assumption to apply human morals to non-human entities. All in all I could not put this book down (even though I really didn’t have the time to allocate to reading this in two or three sittings) and found myself pulling an all-nighter just to get to the end of the story. Something I haven’t done in a long time.

Although the various story lines are all nicely concluded in this book, Hough has left enough openings to continue other aspects of the story in future releases. I, for one, will be waiting with bated breath for any further adventures from this author and will gladly recommend him to any lovers of the sci-fi genre or indeed anyone who enjoys a rollicking good yarn.

THE EXODUS TOWERS: A review by Dermot Kennedy

TITLE: EXODUS TOWERS

AUTHOR: JASON M. HOUGH

Pages: 524

Date: 09/09/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: No. 2 The Dire Earth Cycle

             Received from Titan Books

             Through Nudge

             Reviewed by Dermot Kennedy

Own

The mysterious aliens known as the Builders have planted a new elevator in Belem, Brazil. They have also left behind strange Black Towers which seem to nullify the SUBS virus. Skyler Luiken and the rebel Orbitals have started a new colony but they soon fall foul of a new menace. Skyler also discovers a crashed Builder ship and soon uncovers that the ship is altering the subhumans, making them faster, stronger and meaner.

“Exodus Towers” is the second book from Hough and continues on the story begun in “The Darwin Elevator”.  Skyler and the rebel Orbitals have created a new colony in Belem but soon run into trouble with a sinister cult of immunes, When the mysterious Black Towers suddenly up sticks and move off in different directions of their own volition, Tania Sharma, leader of the rebel Orbitals, knows instinctively that this is somehow linked with the next imminent Builder event.

Meanwhile in Darwin, Russell Blackfield has secured control of the remaining orbital habitats on the Darwin elevator and enlists the services of crime lord Grillo to restore law and order to the streets of Darwin. A decision he soon comes to regret …

I really liked this follow-up by Hough. The pace is fast and the characters well developed and above all, likeable (even the bad guys!). Even though this is a dystopian novel, the narrative never gets bogged down in the misery inherent in such scenarios. In Skyler Luiken, we have an anti-hero who reminds one of Mal Reynolds from Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” or Jaine Fenn’s Jarek Reen. Luiken is part ships captain, part scavenger and part likeable rogue. His no nonsense approach is nicely balanced by the analytical almost dithery approach of the Tania Sharma character. 

However, for me Russell Blackfield steals the show as the quintessential bad guy. Blackfield just oozes nastiness, never has a good word for anyone and as a result has no confidants. This last fact also shows up his shortcomings and when he contracts Grillo to clean up Darwin he realises how out of his depth he really is. Grillo on the other hand, is as methodical as he is ruthless and quickly shows Blackfield how to really rule with an iron fist, and it doesn’t take long for Grillo to show his true ambitions.

The suspense is maintained throughout by the unfathomable agenda of the Builders, a race of aliens so technologically advanced that they seem almost magical, even if we haven’t actually met these mysterious beings yet. The fact that so much remains unknown about the Builders only adds to the drama and leads one to ask whether all the machinations of the human survivors will ultimately be in vain.

Jason M. Hough has created a rip roaring story that never lets up on pace or wonder and has delivered one of the best debut science fiction novels this reader has read in a long time. I look forward with relish to the next instalment of this excellent story.

THE DARWIN ELEVATOR; A review by Dermot Kennedy

TITLE: THE DARWIN ELEVATOR

AUTHOR: JASON M. HOUGH

Pages: 475

Date: 26/07/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 1 The Dire Earth Cycle

            Received from Titan Book

            Through Nudge

Own

“The builders came to Earth and constructed an elevator from Darwin, Australia into space. No one knows why, or if they will return”

Following the arrival of the cable, humankind has built space stations at various altitudes along the space cable. Living in the space stations are scientist, agriculturalists and other, privileged people. Several years later a plague envelopes the planet turning humans into feral animals. The only ones protected are the rare “immunes” and the people who live within a 9 mile radius of the space elevator which exudes an Aura of protection. Of course those living in the space stations are also protected, due to their isolation from earth.

Skyler Luiken is one of a group of scavengers who roam the planet in mothballed ex air force aircraft, searching for anything useful which can be sold to the elites who live in orbit. What’s unusual about Luiken’s team is that they are all “immunes” meaning that they don’t have to use cumbersome haz-mat suits while out plying their trade.

The political balance of Darwin sits on a knife edge with Neil Platz in control of the orbital habitats and Russell Blackfield controlling the ground station of Nightcliff, the anchor point for the space elevator. The orbitals control food production, owned by Platz, who has his own dark secrets, and the ground-station controls the supply of Air and Water to the orbitals.  

This is the setting for this debut novel from Hough. First thoughts are that I liked this first book in the “Dire Earth Cycle”. There have been a plethora of dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels released in recent years and it is reassuring to finally find one that doesn’t make me want to “slash my wrists” after reading it. The main characters are well developed and, unusually for such a novel, actually have a sense of humour, something severely lacking in a lot of other books of this particular genre such as Hugh Howeys “Wool” series. Skyler Luiken is a reluctant hero, who more or less by accident finds himself drawn into the political battle for the ultimate control of mankind’s destiny. He has to pit his wits against Blackfield who is a “baddie” in the true classical sense of the word.

And still, the power struggle may only be the start of humankind’s problems; for the builders are returning…

The gulf in the quality of life between the “Orbitals” and the Darwinians is huge. The orbitals live in relative luxury, completely removed from the daily and constant struggle for survival which is the lot of most of the earthbound population, all of whom are dreaming of one day ascending to space to a life without fear of starvation or premature death.

This was a fast-paced and thrilling read. And while it is clear that there is more story left to tell I am grateful that the author didn’t leave me stranded on one of those heart-stopping cliff-hangers that seem to be all the rage these days.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this first offering from Hough, who managed to instil a sense of hope and optimism, and not a little humour into a subject which too often is portrayed in a truly grim manner, and I look forward to the next two instalments in the series, “The Exodus Towers” and “The Plague Forge”.