Dystopia by Janet McNulty

In the distant future the United States has been split into two regions separated by a barren wasteland; this is the country of Dystopia. Here the individual is discouraged, freedom is an illusion, food is rationed, and everything you do is tracked by a chip implanted in your arm. This is Dana Ginary’s world. 

At age seventeen, people receive their career assignments chosen for them by a government body. Forced to work at the Waste Management Plant because she was declared too individualistic, Dana finds herself surrounded by death and brutality. Knowing her days are numbered, she looks for a way to leave the plant before she, too, becomes one of its causalities. 

It is then she meets a man named George and soon finds herself caught up in a cat and mouse game between the resistance and the Dystopian government. Dana finds herself faced with an agonizing choice of whom she will betray and whom she will save: her friend George, her parents, or herself. 

The eyes are always watching.

There are elements of 1984 in here, and earlier chapters reminded me a little of the City of Ember, but I persevered and was able to engage with events a little easier after Dana's arrival at the Waste Management Plant. Her character begins to develop a little as she finds her way around this prison camp styled facility, making both friends and enemies, but a lot of the secondary characters did seem a little flat.

There are a few issues with the plot in this book, minor details that could be fixed by developing the characters a bit more. Overall though, I really enjoyed Dystopia, although I believe it is better suited to younger readers in the young adult age group. It was a quick read, but there were a lot of interesting dilemma's for the young protagonist to work her way through. I would certainly be interested in reading more from this author.

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The Dragon Maker by Elizabeth Baxter

In a far distant future, when art is dead and beauty is gone from the world, one man sets out to change everything. He is an artist, the last of his kind, and he is trying to save the world. 

He is the Dragon Maker.'

The Dragon Maker is a 3,000 word short story, set in a future time, it tells the story of one man's struggle to save the world. I found this piece very well written and would certainly be interested in reading more from this author. The descriptive writing made it easy to envision the world being created, and through personal experience, I found I could relate to the protagonist in the story.

Overall I thought this was an enjoyable five minute read. Read more

Death's Keep by Sommer Nectarhoff

This is a story of Gods and mortals, of life and death, of a world where fate has no master.

This is the Book of Lokk:

The city of Kartos is a dark, cruel place, and its winding streets lie within the Black Temple’s great shadow. The Devout, the priests of the temple, rarely leave its towering walls, but when they do it is only to collect the dead or to lead the city’s condemned back to the dungeons. 

And those who enter do not return. 

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