After the oceans rose and earthquakes caused whole regions to fall into the deep, humans live packed into stack cities, hardly going outside because sunlight can cause 3rd degree burns. As a result, some pioneers staked out a living on the ocean floor. Ty was born and raised in the deep, so he’s none too pleased to hear the whole experiment may fail due to a gang of outlaws that has been pirating supply ships and attacking homesteads. Can the outlaws be stopped? And will it take Ty’s use of his secret dark gift to save everyone he loves?In my Incarceron review, I mentioned how varied the genres can be within dystopian fiction. Well, here’s a first for me: a western! And very untypically for a dystopia, Ty is not suffering under a repressive regime. In fact, he and his family are doing just fine under the sea, thank you very much. But Ty knows things back on land are not so peachy, and this fact is made clear by his chance meeting with a Topsider, Gemma, on the search for her older brother.
Gemma is a ward of the commonwealth, where “stealing space” (for example, making use of a spacious game room without paying) is a capital offense. She’s escaped from her boarding house, and never wants to go back – a great reason to help Ty.
Ty and Gemma are caught up in a new, dangerous adventure seemingly every chapter, so this is a perfect book for those who like a lot of action. As someone fascinated with the ocean, I also very much appreciated the world building and the undersea setting. The exploration of dark gifts – paranormal talents developed by children and teens who spend time under water - was particularly fun.
DARK LIFE comes out April 29th in the UK and May 1st in the US. It’s the first book in a planned series, though this installment feels complete (no cliffhanger).
My Rating – 3 Zombie Chickens: Well Worth Reading (especially for action fans) + an extra half chicken for the very clever final showdown!
Come back later today for an interview with Author Kat Falls and a book giveaway!
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12 comments:
Yeah absolutely this one deserves some extra credit for combining dystopian with a western. I'm not a western person, but the premise sounds very cool.
I can't wait to read this. It does sound odd to combine those two elements but I'm looking forward to giving it a try. It is the whole living under the sea thing that really intrigues me.
I had heard about this a while back and thought it looked good. After reading your review I think I will definitley give it a try.
This sounds interesting and I love that there's no cliffhanger even though it's part of a planned series.
What a strange but delightful surprise. Great review
Awesome review, Lenore! I'm really looking forward to reading this. It sounds just so awesome, I'm intrigued about the living under the ocean aspect. Thanks for the review!
A dystopian book that has hallmarks of a western and is set in an underwater world?? Sign me up, please! This sounds like such an interesting read, and very different than some of the other book out there. I like the the fact that there is an awesome showdown at the end as well. I am going to be looking for this book!
I am so excited about this book! Every review I read just makes me want to read it a little more. I love stories that take unusual elements and get them to work well together.
Nice review! This one sounds really great, and I'm looking forward to seeing whether I like it or not.
its a gay book
I read the book and it was awesome. It's a must read. I heard Disney is making a movie based on it ans the director is the sameone who directed Forest Gump. I also heard there is a sequel comng out called Riptide. It's a 5 star book and I highly recommend it.
This Book SUCKS!! Its not Interesting at all to me and I'm a Pretty Big reader.
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