3.0 on the Masq Scale. Life First by @RJCrayton #scifi #bookreview
Cover links to Amazon.com
Life First
Written by RJ Crayton
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
In this future forged by survivors of pandemics that wiped out 80 percent of the world's population, life is valued above all else. The government of "Life First" requires the mentally ill to be sterilized, outlaws abortions and sentences to death those who refuse to donate an organ when told.
Determined not to give up her kidney, Kelsey enlists the help of her boyfriend Luke and a dodgy doctor to escape. The trio must disable the tracking chip in her arm for her to flee undetected. If they fail, Kelsey will be stripped of everything.
Saffron B.'s Review
The premise of Life First was fascinating. Is it ethical to force people to donate non-essential organs to save the lives of strangers? It made me do some serious thinking and initiated some really interesting conversations. The story idea and plot had excellent potential.
Unfortunately I don’t feel it fully delivered. The setting gives the opportunity for action-packed rebellion and anti-governmental espionage. With a sci-fi, anti-apocalyptic premise like this I was expecting something epic. Instead the story is centered mostly in a single cell in a holding facility.
Still there was potential, perhaps a psychological element? Or some kind of incredible and daring escape? … That didn’t happen either.
In the end I was left feeling a bit let-down. There are sequels so perhaps they pick up the story thread and give it more life but in this particular book there is no growth, there’s no progress. The main character really didn’t change from start to finish and she spent the book being tossed around by circumstance rather than saving herself or fighting the bigger fight.
I also feel that the book could have been a lot shorter. It’s mostly made up of inner monologue which works in certain circumstances but in this case I felt was overdone. Quite often the main character would think something and then say exactly the same thing, thus doubling up on word count with no story advancement.
Without reading the subsequent books I can’t say for certain but I do feel that this book could be changed from OK to Fantastic, if the whole series was cut down and made into a single book. If the excess inner monologue was removed and the action amped up it could make a really great stand-alone novel.
As it is, I’m giving it three stars on the Masq Scale.
Review Disclaimer: Book provided in exchange for an honest review.
