A fast-paced and worthwhile read. Hopebreaker by @deanfwilson #HBTour #review
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Hopebreaker
Written by Dean F. Wilson
Genre(s): Steampunk
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In the world of Altadas, there are no more human births. The Regime is replacing the unborn with demons, while the Resistance is trying to destroy a drug called Hope that the demons need to survive.
Between these two warring factions lies Jacob, a man who profits from smuggling contraceptive amulets into the city of Blackout. He cares little about the Great Iron War, but a chance capture, and an even more accidental rescue, embroils him in a plot to starve the Regime from power.
When Hope is an enemy, Jacob finds it harder than he thought to remain indifferent. When the Resistance opts to field its experimental landship, the Hopebreaker, the world may find that one victory does not win a war.
Between these two warring factions lies Jacob, a man who profits from smuggling contraceptive amulets into the city of Blackout. He cares little about the Great Iron War, but a chance capture, and an even more accidental rescue, embroils him in a plot to starve the Regime from power.
When Hope is an enemy, Jacob finds it harder than he thought to remain indifferent. When the Resistance opts to field its experimental landship, the Hopebreaker, the world may find that one victory does not win a war.
Teresa's Review
The new Steampunk book, Hopebreaker, is an interesting opening book in a new Steampunk series by author, Dean F. Wilson. We are introduced to the main character, Jacob, a man who makes his living smuggling amulets that prevent the conception of demon children in a human world that has been invaded by demonic forces. Jacob is something of an ant-hero—a mouthy, sometimes obnoxious loner with serious authority issues yet somehow, he is likeable.
The story begins with Jacob being captured by the demonic Regime and imprisoned for selling amulets. While imprisoned, he befriends a young boy named Whistler who tells Jacob that he is part of a resistance group called the Order. When the Order breaks Whistler out of the Regime prison, they allow Jacob to go with them. Over the rest of the story, Jacob struggles with wanting to go back to his old life as a smuggler versus a growing desire to join the resistance in their attempts to overthrow the demonic overlords. As he slowly develops a relationship with Taberah, one of the leaders of the resistance, Jacob finds himself drawn further into the movement against the Regime. The more he tries to resist the Order, the further and further he finds himself drawn into their cause.
The concept of this story is intriguing and the characters of Jacob, Taberah, and Whistler are compelling characters that kept me interested and invested in the story. That said, however, I felt that the story moved along far too fast. My personal preference would have been for the story to be slowed down and more room given to greater character development, especially what was going on inside Jacob’s head rather than just what he observed.
I would have also appreciated more world building and description. As the story progressed, I found myself having more and more questions about the setting, especially after the multiple mentions of “Brooklyn.”
Is this story set in something of a dystopian, post-apocalyptic Earth of the future or it is a different world entirely? I would have also liked to have been given a better understanding of the “Pures” and what gives these people the ability to give birth to non-demonic possessed children when compared to the rest of the human inhabitants living in the demonically controlled Altadas. At this end of this installment of the story, both of these questions are frustratingly left unanswered. That said, Hopebreaker, is a fast-paced and worthwhile read, perfect for most ages and I’m looking forward to the next installment of this Steampunk series.
About Dean F. Wilson
Dean F. Wilson was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1987. He started writing at age 11, when he began his first (unpublished) novel, entitled The Power Source. He won a TAP Educational Award from Trinity College Dublin for an early draft of The Call of Agon (then called Protos Mythos) in 2001.His epic fantasy trilogy, The Children of Telm, was released between 2013 and 2014.
Dean also works as a journalist, primarily in the field of technology. He has written for TechEye, Thinq, V3, VR-Zone, ITProPortal, TechRadar Pro, and The Inquirer.
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