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Category Archives: dystopian


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Dystopian Novel ‘Reverence’ Clears High Bar

Reverence

Book One of the Reverence Trilogy

By Raena Rood

One Foundation Publishing, 2022

Genre: Fiction/Dystopian/Apocalyptic/Christian Fiction

Pages: 305

Via: Author Request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Well, doggone it!” says I, Kimber the Magnificent. “You’d think one of us would learn. Never start a Raena Rood novel at night. If you do, you’ll be up till the wee hours finishing it. Cuz you can’t put it down! But you know Mom!” – Insert eye roll here. –

You know we loved Rood’s Subversives trilogy, right? Well, we did. Think nice, thick, juicy New York steak. With a T-bone chaser. And sirloin steak on the side. We didn’t know how this next trilogy would stack up. Which just shows you what we know.

Here’s the 4-1-1:

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3 Titles: The Good, The Tasty, & The Wa-Wa Section

Ready to dive into something a little different? Good! Cuz Mom and I? We’re mixing it up today with three titles that are as different as me and the neighbor’s feline. (Gag me with Meow Mix!) 

Today we’re reviewing a Young Adult dystopian fantasy. A yummy cookbook with down home cookin’ (it passed the Kimber Taste Test, so grab a plate!). And a clunker of a skunker. Can you guess which is which?

Ready? Set? Play ball!

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Apocalyptic Christian Thriller Packs a Wallop!

Salvation

Book 3 in the Subversives trilogy

By Raena Rood

One Foundation Publishing, 2021

Genre: Christian Fiction/Apocalyptic Thriller

Via: Author Request

“… (we) must tell them what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here.”

– Betsie ten Boom

Kimber here, ready to rock and roll with Salvation, the third and final installment in the fast-paced, high-octane Subversives trilogy by Raena Rood. But first, a disclaimer:

Her Crankiness   – Hi, Mom – isn’t necessarily a big fan of book series or trilogies. The reason is simple. Way too often, the first book starts off as a real barn burner. Subsequent titles soon run out of gas. They sputter and putter and limp into The End with way too many stops in Dullsville and Snooze Gulch along the way.

So we were a little hesitant to take on the Subversives trilogy. Which just shows you what we know.

A Pleasant Surprise

The trilogy turned out to be one of the most well-written, thoroughly engaging and highly readable books/series of the year. (Not to brag or anything – Hi again, Mom – but one of us read over 350 books last year. Well, it was mostly me. But Mom helped. A little.)

“Whatever happens to us in the future, we must never lose faith in the end of the story.”

Anyway, here are our reviews of the first two books in the Subversives trilogy: 1) Subversive, and 2) Sanctuary: What Do ‘Sanctuary’ and Secretariat Have in Common?

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High Octane Action Powers ‘Albertan Apocalypse’

Albertan Apocalypse

By John Keillor, 2021

Fiction/Dystopian/Action-Adventure

Summary: Governments have been destroyed worldwide by global catastrophe except in Alberta, Canada. But when malevolent forces try to take over, Albertans put up a ferocious fight to keep their freedom. 

Originally reviewed on Reedsy/Discovery.

Setting

It’s 2031. Twelve years ago a worldwide catastrophe destroyed the internet and disabled governments. Many human brains were also “ruined” when the atmosphere “was transformed into a microwave oven.” One of few stable societies remaining is in Alberta, Canada. But malevolent forces are converging to invade the province, exploit its natural resources, and enslave its citizens.

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