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"Prepare To Be Born Anew..."
Synopsis
We have heard your call You no longer need to fear. You will receive five messages, of which this is the first. The last message will inform you of the time and place of your salvation.
Two hundred years from now, the earth is dying, scorched by powerful flares from the sun. A series of messages from an alien civilization sent to humanity over two centuries promise rescue to those strong enough to survive on their planet.
Initiate Leon is a member of the True Path warrior culture and preparing for his Rising. But when his test comes - to kill in cold blood - he cannot do it. To redeem himself, he must journey to find the earth’s fifth and final message from the Saviours, with the help of his resourceful servant, Martha.
Out in the wild, Leon discovers alarming changes in his body - he can drink water through his skin, and has poison barbs buried deep in his flesh. Martha reveals to him the secret that the True Path
have kept from him all this time: Jacob’s Ladder, an adaptation for life on the alien planet, has lain dormant in his genes and is now being activated.
He is part alien and part human, and he is in grave danger from those who wish to take what is in his body.
An ambitious YA novel for fans of Patrick Ness, Rick Yancey and James Dashner.
My Review
This is a very complex and chilling story of a future world destroyed by pollution and war.
The only source of hope the people here have is messages from an alien planet promising safety to those who are worthy and who are strong.
The story really felt like a mix between The Hunger Games due to the events, and The Handmaidens Tale due to this societies treatment of women (absolutely shocking and very uncomfortable throughout!).
The story takes off at pace and it took me a while to settle in properly and really understand the world these characters are living in but it did have me hooked form the off.
The Earth is dying due to solar flares But there have been messages from another world promising salvation for the few the worthy, the strong and Leon is being prepared to be one of the saved joined on this jouney by Martha who is his slave.
Leon has to kill a woman as part of a ritual that means he can go with the aliens to their planet when they arrive. However the whole event goes wrong and Leon discovers that he is in fact part of some kind of cult and his whole world view has been warped in to their beliefs and views.
This was a gripping read and is absolutely not what you would expect from reading the blurb. A mix of dystopian, religious, horror and Sci-fi elements with the core of this story focusing on the transformation of relationships and the lies told.
This was not a comfortable read, it is not for the faint heart, it is shocking and gruesome. I did not find any really "nice" characters or any to relate to, I found the treatment of women utterly shocking and the level of gore was very high but not all books make you feel comfortable like the fore mentioned Handmaids Tale, these books while uncomfortable are about the journey and the dark sides of humanity.
Even with all this I just had to keep reading as the author had drawn me in! I was hooked! The author wrote so intensely with so much beautiful descriptive detail that i was fully transported to the alternate world with its views that I needed to know what happened next!
I found this book, original and thrilling, while it is marketed as YA I believe it would appeal to many readers, anyone looking for something different, This book will offer the nightmare world you could escape too.
This is one that will leave you thinking and wondering even days after you have finished!
Author Bio
Charlie Pike started his writing career when he lived in Turkey, teaching English to adults and children.
When he returned to Ireland he worked as an advertising copywriter and freelance journalist, writing feature articles for Irish newspapers, until an opportunity came along to work for an Internet start-up.
In 2003 he formed his own web company, Usable Design. He met his wife, Birgit, in Turkey and they now live in County Wicklow. They have two children.
Charlie is a graduate of Trinity College. His debut YA science fiction novel, Jacob’s Ladder, was published in spring 2019.
Purchase Links
Blog Tour
Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.