Slip

Slip is written by David Estes, and is the first book in the Slip Trilogy.  It is a fast paced dystopian sci-fi thriller geared for a young adult audience and older.

The book opens up to a view of the now Reorganized United States of American.  After natural disasters have changed the landscape of the country and the scare of food shortage has been numerically assessed, the government has determined an exact population number that can be supported by the current country.  Procreation can only occur after a birth authorization has been purchased and following the receipt of a death certificate.  In short, in order for one to be born, one must first die.  Death certificates can be issued for a terminally ill person, but if that person does not die as planned, than a birth cannot occur. 

Pop Con, short for Population Control, is the government agency responsible for ensuring the enforcement and regulation of such laws.  In the event of unauthorized births/beings or UnBees, they are tasked with tracking down and terminating the unlawful child.  Any child that manages to go undetected past their 2nd birthday is henceforth referred to as a “slip” and is deemed a national security threat. 

Pop Con is heralded for their ability to terminate unauthorized births before a slip occurs.  However, one boy finds himself hidden and protected long past his 2nd birthday.  Being raised by a father and a woman who cares for him he finds himself wondering why he cannot be outside with other children as he gets older. 

This child without a name in his youth starts to figure out that things aren’t right in his life when events lead to his father injecting his eyes to change his identity as he becomes instead Benson and is sent to swim in hopes of survival sent off to a futuristic St Louis.  Benson is left alone and outside of society, having no true knowledge of what is going on.  Many questions and theories lead him to suspect that he may in fact be a slip. 

In this book we get to know many exhilarating characters to conclude the head of Pop Con, Michael Kelly: a man who must make ruthless determinations, while in constant battle with his conscious.  Harrison Kelly, his son who finds hatred in his father for missing so much of his life due to work.  Lucy a street savvy friend and romantic interest of Benson’s who fights to protect her little brother.  Janice, the wife of Michael Kelly, who went from eccentric to mental break and now lives in a mental institution; constantly hallucinating about things that may or may not have been.  Domino Destovan is the sadist you love to hate; his evil endeavors grow throughout the book as well as his thirst for death and acknowledgment. 

The first part of the book is told in First Person POV from a young nameless boy and his views in the world.  News headlines and blurbs are interjected to keep the reader alert of the state of affairs in the country.  Then the book moves on to a more third person POV after the nameless boy becomes Benson.  In the initial naming of Benson, I had a little trouble keeping track of the fast paced character change in the story, but once the narratives became more detailed, it was easy to go back to the flow of the book.

Overall I give Slip 5/5 Stars.  David Estes can create a world like no other, and his ability to bring it to life is commendable.  With a slightly rocky character transition, this levels out enough to not detract from the story.  By the time you get over the transition from unnamed boy to Benson, it is practically impossible to step away from as the action is fast paced.  It very readily flows into a desire to want to know MORE about what happens next.  Although this is a young adult novel, it is definitely on the mature end of the spectrum as there are some themes that may be sensitive to include sexual and physical violence.  If you are interested in dystopian, young adult, population control, futuristic, sci-fi, fiction, action, etc., then this book is definitely worth a read. 

*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Don't forget to also check out my review of David Estes' Fire Country.

BREW COVER REVEAL

Welcome to the much anticipated cover reveal for David Estes' new witchy novel: Brew

Salem’s Revenge strikes without warning or mercy, ravaging the powerless human race under the forces of united gangs of witches, wizards, and warlocks. During the slaughter, Rhett Carter's foster parents and sister are killed, and his best friend and girlfriend are abducted by a gang of witches calling themselves the Necromancers, who deal in the dark magic of raising the dead. Rhett’s sword-wielding neighbor with a mysterious past saves Rhett from becoming another casualty of the massacre and teaches him the skills he needs to survive in this new world.

Rhett is broken, his normal high school life of book blogging and football playing shoved in a witch-apocalyptic blender. The only thing he has left is his burning desire for revenge. Armed with his new witch hunting skills and a loyal, magic powered dog named Hex, he sets out into the unknown with one mission: hunt and destroy those who took away everyone he ever loved.

But Rhett isn’t just a witch hunter; he has secrets of his own that he has yet to discover, secrets that his enemies will stop at nothing to keep him from.

And discovering the truth about himself is the human race’s only hope.

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David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. David grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. They now live together in their dream location, Hawaii. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and started writing full time in June 2012. Now he travels the world writing with his wife, Adele. David's a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

You can also check out my review of Fire Country: Book 1 of the Country Saga

Fire Country

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Fire Country is Book 1 in the Country Saga and written by the talent David Estes.  Fire Country is a book based around a girl named Siena who lives in Fire Country, which is essentially a desert type terrain that stays hot for the majority of the year.

This book was truly phenomenal.  David has created a unique world, realistic characters, a new governing body and even a fitting language for the setting.  Fire Country is a breath of fresh air after all of the unfinished products I seem to have read recently.  There was amazing flow, I didn't have to worry about constant interruptions with typos and grammar issues, and it was easy to get lost in this world as I was rooting for Siena and wanting her to rise above her social status and find a way to find true happiness in life. 

Fire Country happens in a somewhat post apocalyptic world where the population is much less than it was and the life expectancy is much lower with the average person dying at age 30.  As someone who turned 30 this year, I found this crazy to think about that this could be my last year.  Due to these circumstances, the fire people have rules enacted that involve girls turning 16 to become bearers for the tribe.  Once a quarter every girl at the age of 16 must attend a "call" ceremony.  This means that she will be paired with a randomly selected man over the age of 18 to become his "bearer" and to bear his children.  Once having a child she will be expected to bear another child ever three years after, until the household is full.  A normal full household has 3 "bearers" and nine children.  Siena is a "scrawny" girl prone to daydreams and has no interest in becoming a bearer, and not having any choice in who her call will be.  Unfortunately for her, her father is in high-level leadership in the tribe.  Through her slight rebellions she comes to discover unimaginable secrets, and just when you think the scandal of the tribe is enough for the book, there is a new and crazy turn of events. 

David has made such a brilliant story with Fire Country and each character comes to life from Siena to her family and friends and even the ancillary characters.  Even when in a depression I couldn't help but chuckle at Siena's dry and witty humor and her sometimes conversations with Perry.  Siena shows the world that even a skinny young girl can stand up against what she feels is wrong and find herself in the process.

I give this book 5/5 stars, and cannot wait to read book two in the saga.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys getting lost in a story.  Within these pages you will find intrigue, hope, rebellion, betrayal, love, independence and growth.  This book is more than fiction, it is entertainment at its finest.  Don't wait to pick this one up.