⋙ Download The Shore of Monsters eBook David J Nix

The Shore of Monsters eBook David J Nix

Download As PDF : The Shore of Monsters eBook David J Nix

The Shore of Monsters eBook David J Nix

In the current literary world, the print world is almost frozen with fear for publishing a book and having to suffer a loss. Gone are the publishers that stand behind a talent and help them get going by helping them hone their craft while promoting their works and building an audience. Hence the rise of ebook and Amazon has managed to grab a huge market share.

I admire Indie writers trying to make it on their own. I do a lot to support them, including buying their books and leaving reviews. I'm a member of a couple of writing groups, and have a lot of my own fiction online under my penname. I am willing to forgive a lot – even basic things like spelling or punctuation errors if the writing is good or the characters really stand out and as importantl, they act believably throughout the story. They can grow and develope even. Things of that sort. For that kind of writing I will shell out my hard-earned money. And have.

I've read YA books, sometimes by choice, and I understand there are some things that are not even mentioned in that type of literature.

A lot of people, mostly librarians and women, seem to like this book. They think it's great for the YA crowd. I suppose if you like your post-apocalyptic world more as scenery for all angst and emotion in the fantasy realm and not the Science Fiction side, this story will be just fine. Sex is talked about indirectly, but nobody has any as it's all implied and off-stage. But there is a deliberate suicide. For me, that continues to be the odd prudish part of American culture, a culture I grew up in. YA books can't talk about sex and especially can't have any, and young women who engage in sex are loose, but we can have plenty of violence. Murder, butchery, suicide, and cannibalism? Fair game.

I'm not a young adult. I'm a mature reader. If someone builds a world, it needs to make sense to me. It can be different, even radically so, but it needs to function sustainably.

I suppose the cover should have warned me. The main character is covered in her shawl, looking forward with a mixture of fear and purpose, a dark forbidding city in the background – very much in the same style as many thousands of soap-romances that have gone on before. *** There wasn't anything noting it was a YA focused book, however. It's categorized as dystopian, which I guess sort of fits, but to me that usually means a society in slow decline, not one that has already collapsed and barely hanging on. The latter is post-apocalyptic.

Those with academic and/or scientific training should be discerning enough to see this novel's shortcomings. Because there are a lot of them.

I gave this story three stars because the writing and editing were quite good. It was how the story unfolded, and how the characters behaved that by turns anger, appalled, repulsed, or frustrated me.

SPOILERS

The main character is Sky Calloway. Sky is competent at survival and a hard worker. Taught survival skills by her fisherman friend and ship captain, Willow Evans, Sky is good at fending for herself and is okay with being alone.

We learn a bit about Sky's society. Men catch the plague and become homicidal and cannibalistic monsters. There's a cure for women, discover within a few years after the island's refuges arrived and shared with the rest of the world. But the story takes place almost a hundred years after the world civilization collapsed. Those on the Compass Islands believe they are the last group of true humans remaining. The Order rules the islands, and tells them that if they but wait it out, the monsters on the main land will die out.

The society is an interesting idea. Young girls help around and learn. At sixteen, they undergo their rite of passage, and if they survive, they get a blue necklace and become an adult. Sixteen to twenty are general labor; young women labor where they are needed. Twenty to thirty, women become breeders, giving birth and raising the next generation. Because male babies catch the plague and become vicious before their first year, they are supposedly taken care of lovingly on one of the other islands. Thirty and above, until one is infirm, you become an artisan of some sort. And Enders are basically those waiting to die; a rather cold term for their senior population.

Very much in passing, the idea that women get lonely and sometimes share a bed or a hug. I recalled it being mentioned twice. The emphasis was more on hugging and companionship, though, than sex. Which I found incredibly hard to believe. Libidos vary, but a lot of women like sex as much as men do. But this is geared to YA, so it's wink, wink, nudge, nudge, we won't talk about that nasty idea.

Sky has a good friend Fern, but once they get separated, Sky never really thinks about Fern again. Fern is passionate, a good quality of a romance heroine. But she is also terribly self-centered.

The novel portrays itself as dystopian, but it's more post-apocalyptic. Dystopian implies a degeneration, not a catastrophic collapse, which is this case here.

In any event, the novel finally kicks in the main adventure about half-way through. The islanders need replacement parts, like wire, metal, machine parts, etc. The stuff on the islands is either in short supply or wearing out. Wire is corroding, one person says. But if that's the case, wouldn't the unattended wire on the mainland be in a similar state after a hundred years? The writer ignores this.

The disease itself is interesting, but has some weird, unexplained catches. The plague-infested humans are homicidal cannibals traveling in packs like feral dogs for prey, and apparently live solely on raw meat. They are attracted by loud noises, and arrive in droves. They will turn on their own kind if they are wounded. They fear water and high altitudes. And inexplicably won't go near graveyards. So I guess they are god-fearing or at least reverent plague-carrying-homicidal cannibals. The water idea makes it seem based on rabies, but the altitude one is a puzzler. And the graveyard is a WTF? But this allows the heroine and her new boyfriend, a boy who's born immune to the disease, to rest without worry. However, in another scene later on, deep in the territory patroled by these monsters, the boy fires a pistol, yet it's over an hour before the monsters show up, and it's only two of them. Another convenient author exception. Another point that nagged at me, is if they are willing to attack their own for food, how are they surviving to the next generation? Late stage pregnant females and infants are easy prey. But this is conveniently ignored by the author, too. Not only are the numbers of monsters not going extinct, they've leveled off and are expanding at the time of the story. Let's see. Fear water and high places. Respect graveyards. Don't eat pregnant women or babies. Got it. Everyone else is dinner. That's not science or science fiction, but pure fantasy. But I digress.

One thing that really bothered me was the author referring to Sky as a girl and Thomas as a boy. I did it above, because the author uses that repeatedly for them. She is eighteen. A young adult woman. Not a girl. A girl is pre-puberty. Sky passed her rite of adulthood at sixteen. Yet she's still somehow a girl, not a young woman. The same for Thomas. He's nineteen, in a survive by your strength and wits world, and should be considered a grown man. Nope. He's a boy. WTF?

When Sky is first attacked, she wounded one, and suddenly feels terrible for hurting another creature – even though it's trying to murder her, and she drops her knife and runs. Leaving her companion to fight alone and die. Sky feels bad, but all her future responses to being murdered and eaten are – run. For a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel, we expect the hero or heroine to at least fight to protect themselves. Sky runs to save herself. If someone falls behind and dies, well, she feels bad they died, but she doesn't dwell on it, nor does she think about how she could have done it differently. Like banding together and working together. Instead, every time encounters a threat of physical confrontation, her response is to run, and she doesn't pay attention to how the others fare.

Rory Miller, in his insightful book, "Violence, A Writer's Guide," talks about how there are levels of confrontation that some people won't go beyond. Fair enough. But at the least, one would expect the heroine, if she's not going to fight, to at least look out for her companions. Not Sky. Only once did she pick up a weapon, but she saw Thomas fighting and went, "He's just like the monsters! Oh, the horrors!" Not in those words, but I stand by my assessment. Worse, Sky not is not only a selfish coward, she passive-aggressively attacks Thomas for being violent, that being human "means more than killing." Right. She guilt-trips him for protecting her. He should run, not fight. WTF? That kind of morality is ludicrous. Keep right on saying that while the homicidal cannibals tear your body apart and eat you. This attitude, though, is endorsed by the other women. They are given weapons before they embark on their journey to get supplies. Not to fight with. But to commit suicide with. Something the author depicts quite graphically later on in the book. So, like mainstream literary standards, YA audiences should abhor violence, even in self-defense, and suicide is okay. But we won't discuss sex. Moving on.

The characters in the story repeatedly use tools and knives to fight with. Then inexplicably drop or leave them behind. So the islanders have to brave getting killed for parts every so many years, but there's plenty of steel knives around that they can leave them lying around.

So Thomas and Sky arrive in Haven, and find the people who left the islands "to find the truth." While they revealed that the Order's belief the monsters would eventually die out. It's mentioned that besides Thomas, there are eight women in addition to Sky at their refuge of Haven. And no babies. Even if you exclude Thomas' mother for the sake of the social taboo of incest, there are seven other healthy women between the age of twenty and forty; they have a healthy male who is immune to the plague, yet there are no babies running around. Most of the women have had children through artificial insemination. There are horses, goats, and chickens doing their business all the time. The women know what needs to happen to get pregnant. Regardless of what you think about monogamy versus polygyny, or even marriage. This should have been a no-brainer for the women. Even if there's no love, they need him to sire a new generation of healthy, plague-free babies, especially more boys. Love could develop, but their population is static, and their species is about to be overrun by homicidal cannibals. This was another WTF moment for me.

And then I realized that this really wasn't a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel at all. It was a teen romance with a different background. The other women "wouldn't talk about terrible things" so as to spare Sky.

Keeping secrets, especially ugly ones, allows them to continue. One is not always able to stand and force a change. But keeping silent is sin by omission. Therein lies the crime.

The crime turns out to be, besides banning all but approved books and cutting off radio contact with another remaining colony, is that immune-boys have been born before. And the Order, to keep power, they exile these healthy boys to the mainland, where nearly all are eaten by the monsters. Those who succumb are kept continually sedated, they are sexually harvested shortly after puberty – so the author pulls a double-standard and says it's okay to retrieve sperm from underage boys, kill them, and burn the bodies afterward. The justification? The order knows that men were responsible for wars, pollution, environmental damage, domestic abuse – although repression of minorities was never mentioned, and all the characters appeared to be white.... In any event, the Order believed their way kept men from returning to society. Moral? The women in power were men-hating (implied) lesbians. And the formerly heterosexual women allowed this to happen. I wonder if this is a subtle suggestion that women are incapable of governing. For the majority of the island women, they were content to do what they were told and not think outside the box. This too did not speak well of Sky's character. She went on and on about her missing younger brother Otter. But even after she learned about the murders that happened to those sent to one particular island, not once does Sky think about Willow Evans, the fisher captain who taught her life skills that allowed her to survive her rite of adulthood.

Some of this information comes out because Sky is verbally defiant, and sneaks off to break rules. But she runs when confronted. She is obedient to authority and rules, even when she knows those in charge commit murder on a regular basis. And for convenience sake, when the leader has Sky in a prison cell, she doesn't kill her. Nope. She has to have a public denouncing.

So, in summary, the island women have the morality and attitudes of modern American upper-middle class white women. Verbally supportive, but may say things behind your back. Talk about needing change, but unwilling to demand it. Build consensus first, even if the options demand action. Nearly all the women in the story were passive or passive-aggressive. The exception was Kolkov and her few "soldiers." But they were described as aloof, cold, and aggressive. Male traits. The evil ruler is a man-hating (implied) lesbian. Thus, Kolkov and the others really weren't women – at least socially. And Sky? She was a self-absorbed damsel in distress, constantly needing rescue, even at the cost of others getting hurt or dying. And criticizing her wanna-be BF.

Not feeling the love here. These type of stories need heros, male and female. Not angsty young adults who act like fourteen-year-old teens. Heroes who fight can be moral and ethical. Passive resistence has its place, too. But not when your opponents, in this case, the monsters, are incapable of even emotionally affected by it. In this case, it's just plain stupid. Might as well get a sign that says, "Purina Cadaver Chow" and go to the mainland to be eaten and crapped out later by the monsters.

What of Sky and Thomas? Why, they danced around their feelings for months. They even kissed (gasp!). And the women who saw it smiled, yet were also confused. Supposedly, they somehow "knew" that they would be monogamous, and that was GOOD. But at age 18 and 19, they were too young to do anything about, much less know how to interact. And the end of the book, Thomas has been exiled back to the mainland, so Sky needs to go after him. They need to talk about their kiss and maybe (gasp!), kiss again.

So again, if you like romance novels or YA books that don't demand you think too hard about the plot holes, have a go. Don't think too hard and you might enjoy it. Especially if you believe women should be passive, eschew all violence for any reason (even self-defense), and they should be obedient to authority.

For me? There are 27 chapters. From chapter 20 onward, I found myself more and more becoming frustrated about inexplicable or stupid behavior. New exceptions to the disease cropping up. Non-consistent behavior by the monsters. Idiotic social attitudes by the island women. A lot of swearing and laughing from disbelief on my part as the story trudged toward its rather sedate ending. Nor am I willing to give the second book a try. Ultimately, I found Sky unlikeable. She talked about bringing change, and it was only through the intervention of others that she survived. That's the thing about being a damsel in distress. You ALWAYS need rescuing. I prefer women who kick butt on their own, can chew bubble-gum and take names, and won't be adverse to working with others, men or women.

This book is escapism lite. If you think too hard about the plot holes, you might hurt yourself. This review might seem long, but it was originally twice as long. For those with more discerning tastes, or if you ever screamed at the running heroes on TV that dispatched a villain and then walked away leaving all the weapons behind – I'd give it a pass.

Mr Nix does write well, and my review on his SF foray does not mean you might not find his other genre tales satisfying.


Tags : The Shore of Monsters - Kindle edition by David J. Nix. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Shore of Monsters.,ebook,David J. Nix,The Shore of Monsters,David J. Nix,JUVENILE FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Science Fiction Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic

The Shore of Monsters eBook David J Nix Reviews

Has a similar general theme (young woman protagonist, post-apocalyptic future, etc.) but also includes supernatural elements, about to purchase the second book right now. Wish there was more than 2 books in this series to read!
I put the down after the 1rst chapter, (it seemed like I might need to make character notes) but the ONe who recommended it said "go on" & I'm glad I did! What an interesting plot! I enjoy dystopian/thriller novels that could "potentially" be probable & this one takes it to another perspective that I could never have imagined. Really enjoyed it and will recommend it to my (twisted) readers (like me!) at the library.
All in all, i thought the storyline was unique and interesting. However, I think the story telling took too long. I think the book would have been better if the length were cut in half (& then add on to end of story instead of additional book). Leaving out all the fun details, the whole story could be summed up by reading the 10 or so Anna's Entries. I will not be continuing this series for this main reason.
This is exactly the type of book I love to read and they seem very hard to find. The focus is on the people, on what happened years ago when the world ended and on how the survivors manage to have hope for the future and question the Order that controls their lives. The focus is more on the characters and how they discover the truth about what happened, then on the actions of the monsters. The monsters are just another obstacle not the focus of the book. Excellent character development, the story moves at a good pace and the ending left me wanting more and more and more.
Interesting plot and character development. It caught my attention within the first few pages and I stayed up late to finish it. Another reviewer complained that it was too long, but nothing happened that was unnecessary to the plot. Some of the twists in the plot were predictable but I felt like that was on purpose so the the reader could see the conclusions that the main character suspected but wasn't ready to admit to herself. I immediately downloaded the second book and would recommend that one also. There were twists in the second that I didn't see coming.
This book is a must for anyone who likes a bit of a thrill. It was better than a movie, I was on the edge of my seat the whole book. This book captures a readers attention and allows the reader to be swept away in the emotions and actions of the characters. The story gives a new twist on what the future world might become, it is not your average vampire, zombie, alien book. It is a fresh spin on things that go bump in the night. Written in a manner that YA can enjoy and so can older generations. Sky, doing what is asked of her runs into trouble during a dangerous mission and becomes seperated from everything shes ever know, in this she becomes aware of a world she didnt know was and a world that she didnt know existed. I'm off to purchase and load book 2!
Though the product description doesn't indicate it, I rather suspect this novel was written with the YA audience in mind. As a result, I saw every single plot revelation and twist coming pages ahead of time. Despite this, and though I am an old geezer, I found it to be a very enjoyable little post apocalyptic read, that was well written, and certainly worth the 2.99 price for fans of the genre. I will definitely keep an eye out for any sequels, and would recommend this novel to other fans, with the above mentioned caveat that the story is written with a more juvenile audience in mind (and that's not intended as a slight or an insult, again, it is a very well written book, especially for this genre).
In the current literary world, the print world is almost frozen with fear for publishing a book and having to suffer a loss. Gone are the publishers that stand behind a talent and help them get going by helping them hone their craft while promoting their works and building an audience. Hence the rise of ebook and has managed to grab a huge market share.

I admire Indie writers trying to make it on their own. I do a lot to support them, including buying their books and leaving reviews. I'm a member of a couple of writing groups, and have a lot of my own fiction online under my penname. I am willing to forgive a lot – even basic things like spelling or punctuation errors if the writing is good or the characters really stand out and as importantl, they act believably throughout the story. They can grow and develope even. Things of that sort. For that kind of writing I will shell out my hard-earned money. And have.

I've read YA books, sometimes by choice, and I understand there are some things that are not even mentioned in that type of literature.

A lot of people, mostly librarians and women, seem to like this book. They think it's great for the YA crowd. I suppose if you like your post-apocalyptic world more as scenery for all angst and emotion in the fantasy realm and not the Science Fiction side, this story will be just fine. Sex is talked about indirectly, but nobody has any as it's all implied and off-stage. But there is a deliberate suicide. For me, that continues to be the odd prudish part of American culture, a culture I grew up in. YA books can't talk about sex and especially can't have any, and young women who engage in sex are loose, but we can have plenty of violence. Murder, butchery, suicide, and cannibalism? Fair game.

I'm not a young adult. I'm a mature reader. If someone builds a world, it needs to make sense to me. It can be different, even radically so, but it needs to function sustainably.

I suppose the cover should have warned me. The main character is covered in her shawl, looking forward with a mixture of fear and purpose, a dark forbidding city in the background – very much in the same style as many thousands of soap-romances that have gone on before. *** There wasn't anything noting it was a YA focused book, however. It's categorized as dystopian, which I guess sort of fits, but to me that usually means a society in slow decline, not one that has already collapsed and barely hanging on. The latter is post-apocalyptic.

Those with academic and/or scientific training should be discerning enough to see this novel's shortcomings. Because there are a lot of them.

I gave this story three stars because the writing and editing were quite good. It was how the story unfolded, and how the characters behaved that by turns anger, appalled, repulsed, or frustrated me.

SPOILERS

The main character is Sky Calloway. Sky is competent at survival and a hard worker. Taught survival skills by her fisherman friend and ship captain, Willow Evans, Sky is good at fending for herself and is okay with being alone.

We learn a bit about Sky's society. Men catch the plague and become homicidal and cannibalistic monsters. There's a cure for women, discover within a few years after the island's refuges arrived and shared with the rest of the world. But the story takes place almost a hundred years after the world civilization collapsed. Those on the Compass Islands believe they are the last group of true humans remaining. The Order rules the islands, and tells them that if they but wait it out, the monsters on the main land will die out.

The society is an interesting idea. Young girls help around and learn. At sixteen, they undergo their rite of passage, and if they survive, they get a blue necklace and become an adult. Sixteen to twenty are general labor; young women labor where they are needed. Twenty to thirty, women become breeders, giving birth and raising the next generation. Because male babies catch the plague and become vicious before their first year, they are supposedly taken care of lovingly on one of the other islands. Thirty and above, until one is infirm, you become an artisan of some sort. And Enders are basically those waiting to die; a rather cold term for their senior population.

Very much in passing, the idea that women get lonely and sometimes share a bed or a hug. I recalled it being mentioned twice. The emphasis was more on hugging and companionship, though, than sex. Which I found incredibly hard to believe. Libidos vary, but a lot of women like sex as much as men do. But this is geared to YA, so it's wink, wink, nudge, nudge, we won't talk about that nasty idea.

Sky has a good friend Fern, but once they get separated, Sky never really thinks about Fern again. Fern is passionate, a good quality of a romance heroine. But she is also terribly self-centered.

The novel portrays itself as dystopian, but it's more post-apocalyptic. Dystopian implies a degeneration, not a catastrophic collapse, which is this case here.

In any event, the novel finally kicks in the main adventure about half-way through. The islanders need replacement parts, like wire, metal, machine parts, etc. The stuff on the islands is either in short supply or wearing out. Wire is corroding, one person says. But if that's the case, wouldn't the unattended wire on the mainland be in a similar state after a hundred years? The writer ignores this.

The disease itself is interesting, but has some weird, unexplained catches. The plague-infested humans are homicidal cannibals traveling in packs like feral dogs for prey, and apparently live solely on raw meat. They are attracted by loud noises, and arrive in droves. They will turn on their own kind if they are wounded. They fear water and high altitudes. And inexplicably won't go near graveyards. So I guess they are god-fearing or at least reverent plague-carrying-homicidal cannibals. The water idea makes it seem based on rabies, but the altitude one is a puzzler. And the graveyard is a WTF? But this allows the heroine and her new boyfriend, a boy who's born immune to the disease, to rest without worry. However, in another scene later on, deep in the territory patroled by these monsters, the boy fires a pistol, yet it's over an hour before the monsters show up, and it's only two of them. Another convenient author exception. Another point that nagged at me, is if they are willing to attack their own for food, how are they surviving to the next generation? Late stage pregnant females and infants are easy prey. But this is conveniently ignored by the author, too. Not only are the numbers of monsters not going extinct, they've leveled off and are expanding at the time of the story. Let's see. Fear water and high places. Respect graveyards. Don't eat pregnant women or babies. Got it. Everyone else is dinner. That's not science or science fiction, but pure fantasy. But I digress.

One thing that really bothered me was the author referring to Sky as a girl and Thomas as a boy. I did it above, because the author uses that repeatedly for them. She is eighteen. A young adult woman. Not a girl. A girl is pre-puberty. Sky passed her rite of adulthood at sixteen. Yet she's still somehow a girl, not a young woman. The same for Thomas. He's nineteen, in a survive by your strength and wits world, and should be considered a grown man. Nope. He's a boy. WTF?

When Sky is first attacked, she wounded one, and suddenly feels terrible for hurting another creature – even though it's trying to murder her, and she drops her knife and runs. Leaving her companion to fight alone and die. Sky feels bad, but all her future responses to being murdered and eaten are – run. For a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel, we expect the hero or heroine to at least fight to protect themselves. Sky runs to save herself. If someone falls behind and dies, well, she feels bad they died, but she doesn't dwell on it, nor does she think about how she could have done it differently. Like banding together and working together. Instead, every time encounters a threat of physical confrontation, her response is to run, and she doesn't pay attention to how the others fare.

Rory Miller, in his insightful book, "Violence, A Writer's Guide," talks about how there are levels of confrontation that some people won't go beyond. Fair enough. But at the least, one would expect the heroine, if she's not going to fight, to at least look out for her companions. Not Sky. Only once did she pick up a weapon, but she saw Thomas fighting and went, "He's just like the monsters! Oh, the horrors!" Not in those words, but I stand by my assessment. Worse, Sky not is not only a selfish coward, she passive-aggressively attacks Thomas for being violent, that being human "means more than killing." Right. She guilt-trips him for protecting her. He should run, not fight. WTF? That kind of morality is ludicrous. Keep right on saying that while the homicidal cannibals tear your body apart and eat you. This attitude, though, is endorsed by the other women. They are given weapons before they embark on their journey to get supplies. Not to fight with. But to commit suicide with. Something the author depicts quite graphically later on in the book. So, like mainstream literary standards, YA audiences should abhor violence, even in self-defense, and suicide is okay. But we won't discuss sex. Moving on.

The characters in the story repeatedly use tools and knives to fight with. Then inexplicably drop or leave them behind. So the islanders have to brave getting killed for parts every so many years, but there's plenty of steel knives around that they can leave them lying around.

So Thomas and Sky arrive in Haven, and find the people who left the islands "to find the truth." While they revealed that the Order's belief the monsters would eventually die out. It's mentioned that besides Thomas, there are eight women in addition to Sky at their refuge of Haven. And no babies. Even if you exclude Thomas' mother for the sake of the social taboo of incest, there are seven other healthy women between the age of twenty and forty; they have a healthy male who is immune to the plague, yet there are no babies running around. Most of the women have had children through artificial insemination. There are horses, goats, and chickens doing their business all the time. The women know what needs to happen to get pregnant. Regardless of what you think about monogamy versus polygyny, or even marriage. This should have been a no-brainer for the women. Even if there's no love, they need him to sire a new generation of healthy, plague-free babies, especially more boys. Love could develop, but their population is static, and their species is about to be overrun by homicidal cannibals. This was another WTF moment for me.

And then I realized that this really wasn't a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel at all. It was a teen romance with a different background. The other women "wouldn't talk about terrible things" so as to spare Sky.

Keeping secrets, especially ugly ones, allows them to continue. One is not always able to stand and force a change. But keeping silent is sin by omission. Therein lies the crime.

The crime turns out to be, besides banning all but approved books and cutting off radio contact with another remaining colony, is that immune-boys have been born before. And the Order, to keep power, they exile these healthy boys to the mainland, where nearly all are eaten by the monsters. Those who succumb are kept continually sedated, they are sexually harvested shortly after puberty – so the author pulls a double-standard and says it's okay to retrieve sperm from underage boys, kill them, and burn the bodies afterward. The justification? The order knows that men were responsible for wars, pollution, environmental damage, domestic abuse – although repression of minorities was never mentioned, and all the characters appeared to be white.... In any event, the Order believed their way kept men from returning to society. Moral? The women in power were men-hating (implied) lesbians. And the formerly heterosexual women allowed this to happen. I wonder if this is a subtle suggestion that women are incapable of governing. For the majority of the island women, they were content to do what they were told and not think outside the box. This too did not speak well of Sky's character. She went on and on about her missing younger brother Otter. But even after she learned about the murders that happened to those sent to one particular island, not once does Sky think about Willow Evans, the fisher captain who taught her life skills that allowed her to survive her rite of adulthood.

Some of this information comes out because Sky is verbally defiant, and sneaks off to break rules. But she runs when confronted. She is obedient to authority and rules, even when she knows those in charge commit murder on a regular basis. And for convenience sake, when the leader has Sky in a prison cell, she doesn't kill her. Nope. She has to have a public denouncing.

So, in summary, the island women have the morality and attitudes of modern American upper-middle class white women. Verbally supportive, but may say things behind your back. Talk about needing change, but unwilling to demand it. Build consensus first, even if the options demand action. Nearly all the women in the story were passive or passive-aggressive. The exception was Kolkov and her few "soldiers." But they were described as aloof, cold, and aggressive. Male traits. The evil ruler is a man-hating (implied) lesbian. Thus, Kolkov and the others really weren't women – at least socially. And Sky? She was a self-absorbed damsel in distress, constantly needing rescue, even at the cost of others getting hurt or dying. And criticizing her wanna-be BF.

Not feeling the love here. These type of stories need heros, male and female. Not angsty young adults who act like fourteen-year-old teens. Heroes who fight can be moral and ethical. Passive resistence has its place, too. But not when your opponents, in this case, the monsters, are incapable of even emotionally affected by it. In this case, it's just plain stupid. Might as well get a sign that says, "Purina Cadaver Chow" and go to the mainland to be eaten and crapped out later by the monsters.

What of Sky and Thomas? Why, they danced around their feelings for months. They even kissed (gasp!). And the women who saw it smiled, yet were also confused. Supposedly, they somehow "knew" that they would be monogamous, and that was GOOD. But at age 18 and 19, they were too young to do anything about, much less know how to interact. And the end of the book, Thomas has been exiled back to the mainland, so Sky needs to go after him. They need to talk about their kiss and maybe (gasp!), kiss again.

So again, if you like romance novels or YA books that don't demand you think too hard about the plot holes, have a go. Don't think too hard and you might enjoy it. Especially if you believe women should be passive, eschew all violence for any reason (even self-defense), and they should be obedient to authority.

For me? There are 27 chapters. From chapter 20 onward, I found myself more and more becoming frustrated about inexplicable or stupid behavior. New exceptions to the disease cropping up. Non-consistent behavior by the monsters. Idiotic social attitudes by the island women. A lot of swearing and laughing from disbelief on my part as the story trudged toward its rather sedate ending. Nor am I willing to give the second book a try. Ultimately, I found Sky unlikeable. She talked about bringing change, and it was only through the intervention of others that she survived. That's the thing about being a damsel in distress. You ALWAYS need rescuing. I prefer women who kick butt on their own, can chew bubble-gum and take names, and won't be adverse to working with others, men or women.

This book is escapism lite. If you think too hard about the plot holes, you might hurt yourself. This review might seem long, but it was originally twice as long. For those with more discerning tastes, or if you ever screamed at the running heroes on TV that dispatched a villain and then walked away leaving all the weapons behind – I'd give it a pass.

Mr Nix does write well, and my review on his SF foray does not mean you might not find his other genre tales satisfying.