Welcome to my first book review!
So, apart from writing, I enjoy reading. Most of the books I read tend to be e-books by indie authors or publishers, and in multiple cases, the quality of the book is better than what I would expect. Without further rambling, here is my first review, for Freedom's Fate.
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Image Source: Goodreads
Freedom's Fate
Book Overview
Freedom's Fate is a sci-fi novel by Jennie Taylor. The story is situated in the ship UNSC Freedom, in which the ship has been launched from Earth to find a new habitable planet for humans to live. On this ship, fifteen-year-old Callie is determined to become the captain after being left orphan when she was just five yours old. In her quest to become captain, she faces several difficulties, including that of needing to be social and interact with the other crew members. Furthermore, she has to face her sexual orientation and her feelings for another girl, with resistance and harassment from other people residing in the same ship.
Review
As I did on Goodreads, I have to give this book a 5-star rating. Why? It was captivating on several levels. To begin with, the Sci-Fi setting intrigued me when I read Chapter 1 as a free excerpt from Kindle Scout. I had to read more! And when Jennie Taylor self-published the book, it had to be part of my Kindle Library.
UNSC Freedom
The Sci-Fi theme is very interesting, Earth has launched 8 ships to look for a habitable place for the human race. The ship is equipped with several technologies to scan resources, mine them, and maintain itself while it is in space. As readers, we meet a lot of the crew members and their various roles, commanders, engineers, administration, medics, and I'm missing out a few. Life on the ship has a lot of variety and is represented adequately. I do feel that the author could have spent more time describing certain aspects of the ship/crew or their role.
LGBT Representation
One aspect which I loved about the book is that the protagonist, Callie, is a lesbian. Even though it is not a main part of the story, it does interact with her quest of becoming captain. Furthermore, her story is relatable in several dimensions. First of all, trying to hide the crush she has can be challenging. Secondly, there are a group of people on the ship that do not approve of homosexuality and protest against 'devious' relationships.
Projection of Society
The book projects a lot of current society onto this story, which is something I loved and hated. I would expect people on a ship in space hundreds of years from now would have accepted homosexuality. Yet, the book expresses homophobia well, and I am sure that readers can relate to that pain. Another issue is that Callie is vegetarian. All well and good. However, during social interactions, she has to specifically look for vegetarian food and is encountered by the typical question "You eat cheese? Weren't you vegetarian?". In such future, I would expect adults to know the difference between veganism and vegetarianism (and the character wasn't a dumb person), as well as it raises questions on food source on the ship. Do they have cows that they milk in the basement? I am pretty sure that with all the technology and science equipped, meat could easily be replaced by vegan sources. It may be a personal opinion, but I do doubt that humans will keep eating EXACTLY the same food, with no innovation. Yes, pizzas and ice-creams are great, but I would hope the future would bring more interesting things.
Summary
Now that I have ended my silly, stupid rant, I still think the book is worth reading. I loved it. I could not stop reading. The story has some twists and plots that are quite unexpected, which I will not be spoiling in this review. Once I crossed the half-way point, there was no way I could stop reading. In fact, half of it was read in one day and I could not stop crying for a whole hour (yes, the story has some real tear-jerking moments). Overall, the book is an interesting novel on YA, Sci-Fi and LGBT themes and I could say it is my favourite read of the past couple of years.
Thank You for Reading
That was it! Thank you for reading my first review.
Do you have any comments regarding my review or the book? I would appreciate the feedback, in hopes to provide better reviews in the future.
Do you know of any similar books? Suggest them below, I would love to read them.
Interesting review Jeremy. The take-away for me centers on the consistency of human behavior. No matter past, present, or future, people have, do, and will continue to pass judgement on our fellows/peers. Other behaviors that manifest as a result are vast but seemingly predictable and tend to lean toward the negative. I am a reader also, I love to hold the physical book, turn the pages, feel the paper, and carry my current read around with me. I have read many articles but no e-books to date. I have not read many sci-fi books, I gravitate toward conspiracy type research works focused on financial, political, technology, and the military industrial complex (love that term). More than a small percentage of what I read, reads like sci-fi, scary stuff as well as interesting. You say thank you for reading, I say thank you for writing. Best.
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Thank you to you too (again) haha! I was born into the digital age and even for studying, I use e-books when I can. There's an ease to it.
Yes, you are right. Human behaviour is consistent, to a certain extent. I just would have hoped that the issues would be different, at least. Make it more sci-fi related. Actually, there was a type of evolved argument which I liked, where the 'religious' people wanted to return the ship to Earth and wait for Doom's Day like God wanted. There it's an evident contrast between Religion/Nature to Science but it is presented in an adapted manner.
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I am not big on many who provide information via Ouija and other metaphysical sources of contact Jeremy but was referred by a friend to: Messages From Michael (Yarbro, 1980) and find it to be an interesting read. This one is not creative writing, it is presented as a transcript that I accept as presented. I do not question that our guides communicate by many ways and means although I am not so sure about the authenticity of many works that are claimed to be authentic. Messages From Michael did not provoke any real suspicion as I read it, I was actually comfortable with the decree of authenticity. I have also enjoyed reading Joseph Speaks and other books by Michael Reccia. Best.
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I don't want to ignore this message, because you really put time in it - but - I'm not into that kind of reading. For two main reasons:
I am still recovering from being raised in a religious household. Part of the 'rebelling' nature there would make me reject readings that suggest spirituality even if they appear authentic.
I'm currently tired with 'reading'. I mean it in the sense that I have been reading so many scientific articles and books for university (doing my final year), that when it comes to leisure reading, I attempt to go for fictional material (unless it's poetry).
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I hear you Jeremy, I can relate on a couple of levels as a recovering Catholic and I recently completed my Masters, I remember clearly what a work out it was. For the record most of what I read could pass for sci-fi/fiction, what I choose to read is, generally speaking, well researched material that exposes how the scoundrels in positions of power and authority continually deceive the masses. I also enjoy spending time reading geologic historical researchers (e.g. Immanuel Velikovsky). Be careful not to close the door too tight, you could miss valuable, even liberating, information. Best.
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Thanks a lot for your sugerence: (I love books, but... really i'm a bad english lector).
If you "free" your readed books, remember use the Steem Book Crossing #steembookx tag and geolocalize the place of liberation.
Regards.
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I checked out the site, looks like an interesting project. Although I did not understand a lot. I also speak BR but not very well, but I will try:
Eu vi o site e gosto da idea. não entendo como funciona, mas parece que precisamos usar o tag #steembookx quando nos comentamos (comment, review, etc.) nos livros. Sim?
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Somente cando se "abandoen" para que outras persoas poidan leelos, para que os "abandoen" para que outras persoas poidan leelos...
Only when people "liberate" books by leaving them in places so that other people can read them, then leave them somewhere for other people to read them ...
I'ts a old idea...
What is BookCrossing?
BookCrossing is the act of releasing your books "into the wild" for a stranger to find, or via "controlled release" to another BookCrossing member, and tracking where they go via journal entries from around the world. Our community of passionate, generous book-lovers is changing the world and touching lives, one traveling book at a time. We hope you join us!
taken from http://www.bookcrossing.com/
Our idea is monetize the bookcrossing movement throught Steemit Blockchain.
Regards
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I understand - entendo.
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