Review: Kill Code by Clive Fleury

WHEN THE OCEANS RISE…THE TRUTH DROWNS
It’s the year 2031. Our future. Their present. A world decimated by climate catastrophe, where the sun’s heat is deadly and the ocean rises higher every day. A world ruled by the rich, powerful, and corrupt. A world where a good man can’t survive for long.
Hogan Duran was a good man once. He was a cop, forced to resign in disgrace when he couldn’t save his partner from a bullet. Now Hogan lives on the fraying edges of society, serving cruel masters and scavenging trash dumps just to survive.
But after four years of living in poverty, Hogan finally gets a chance to get back on his feet. He’s invited to join the National Security Council, the powerful paramilitary organization responsible for protecting the rich and powerful from the more unsavory elements of society. All he needs to do is pass their deadly entrance exam, and he’ll be rewarded with wealth and opportunity beyond his wildest dreams.
But this ex-cop’s path to redemption won’t be easy. The NSC are hiding something, and as Hogan descends deeper and deeper into their world, he starts to uncover the terrible truth of how the powerful in this new world maintain their power…and just how far they will go to protect their secrets.
In a world gone wrong, can one man actually make a difference, or will he die trying?
Kill Code is the first novel in an exciting new dystopian science fiction series from the mind of the award-winning author, screenwriter, and director Clive Fleury.
Fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, and Divergent by Veronica Roth will be captivated by Kill Code.

*I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review. Thanks to TCK Publishing for the opportunity!*

Add to
goodreads

---

Who doesn’t love a good dystopian story? Kill Code by Clive Fleury is an action packed sci-fi dystopian novel taking place in the not so distant future. My favorite thing about dystopian novels is the world building, and finding the cause of the world’s current state. Kill Code does this very well and shows us the butterfly effects of the events leading up to the dark world we are now a part of from our hero’s POV. We’re immediately drawn into Hogan’s world as he is struggling to stay afloat in a collapsed economy and dreaming of a way out. His luck changes when he is finally accepted to compete for a coveted spot as a member of the National Security Council or NSC. The competition is fierce and so are the trials Hogan and the rest of the applicants are put through. It should come as no surprise, since Fleury is a screenwriter, that this book is incredibly cinematic in both writing style and description, and also in pacing and structure. The book is pretty short, under 200 pages, so the action is packed in and felt more like the pacing of a movie than the pacing of a novel. All of the scenes were vivid and exciting. I really enjoyed the plot and the twists, but since it was all packed in so tightly, I felt that it was all action. I would have liked to get in deeper with the characters, develop stronger connections and relationships between them, and have more time to really uncover the plot and earn the twists. That being said, Kill Code is an exciting read that would be perfect for action film fans and anyone looking for a quick thrill.

Top 10 Tuesday: Favorite Dystopian Heroes

Happy Tuesday folks!  This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl, is a “Genre Freebie” and since we are basically living in a Dystopian novel right now, I decided to do My Favorite Dystopian Heroes.

---

Offred from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

This book is such a scary reality to think about, and I love Offred’s constant hope and determination to make it through her horrible circumstances.

---

Jonas from The Giver by Lois Lowry

This is one of my favorite books that we read in school, and probably one of my first experiences with the dystopian genre.  The story is so beautiful and I love Jonas’ sweet innocence and love for the world.

---

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss is the ultimate badass dystopian heroine.  She cares so much about others and is willing to do whatever it takes to make the world a better place.

---

Mare Barrow from Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I wasn’t sure about Mer at first.  I thought she was whiny and played the victim too much, but she grew SO much and I really loved who she turned out to be.

---

Father from The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This book was SO good but SO tough to read.  I could not wrap my head around the world fully because it was so terrifying.  The father is an absolutely incredible character.  He is utterly selfless, doing everything he possibly can to keep his son alive.

---

Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth

I am rereading this right now (or I guess re-listening to the audiobook) and I forgot how much I loved Tris.  I admire her bravery to discover who she really is and break the norm.

---

Tally Youngblood from Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Another one of my earliest dystopian memories, I devoured this series as a teen.  Tally has such a great arc throughout the whole series.

---

America from The Selection by Kiera Cass

You can’t help but root for Mer in The Selection.  She sticks up for what she believes in no matter what.

---

Juliette from Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Juliette has been through so much it’s insane.  The fact that she can hold it together at all under her circumstances, let alone remain a good human, is amazing and makes you want to fight for her.

---

Wade Watts from Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

We love a power nerd.  Wade is smart, funny, caring, hard-working, and nerdy as hell.  He uses his brain and his friendships to win and save the world.

---

Who are your favorite dystopian heroes and why?? Let’s chat in the comments! ❤

Fracture by Nina Walker Review

Amazon Summary: Broken by magic and murder, he’ll risk everything for revenge.

Prince Lucas is falling to pieces. He couldn’t save his mother, and now his father is hesitant to execute the man responsible for her death. Lucas only has Jessa, the last shred of light left in his dark world. But she’s conflicted.

What if he loses her too?

Jessa made a commitment. Her family, the resistance, even her own country is counting on her to succeed. She must be initiated and gain the trust of the king. She jumps headfirst into her alchemy trials, determined to impress the court. She knew the tests would be dangerous, but never expected they might reveal her secrets.

And what happened to her friend, Sasha, anyway?

The Color Alchemist Series continues with book two of four. An Amazon number one new release, Prism has captivated fans with its unique magic and swoon-worthy romance. Don’t stop the adventure, read Fracture today.

My Thoughts:  I am so in love with this series.  When I rejoined the world of The Color Alchemists with book two, it felt like coming home.  I didn’t realize how much I had missed these characters.  I am so invested in their lives, and Walker does a great job of developing them even more in this book.  Their relationships feel real and complicated, and gave me such a huge range of emotions.  I literally screamed at my book at one point.  We get the addition of Sasha’s perspective in this book, which was set up really well in the ending of the last one.  I loved learning more about the resistance and the rest of the world (Hey female American president!), and her love interests were really great.  There was a ton of action throughout, and the whole story was engaging and exciting.  Jessa and Lucas’s dynamic is both heart warming and frustrating at the same time.  Their relationship goes through a lot in this book, and I am anxious to see where it is going to go from here.  The more I learn about color magic, the more I love it.  I think it is a totally brilliant idea, is really well done, and continues to develop into a deeper system of magic.  I think I enjoyed Fracture even more than Prism… I cannot wait for book 3!

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard Review

In this breathless third installment to Victoria Aveyard’s bestselling Red Queen series, allegiances are tested on every side. And when the Lightning Girl’s spark is gone, who will light the way for the rebellion?

Mare Barrow is a prisoner, powerless without her lightning, tormented by her lethal mistakes. She lives at the mercy of a boy she once loved, a boy made of lies and betrayal. Now a king, Maven Calore continues weaving his dead mother’s web in an attempt to maintain control over his country—and his prisoner.

As Mare bears the weight of Silent Stone in the palace, her once-ragtag band of newbloods and Reds continue organizing, training, and expanding. They prepare for war, no longer able to linger in the shadows. And Cal, the exiled prince with his own claim on Mare’s heart, will stop at nothing to bring her back.

When blood turns on blood, and ability on ability, there may be no one left to put out the fire—leaving Norta as Mare knows it to burn all the way down.

My Thoughts: Aveyard does it again! After finishing Glass Sword, I went right on to King’s Cage because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.  I literally trust no one in this series and that makes it so exciting.  I loved how a lot of this book focused on Maven.  He is such a complex and complicated villain.  The more we learned about him, the more I just loved his character, even though he is despicable and I hate everything he stands for.  It’s just so refreshing to find an extremely well written villain.  While Mare is busy as Maven’s prisoner, we get some perspective switches in this book, which I thought was interesting since we’ve never had them before in this series.  Although it was nice to see both Mare’s side and what was happening with the Scarlet Guard and the new bloods, I hated Cameron’s perspective.  She was just so negative and whiny, and I wanted to smack her.  It was giving me major flashbacks to book one Mare, and I couldn’t stand her.  She kind of started to come around towards the end, but it took a lot for me to care about her.  Evangeline on the other hand, is my new favorite character.  We got glimpses of her awesomeness in book 2, but I LOVED getting to read her perspective.  She is fierce and fabulous as hell, and I can’t wait to see what happens to her next.  The ending was crazy.  Blindsided once more.  Trust no one.  I did think Mare was being SUPER unfair to Cal, and I wanted her to get off her high horse and think about his side for a second.  It honestly could go ANYWHERE at this point and May 15th can’t come soon enough!

The Handmaid’s Tale Review

Goodreads Summary: Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now…

My Thoughts: Wow. Just Wow.  I knew I would probably like this book with all the hype about the Hulu series, but it really blew me away.  It was different than I expected too.  I thought it would be a lot gorier.  While the whole concept is dark, the way Offred speaks with her matter of fact tone, and the way she relays the information in small, unorganized rambles, kept it feeling lighter but seemingly more sinister.  I absolutely loved the structure of the plot and timeline.  The small bits of information we got about the past, randomly interspersed with the current events, kept me turning the page.  I just had to know how the world got to be like it was.  I really appreciated the mundaneness of the story, as opposed to the epic fight we see in most dystopian novels.  It really made it feel real, and somehow more interesting.  I totally felt for Offred and the Handmaids, and while The Wives were so unlikable, as a woman, I felt for them too.  The whole society and way of life of The Republic of Gilead is disgusting, and yet makes for a very compelling story.  Reading about the situations these people were put in often made me sick to my stomach with my jaw on the floor.  It was appalling, and yet I could not stop reading.  I loved Moira and how her spirit helped Offred stay sane in her situation.  I was surprised that I actually liked the Commander.  I thought his behavior was a great juxtaposition to the villainy of men in Gilead, and made the reveal of who he most likely was and what he accomplished in his office, even more shocking.  The ending killed me.  I couldn’t believe that Atwood would leave us hanging like that, but it worked so well, and made me think back on everything I just read in a completely different light.  This book is absolutely brilliant, and I think it is a must read for everyone.

Prism by Nina Walker Review

Goodreads Summary: What if color held the secrets to powerful magic?

Forced to move into the palace, Jessa begins training as a Color Alchemist under the direction of the kingdom’s most eligible bachelor, Prince Lucas. As an alchemist, Jessa must capture and harness the color of living things. Every color has a unique purpose, except red. Red is the untapped magic no one can access—until Jessa.

Prince Lucas is running out of time. His mother is deathly ill and healing magic hasn’t worked. When Lucas suspects someone is using alchemy to control her, he sets out to discover the truth, no matter the cost.

PRISM is the first installment of a unique young adult romantic fantasy series where a dystopian world with a Victorian flair meets the dynamic magic of color!

*I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review!*

My Thoughts: I loved this book. I am surprised by how much I loved this book.  When I first read the summary, I was interested, but I had no idea what was actually in store.  I am enamored with the concept of color alchemy and the world of Prism.  Walker did a fantastic job of explaining the power and how it works, as well as showing us the futuristic world of New Colony.  I ate up every tidbit of information, that was well dispersed throughout the book, giving us just the right amount to keep us knowledgeable, yet guessing at what was to come.  I loved her reasoning for how this dystopia came to be, and I can’t wait to find out more about the world outside of New Colony.  The main character, Jessa, was so refreshing in a YA dystopian-fantasy.  She wasn’t whiny, had a healthy self-esteem, and a passion for ballet and family.  It was also nice to see a dystopian society from a middle-class perspective, as dystopian heroes tend to be from the lowest class, and we don’t often get to see that side of the world.  The perspective switches between Jessa and Prince Lucas were very effective.  Lucas was a likable narrator, and I really enjoyed his story line and the way it weaved with Jessa’s.  I appreciated the build in their relationship, and though there was a strong immediate attraction, it didn’t feel like insta-love.  There were a bunch of dynamic supporting characters, and all of them were integral to the action.  No one felt unnecessary.  The plot was thoroughly engaging, and it was very easy to read.  Despite a few overly-used, repetitive phrases, I really liked Walker’s writing, and recognized the distinct voices of each narrator while still remaining a cohesive style.  The plot twists were great, and for the first time in a while, I actually didn’t see some of them coming.  I am so happy that I was given the chance to read this fantastic story, and my hopes are high for the next book!