Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT OCTOBER RAIN by @dylanjmorgan #SundayBlogShare #SciFi

Today’s team review is from Steve,

Steve has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

October Rain is a short, dystopian, science fiction story, set against the backdrop of a less than perfect Mars colony.

The prologue sets the scene for the theme of the book, briefly describing the utter despair of the narrator. Instantly your curiosity is triggered – how can the rain burn? Why is this person’s heart so broken? And what do they not want to remember?

From Chapter One, the narrative jumps the reader into a life on Mars, told through the eyes of our narrator. With little excess description and a confident pace, we are drawn into this life as the job, family and circumstances lead to an unwanted, if not unexpected conclusion.

I enjoyed meeting the ‘hero’ of October Rain, the author has provided sufficient details for me to empathise with the pressures piled upon this weary individual who struggles to cope. His cynicism and attitude are in keeping with overall theme and add to the overwhelming helplessness experienced by the end.

As with all such dystopian science fiction this book both makes the reader despair for our possible future and rejoice that just maybe our humanity will survive when we eventually leave our planet.

I reviewed this book as part of Rosie Amber’s book review team.

5 out of 5 stars

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Today’s team review is from Suraya, she can be found at http://www.thestorymint.com

Suraya has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

This dystopian novella is the finest I have read in a long time. Generally, I am not a sci fi fan but have always maintained that good storytelling in any genre can over-ride people’s genre preferences. This is certainly true of October Rain.

What a pleasure it was to read. I could see the world Dylan invented and the people who occupied it. I could hear the hiss as the transport pods pulled away from the concourse.

There were sentences that captured the character and the world around her like this one: ‘No one but me noticed the girl, a young woman who looked as austere as the world around her’.

What a perfect comparison. We see the environment and the girl in it.

The story centres around Steele who is a government agent. The location is Mars, the world to which people fled when earth became a graveyard for most of its citizens. Now Mars is exploding. The story is about his hunting down the final two people government has ordered him to eliminate and transporting his wife and daughter to a new planet, Titan. The inference is that like earth the inhabitants have sucked all the resources out of Mars.

The author creates a very bleak scene indeed.

The twist at the end is stunning and I am saying nothing about it. I do not want to spoil the incredible and unexpected twist.

5 stars

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Today’s team review is from Shelley, she blogs at http://shelleywilsonauthor.com/

Shelley has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

5 out of 5 stars.

October Rain is the second book I’ve read by Dylan Morgan, and I found it to be as captivating as the first.  I shall be rushing out to purchase his entire catalogue shortly.

Steele is an assassin for the Martian Interstellar Correction Agency where he is employed to hunt down the names on a hit list.  His ‘work’ is set to a deadline, and once the last name is crossed off that list, Steele and his family will be able to leave and start a new life.

I need to take a moment to appreciate the impressive cover of October Rain.  It’s one of my favourite covers of the year so far.

I liked Steele, he was a vivid character who you could bond with immediately.  Dylan has a knack for creating beautiful relationships between a father and daughter in his books, and October Rain is no exception.  Shauna has a wonderful relationship with her dad, and he is clearly a loving family man to his little girl and wife, Keri.  He keeps his job description to himself and works tirelessly to provide a better life for his family.

The novella is well paced, full of action and incredibly descriptive – something that author, Dylan Morgan does exceptionally well.  My only criticism is that it’s not a 400-page novel – I want more!  I hope this novella is the start of something, and the author writes a sequel.  There are enough threads to pick up the story and run with it.

I read October Rain in one sitting.  It’s explosive and gripping storyline carries you along at breakneck speed, and Dylan’s description of Mars and the remnants of humankind are fabulous.

I would highly recommend this novella.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

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Today’s second team review is from Bev, she blogs at http://baspicer.blogspot.fr/

Bev has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

 

The action takes place on Mars, but all is not well with the planet, and only a small percentage of the original Earth survivors remain, awaiting transport to a new home. We are introduced immediately to Steele, ruthless, and a cold fish, except when it comes to his wife and child. His mission to assassinate a list of terrorists provided by the government carries this action thriller along at a cracking pace from the word go.  The author communicates not only the notion of imminent danger at every turn, but also the desperation of a man who longs to spend time with his family and live a normal life. It’s easy to root for Steele as he faces challenges against the odds, encountering a range of adversaries in some of the harshest environments possible.

The only downside? I didn’t like the ending. But endings are so personal, and I’m not going to give away any spoilers here!

Suffice it to say that I read this accomplished novella in a couple of sittings, was never tempted to skip ahead, and would definitely read more if a sequel were in the offing.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Today’s second review is from Teri, she blogs at http://teripolen.com/

Teri has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

This is the second book I’ve read by Dylan Morgan – the first was a horror novel that grabbed me from the first page and this sci-fi
thriller novella was no different.

The author paints a bleak picture of a dying city and his descriptions of an uninhabitable planet are vivid and creative and made me believe it’s entirely possible to live on Mars.  This story takes off from the first page and is easily read in one sitting – and trust me, that’s a good thing because you won’t be able to put it down.

Initially, Steele appears to be a stone cold hitman without an ounce of compassion – but then we meet his family and learn his wife and
daughter are his whole life.  I really liked Steele and if there was anything about this novella I didn’t enjoy, it was the length.  I’d love to read more about this compelling character and see his story continued.

If you enjoy suspenseful reads that offer unpredictable twists, October Rain is your book – highly recommend!  I received a copy of this novella from Rosie’s Book Review Team.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Today’s team review is from Cathy, she blogs at http://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com

Cathy has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

October Rain is the story of Steele. He is an exterminator, a bounty hunter eliminating undesirables, employed by the Martian Interstellar Correction Agency of Olympia, capital city of Mars. After five years on a slowly dying planet Steele is more than ready to leave and start a new life with his family. He has one last job to complete, in a specified time frame, before he can even hope to give his wife and daughter a better future. But Steele has no inkling of what was to come.

“Sprawled on my back, I stare through the ceiling vents that reveal a dense sky bloated with volcanic storm clouds.

Shutting my eyes against the downpour, haunting memories swim in the darkness behind my lids, contaminating my soul and twisting my heart until it feels like it will rupture.

I wish I couldn’t remember.

I wish I was dead.”

 

The setting is a distant, dystopian future where Earth is a burned out shell and those who survived have established colonies on other planets in the solar system. Steele knows nothing of Earth other than from the information housed in the Martian Museum of Human History. His ancestors had long since abandoned Earth and Steele was born and brought up on Titan, before coming to Mars.

Steele’s pursuit of his last three targeted criminals takes us from the almost deserted upper reaches of Olympia down to the horrific and deadly tunnels carved, by prisoners, out of the Martian rock below the city.

This is a great example of how believable and well-chosen dialogue between characters can convey details of the story clearly and without being too wordy. The grim environment and the brilliant action scenes are described in vivid, and at the same time, concise detail. The contrast between the atmosphere of hopelessness and decline above ground and the danger lurking in the depths of the dark, menacing tunnels is marked.

Steele is completely focussed on his job, which he keeps from his wife and daughter. The unmistakable difference between Steele at work and when he’s at home with his family is portrayed extremely well and makes him a sympathetic character.  I really enjoyed this well paced story, from the compelling prologue to the dramatic and moving ending, which was a complete surprise and not at all what I was expecting.

Book links ~ Amazon UK Amazon US

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Today’s team review is from Terry , she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry has been reading October Rain by Dylan J Morgan

5 stars

I liked this novella a lot! It takes place many, many years in the future, after Mars has been colonised by the dying Earth, and thousands have moved to artificially constructed cities on the inhospitable red planet. But now life on Mars is coming to an end, too, and the lucky ones are moving out to Titan, a satellite of Saturn.

Government agent Steele has one last mission, before he can join his wife and daughter on the journey to Titan—a dangerous and terrifying one…

I’ve read quite a few of Dylan Morgan’s books, and this one reminded me of The Dead Lands, my favourite, with all its expertly orchestrated suspense and bleak atmosphere. This writer knows how to do ‘bleak’! The pace is perfect, the plot unpredictable, the characterisation spot on. It’s not for the faint-hearted, or those who want to be assured that everything will turn out all right in the end.

My only complaint is that it’s so short, even though it fits perfectly into the length of a novella – I think it could have been a novel, though, or maybe the first in the series – come on, Dylan, surely this can’t be all there is? It’s a great idea; made me want to know what happened before, and what will happen after. One of those books that made me want to keep clicking the page turner on my iPad, hoping for more.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com