Book Review: The Reformation by MR Pritchard

The USA is a mess, and Adam Waters’ CIA contact is late to a meet. The man shows up late, fatally wounded, and announces that the Reformation has begun. With bombs and missiles rewriting American history, Adam starts up the train and speeds back to the Phoenix District, near NYC, where he works undercover as the District Runner and as a rising star in security.

Andi, a geneticist who is forcefully encamped within the Phoenix District, is appalled at the role she’s thrust into within the settlement. After her last attempt to escape, the ruthless leader had her beaten to within an inch of her life. He exiled her to a farm within the district to heal out of sight and to reconsider. Her body is slow to heal, her mind even slower, but somehow she holds it together for her young daughter.

Fortunately for Andi, she’s not disposable. Her brilliant genetic insights are solving problems that have been on the table for years. With each solution, her standing rises in the community, elevating her to The Matchmaker, a position she despises. Trapped, her only solution is to survive and protect her daughter.

What a great read! Each scene fed eagerly into the next, like a freight train gathering speed. Twists and cliffhangers abound. I admired Andi’s passion, guilt, and humanity, while at the same time admiring Adam’s warrior toughness and surprising tenderness toward her. This is a guarantee. Andi and Adam’s story will keep you turning the pages.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: Sovereign by ER Arroyo

In this first book of the Antius Ascending series, Cori is a fish out of water in post-apocalyptic America. She's an orphan who was brought to the colony of Antius at age seven. No matter how she tries over the next ten years, she doesn't fit in. All she can think about is escaping. But the security to keep the wild things out, keeps her prisoner. So she plans and plots and sneaks out at night with various escape plans, but as bad as it seems, it gets worse when the colony leader dies and his cruel son Nathan takes over.

The conflict between Cori and Nathan is balanced by her friendship with another young adult, Dylan, who is determined to help her escape. Except when Nathan takes over, the rules change. Cori is immediately enrolled in Nathan's militia training, a brutal training camp that's designed to break her. However, as time passes and she out performs her "class" of six, she gets assigned to the trade security line of work. The more she learns about the different layers of society, the more she realizes her chances of escaping are close to zero.

Cori must keep her wits about her to survive in this dystopian world. She's seen firsthand that the smallest of sleights to their Sovereign Nathan is a death sentence.  Can she beat this terrible man and save herself?

I admired Cori's character arc, and her unswerving focus. She's gutsy and brave, physically tough and yet emotionally vulnerable, compassionate and resolute - all of this at 17!

ER Arroyo is a fine writer, and this is a story I will read again, which is a high compliment in my world.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: The Unseen by Jake Lingwall

Intrepid hacker Kari Tahe makes a break from prison using her special skills. Alas, something goes terribly wrong. On the verge of capture, she’s rescued and delivered to a secret hacker hideaway run by a guy named Oedipus. The plush retreat is nothing short of fabulous, and like-minded people are always inviting Kari to join their hacking games.

But she misses her friends David and Audrey. She wishes the war would end so life would get back to normal. While Kari admires the Eden-like sanctuary and the talent around her, she’s getting mixed signals from people, especially Oedipus. She’s idolized his feats for years, so her hero worship of him blinds her to his nature.

As the war escalates, a fellow hacker warns her to trust no one. Already on edge, Kari decides to stop taking things on face value, and trouble like she’s never seen before rains down on her. Can she survive in this strange new world?

Another winning Kindle Scout book. I loved Freelancer, the first book of this dystopian series, and The Unseen met my high expectations and more. Author Jake Lingwall wove a powerful tale of intrigue and high tech wizardry that had me reading at darn near warp speeds. Nicely done!

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: The Treemakers by Christina Rozelle

In a world gone wrong, children toil long hours in a tree factory. The air’s all messed up, and the mechanical trees they make will restore the atmosphere. The tree factory kids, united in their misery, become a family of sorts, with Joy and Jax as leaders. The few adults in their lives are the strangers running the factory, only the strangers consider their work force disposable.

But the resilient human spirit finds a way to enjoy stolen moments of freedom, even in the throes of exhaustion and starvation. Joy, Jax, and a few of their friends explore some nights, searching for food and clothing and they happen upon something so out of their realm they barely know what to do.

A great dystopian read presenting hope and freedom as two necessarys in life. This is Book One in Rozelle’s Treemakers Trilogy. I’m looking forward to Book Two.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: The Toucan Trilogy by Scott Cramer

The night of the purple moon changed life as we know it. All the adults died overnight from something that rode in on the comet. Abby, Jordan, and Toucan’s parents died, same as the rest.

Kids on their island banded together to survive. The disease vector hit each child as they passed into adolescence, killing them as well. Just when things were starting to work under kid rule, the illness that killed the adults mutated and young children became ill.

With each turn of the screw, Abby struggles to hold her family together and survive. An intriguing take on what might be. Be forewarned. This story will stick with you long after it's done!

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Dystopian Fans Speak Out!

by Maggie Toussaint
w/a Rigel Carson

Some excellent dystopian reads!

Dystopian books take us to different worlds where people behave badly under pressure. The stuff they need is unavailable or costs too much. Disasters hit in waves. People needlessly die, while others are on huge power trips. Hope seems a faint glimmer, but somehow people keep putting one foot in front of the other, proving the resilience of the human spirit.

Wait a minute. That sounds like today. Dystopia is supposed to be fictional. According to the Oxford Dictionary, dystopia is: "an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."

I read and write dystopian fiction, but I struggled to articulate what draws me to these books. I love a good story, and when I get drawn into a story world, I don’t want to leave. I love books where the underdog beats the odds and emerges victorious. And I always like books where the good guy wins.

Even so, my rationale seemed thin, so I asked the good folks over at Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans why they read dystopian fiction. Here’s what 21 readers of dystopian fiction had to say.

#1. I'm fascinated with the idea of society hitting "rock bottom" and starting over again with a level playing field, kind of. In this type of disaster, "ordinary" people can become heroes, and you get to see the true colors of the people you thought you knew. Disaster, loss, upheaval: these things push you to the edge, and that's when you get to find out if you'll fall or fly.
#2. It no longer matters that you were thousands in debt, or never got that sports car you wanted, or never got to fly to Fiji or lose 50 pounds. You see what's truly important in life without all the bells and whistles and "wants" clogging your mind space. What's important? Love, friendship, family, strength, partnerships, community. . . And when you don't know if you'll be alive the next day, you take none of these things for granted. -- CR

I'm an introvert as well & I like reading about the will to survive and the struggles to do so without losing your humanity. -- KR

I agree with CR 100%. I also think it’s one of the best genres for showcasing an author's imagination and creativity. -- MP

I like that once it's all gone, we are all left to the basics and it doesn't matter what you did, it matters what you do next. It's easy to see that in a catastrophic situation, but reading it somehow gives me the courage to try it now. So what if I'm shy and lazy, I am going to go do something and talk to people, after I finish this last chapter, of course!! If we all acted the way some of the characters do about freedoms and insecurities the world would be a better place for everyone!! -- KSC

What CR said and because it strips people to who they really are in crisis. Good or bad. Strong or weak. Hopeful or taking the easy way out. It makes me think about who I would be in a world without rules and all about survival. -- BB

I'm getting a sense of empowerment and of a fresh start/equality from the responses. I agree with those. I really like the idea that an everyman (or everywoman!) can triumph and rise above humble beginnings. Reading dystopian fiction empowers our personal wish fulfillment in a role model sort of way. -- MT

It is a level playing field that we don't have now. Everyone's goal is survival. Whether that means by hurting others or working with others it's still the same goal. -- BB

I'm not an introvert by any means. I'm not necessarily proud of that fact. But, that's me. I love Dystopian stories because they remind me of what could happen if we're not careful. They make me open my eyes, and look where we're going. In my writing, my worlds are not post-apocalypse, or post-any disaster. They are just a representation of what could happen organically if we keep going. And, because I don't take it from an aftermath standpoint, I think it is even more scary because my people don't know what hit them. -- TH

Dystopian novels usually have the quality I like in other genres. There is usually suspense, mystery, conflict and twists and turns. Also it's that what if question. I could get really analytical and say it has to do with the meaning of life etc. They usually pose questions. If I go back to Anthem there is the recurring question we see in a lot of books: the I vs the we. --KSH

I enjoy Dystopian fiction as well. For me, it has to do with exploring great loss and finding characters who grow and blossom in the harshest of conditions. I think it's because we are always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel even in the darkest of times. -- CAH

I think it is because we are trying to figure stuff out. So it is a learning process. We aren't experiencing those worlds in many ways in our daily life, but what if we were suddenly thrust into this? Would having read these stories accustomed us to the thought of living in this scenario? And also I think it is because on some level, we believe that the world we know could become a very real dystopia. -- DAL

I think it's an escape. Our society is really not all that different from a lot of dystopian books I read, I think it's just disguised a little better. -- LHR

I like the idea of starting over. While it seems hopeless and life will never be as it was, you build a new existence from nothing. -- RB

Honestly, it is the perfect escape. Reading or Writing I can escape to world that would truly show who I am. I like the idea of everyone being equal and having to start all over again, with the way the world is now would it be a bad thing! -- IS

It reflects a deep seated belief that we are controlled by evil states (meaning governments) who do not have our best interests at heart. Just like the alien interest in the '50s when we were afraid of communists. -- JH

I wrote an article about why we are so fascinated by dystopian literature and film. Some of the experts believe it is because we LIVE in a dystopian society, and it is how we find control over, and have hope, in our current situation. Love everyone's responses here! -- LLW

I have not figured it out either. I am 53 and just in the last few years discovered this type of book. I used to read Danielle Steel type book lol. -- SA

1. In dystopia there is hope. Oxymoronic? But true.

2. Dystopia is about an individual taking on the system and challenging it and sometimes dying trying to change it. Something I wish I could do in real life - but I can definitely do it through my books.

3. Because dystopia is already around me in many different ways and when I peek into the future I can just see it all accelerating towards a strange THE END which in many ways is already here and then I wonder what's after that? Because that's when the real story begins. --LH

I'm often fascinated though, when I tell people I write dystopian fiction, people assume I write YA. I don't, my protagonist is a female paramedic in her 30s and the content/themes etc. are very adult. There's no way I would give my book to someone under 20 to read. I've often wondered why this is the case, why dystopia is very often relegated to "YA". Is it simply because people aren't writing adult dystopia, or they're not sellable? -- KM

I like the world building, the possibilities (without being pure fantasy), the escapist quality, and the type of atmosphere I get from them (if that makes sense). I wrote an essay on it recently, and one of the features I actually love, is that being in a sort of "end of the world as we know it" situation gives the characters motivation for discovering what truly matters to them. -- EK

A dystopian world can be a great equalizer. You don't care where someone is from or what they look like as long as they can help you stay alive. Survival skills are worth more than all the money the once-wealthy possessed and oh yeah, no more bills to pay. -- TC

I also write and read dystopian. To me, the only difference between dystopian realities and our current reality is that in a dystopian world, the screwed up things that happen and that people do to each other are a lot more blunt and blatant. In our current reality, everything is sandwiched between fluffy deception, i.e., very strict policies on physical abuse, we'll remove the child immediately if we see an unexplained bruise. But you can emotionally twist and torment your children all you want with zero interference. But rape is wrong too. We pick the "big and obvious" battles to crusade against while allowing the less in-your-face injustices which can be just as detrimental run amuck. –KF

If you’d like to know more about this topic, I highly recommend a well-researched dystopian article written by Lindsay Winsemius, "The psychology behind why we love dystopian books." http://www.lindseywinsemius.com/blog/7-reasons-we-love-dystopian-books

I'D LOVE TO SEE YOUR COMMENTS ON DYSTOPIAN FICTION. JOIN THE COMMENT PARTY AND CHIME IN!

View all my books at http://maggietoussaint.com/books/

Maggie Toussaint - mystery and suspense at MaggieToussaint.com
Rigel Carson - dystopian fiction at RigelCarson.com

Trumpet Fanfare! New Book from Maggie Toussaint

I have a new book out. This one is in my dystopian thriller series, and it follows my Kindle Scout winning G-1. I'm so happy to have this book available for fans of G-1.

In G-2, first contact is made with an alien race in an Earth 50 years from now. The aliens come in peace and seek to set up trade agreements. Countries round the globe wine and dine the aliens in hopes of finding favor and getting rich.

But my protagonist Dr. Zeke Landry knows a thing or two about aliens, especially this race. They are not to be trusted. He fights back using his trusty android sidekick, who's currently lovesick over being dumped by the hottest female music artist on the planet.

I'm posing an excerpt below, and I hope you'll check out this fantastic story.

ALSO, I WILL BE HAVING 3 FACEBOOK LAUNCH PARTIES. I have collected great prizes of necklaces related to the story, dolphin tattoos, dolphin pens, dolphin key rings, glow in the dark key tags, and more.

This pendant is representative of Zeke's keystone necklace he inherited from his father. This oddly shaped stone is an actual key to his secret hideout (shh, don't tell) under the lighthouse on Tama Island. I have 3 of these to give away, one at each Facebook party.

Mark your calendar so that you can make at least one of these Facebook parties, and if you want to try for a prize you missed, hit all three!

Thursday, Sept. 24 7-8 pm EDT, Book Launch Party
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 3-5 pm EDT, Bookies
Saturday, Oct. 17, 8-10 pm, Band of Dystopian Authors & Fans

EXCERPT FOR G-2

Shadows flickered in the darkness, black on black, Zeke’s mental gaze keenly attuned to the dark nuances. Frissons of dread peppered his thoughts, rattling his senses. He floated in the timeless void of space. Cold. Alone. Afraid.

Without warning, a line drive of thought energy socked him. He struggled to hold the link. The vermillion-tinged darkness reminded him of primordial ooze from which there was no escape. Was his planet destined to go the way of the dinosaurs?

Several voices spoke in uneasy unison, adding to Zeke’s disembodied sense. We have not been successful in dealing with Maleem. They take. They do not negotiate. They do not compromise.

His spirits plummeted. There had to be a way. He couldn’t give up on his planet without a fight. Someone, somewhere must have beaten the Maleem before. Earth needed to build on that success. He fired a query across the vacuum of space. Wait! What about those few stragglers on Drigil Eight? How did they survive?

BUY G-2 on Kindle

Maggie Toussaint
writing science fiction as Rigel Carson
visit my alter identity at RigelCarson.com

Book Review: Melophobia by James Morris

Imagine a world with no music. Really, try a little harder. Hear that silence? No romantic wedding music. No tender lullabies. No songs of heartbreak and cheating. No energizing rock ’n roll. In this fictional dystopian world, what passes for music is more watered down than Muzak.

Now imagine a young woman at a crossroads. Merrin works at Patrol, the organization dedicated to stamping out the last remnant of people who listen to real, albeit illegal, music. Merrin has made a name for herself in her field, but the more undercover work she does, the more questions she has.

If you can imagine all that, you’ll have the opening for Kindle Scout winner James Morris’ Melophobia. This book struck all the right notes with me. It provoked a visceral reaction and made me appreciate music even more. While this is one dystopian world I hope never comes to fruition, my eyes were opened to how integral music is to the fabric of our lives.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: Awoken by Sarah Noffke

Roya is a dream traveler, an odd duck in a family full of swans. Lately her dreams have been violent and scary, with the edgy feeling that someone is watching her. Neighbors Bob and Steve tell Roya of someone who can help, a Lucidite named Shuman.

According to Shuman, Roya is on the Challenger list. She’s the one who can save all dreamers, but to get Shuman’s help, she has to travel to the Institute. Trouble is to get there she must nearly drown herself. Worse, the challenge against Zhuang is rapidly approaching so there’s no time to dither.

Roya arrives and finds she’s one of many challengers. To become The Challenger, she must outscore her peers. A loner, Roya feels even more out of place, but despite her efforts to keep to herself, she makes a few friends and allies. As she learns the depths of dream traveling and her opponent, she discovers Zhuang has stacked the odds in his favor. Roya doesn’t know who to trust and who is the enemy.

Thought provoking and entertaining, Awoken was a universal study of good versus evil with a coming of age perspective. I enjoyed seeing Roya awaken and realize her full potential.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

Book Review: Freelancer by Jake Lingwall

Kari is way smarter than your average bear. At seventeen, she hides her brilliance at school by day and freelances on the net at night. Her products? Anything she can imagine, write the code for, and create on her three-D printers.

Her parents don’t have any idea what she can do or what she can create. Kari hides her talents away in this dystopian mechanized world where only three types of jobs exist and her skill set is out of the box.

Meanwhile, the US is poised for another Civil War. A clever government plot draws Kari out of hiding, paints her as a heinous threat to society. They’ll let her family and her friend David’s family go if she cooperates and creates powerful weapons for them.

Little do they know, putting Kari in a tight jam is just the way to stoke her creative engine. With a little luck, she might just save the world and have a date for the dance.

Lingwall’s page turning dystopian YA novel kept me on the edge of my seat. The high octane blend of Kari’s vulnerabilities, poise, and talents stole the show.

Another winner from Kindle Scout.

Maggie Toussaint and Rigel Carson for Muddy Rose Reviews

An epic voyage into an uncharted genre

Remember these iconic words from Star Trek? "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." According to Wikipedia, in the Star Trek 'verse, this is known as The Captain's Oath.

 

Well, be forewarned. I've raised my right hand and taken a similar author's oath! My science fiction book, G-1, is out now from Kindle Scout. This is epic for me as I venture into the realm of science fiction writing as Rigel Carson. I hope you’ll come along for the voyage of the Guardian of Earth series.

[Yes, G-2 and G-3 are already written. If Kindle Scout shows little interest in acquiring them, you can bet they will come out through Muddle House Publishing!]

Some Insider Scoop:

G-1 incorporates a few of my favorite things, including an island off the Georgia coast, water research, robots, conspiracy theories, pop singers, think thanks, really bad guys, a twist on media coverage, and a surprise ending.

Here’s the book blurb:

It’s 2065 and Earth is beset by locusts, plagues, and earthquakes. Tensions escalate as food and water shortages destabilize governments. A secret society poised for world domination hunts for the keystone, an object of great power. The Chameleons have already murdered in their quest to acquire the keystone, and now they believe brilliant and reclusive scientist Zeke Landry has it.

Zeke’s Institute bosses want answers ASAP on the water crisis, so they supply Zeke with a souped-up robot named Forman. Zeke knows water can’t disappear, but the data suggest that improbability. When Zeke’s uncle drops off the grid, Zeke and Forman suspend the water analyses to find the missing man. A routing snafu sends Zeke’s travel pod into the clutches of his enemies.

If Zeke doesn’t rise to the challenge and assume his late father’s mantle as Guardian, chaos will reign. The clock is ticking, for Zeke and the world...

G-1, Book 1 in the Guardian of Earth series, is out in Kindle format only right now, though the print version will be released later this year from Muddle House. Here’s the ebook buy link from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/G-1-Guardian-Earth-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00QXUN5ZS/

Thanks for being a friend … and a fan!

Maggie Toussaint

Writing science fiction as Rigel Carson

My sites: http://www.maggietoussaint.com http://www.rigelcarson.com