Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: post apocalyptic sci-fi

  • DAWN Of GENESIS: Titan Code Book 1 by Rey Clark – Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalypse, Young Adult

     

    Cygnus Science Fiction 1st Place Blue and Gold CIBA BadgeDawn of Genesis: Titan Code Book 1 by Rey Clark portrays a near future Earth that is dying by inches, feet, and yards.

    Specifically, yards and acres of crops are choked to death by a constant dust-bowl. Only a small human population has so far managed to survive the collapse of both the environment and the economy of the entire world.

    The desperate circumstances of most of humanity are exacerbated by the rise of mutated super-humans with powers to rival those of typical superheroes. But the “Evos,” evolved humans, are missing the moral compass that directs those comic book superheroes, and the government that has arisen to “protect” the remaining non-Evo population isn’t much better.

    The reader’s perspective on that boiling stew is teen Tessa Jones, still in school and trying to pretend that her combat and engineering skills aren’t nearly as excellent as she knows they are.

    If she shows what she’s really capable of, she’ll be whisked away from her family’s farm by a government that uses – and uses up – every available person in order to defeat the Evos.

    But Tessa’s dreams of remaining with her family explode when she manifests her own Evo powers to save her little sister’s life. Unable to hide what she really is, Tessa becomes a pawn, caught between forces that plan to use her for their own ends, either as a warrior for the Evos or a lab rat for a government planning to make more super-soldiers just like Tessa.

    Because Tessa is still learning about the world and her place in it, she provides an eye-opening perspective on this post-apocalyptic world, as well as giving the story crossover appeal to readers of young adult and new adult fiction.

    Tessa is on the cusp of adulthood, facing decisions that will set the course of her life. She is still facing all the issues of being in school: boredom, bullying, trying to fit in and desperate not to stand out too much. Even in the post-apocalypse, these issues are easy for readers to identify with.

    She also tries to find her truth, to find a way of coping with the dying world she has been born into. She’s aware that what she hears about the larger world is all propaganda, and she doesn’t know which way to turn or what to believe because she has no idea where to find the truth.

    She’s naive, she’s uncertain, and she’s desperate because she’s trapped in terrible circumstances facing equally terrible choices, none of them of her making. But she is the one person who might be able to fix at least some of her world, if she is willing to take the reins of the future into her own hands.

    Dawn of Genesis is a post-apocalyptic survival story. And it’s a story about one young woman making a place for herself on a dying Earth. But it’s also a story about training and learning to be the most that one can be, and it’s a kick-ass adventure story about grabbing a better future.

    Dawn of Genesis by Rey Clark won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Cygnus Book Awards for Science Fiction.

  • APEX FIVE by Sarah Katz – Colonization Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi, Epic Sci-fi Series

    APEX FIVE by Sarah Katz – Colonization Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi, Epic Sci-fi Series

    The first book in the Plane series, Apex Five, begins with a catastrophic storm hellbent on ending all life on the Plane. Many escape into the Void, leaving all who remain to perish. Now 12,000 years later, civilization is once again thriving on the Plane, but not without rivaling nations, political tensions, and religious persecution. The Tabiran government is the ruling body of the Plane, and they have been working for years to eradicate religious belief in the Zaam and the culture surrounding the megaliths found in each nation of Tabira, Lir, and Garo. The origins of these megaliths are forgotten and transformed into myth.  

    During a diplomatic mission from neighboring Lir, First Lasha Nasin meets with Tibira’s leader Mak Eta when the accomplice of the recent usurper is caught. That night Nasin finds the prisoner to be a young boy named Rohem, who never sleeps and only needs sunlight as sustenance. Around this time, Mak Eta’s sister Vata and her two children Inad and Ara, are journeying to the primitive colony Ayam intending to dissuade the Ayam people of their religious beliefs. Almost two decades pass, and the unrest between nations under the guise of partnership with Tabira has come to a breaking point. Efforts towards suppressing religion have seen technological and scientific advancement soar in Tabira. In Ayam, a deadly curse reigns that cause all inflicted to transform into monstrous creatures each night. To prevent war, Tabira sends a group from Lir and Garo that includes Rohem and Avithia, to find a solution to the curse. Rohem has felt an increasing pull towards the megaliths, and while in Ayam, he finds answers about himself and the Plane that will change the world forever.

    Apex Five manages to pack a lot of big ideas into a small package. At first, the worldbuilding is very dense, but the story flows a lot smoother once the groundwork is there. Fans of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness will likely enjoy Apex Five because the story also takes place in a world of stark political and cultural differences where resulting tensions are reaching a high point. Another similarity with Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness is Avithia, who fluctuates between male and female on a bi-weekly basis. Katz manages to engage in the tradition of science fiction to explore divergences from what is considered normal. Avithia is a gender-fluid character judged by almost everyone on the Plane except a few close loved ones. Another character faces tragedy and persecution for having a sexual orientation that is illegal in their society. Oria balances a line trying to bridge the worlds of religion and science, hoping to better understand both. 

    Katz creates a lot of compelling and multilayered characters in a relatively short amount of time. With over a dozen different perspectives, Katz attempts the impossible task of fleshing out everyone equally. Fortunately, Apex Five is only the first book, and the story is far from over.

    Sara Katz builds a foundation for a complex science fiction world in Apex Five and invites readers to connect with many characters in what will likely be an epic journey. There is something else about this book, Katz manages to touch on all-too-human themes of science versus religion, sexual orientation, and a possible messiah figure that just might be able to save the evolution of humankind. All in all, it’s no wonder Apex Five won 1st in Category in the CIBA 2018 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction!