The 13th Continuum
by Jennifer Brody
Release Date: April 19th, 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction
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Other Books in the Series: Return of the Continuums
SYNOPSIS: One thousand years after a cataclysmic event leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, the survivors take refuge in continuums designed to sustain the human race until repopulation of Earth becomes possible. Against this backdrop, a group of young friends in the underwater Thirteenth Continuum dream about life outside their totalitarian existence, an idea that has been outlawed for centuries. When a shocking discovery turns the dream into a reality, they must decide if they will risk their own extinction to experience something no one has for generations, the Surface.
REVIEW: I thought the premise of this book was very interesting. There are all kinds of post-apocalyptic tales out there, but they rarely go into much detail of how exactly groups of people managed to survive when everyone else died. This book definitely goes into those details. I thought it was really interesting to see how the different Continuums evolved over the thousand year period. It definitely makes you think what would happen if something like this was real. I hope that future books go into some of the other Continuums (that is if any of the other ones survived!).
The characters were interesting. I liked our two protagonists and I feel like I was able to understand their motivations. There were some times that I had a hard time with Myra, but just because I felt like she was being too secretive or paranoid. Tinker is an interesting character too and I’ll be excited to see how he grows throughout the series. Secondary characters added a nice layer to the overall story, but as characters they were pretty flat. Hopefully they’ll be able to develop more as the series progresses as well.
The plot of the story was just okay for me. I thought the end had a nice amount of suspense, but earlier in the story it just seemed like problems were solved a little too easily. It just makes it seem like what the characters were trying to do actually wasn’t that hard and I found it difficult to believe that in 1,000 years they were the first to put this plan into action.
Overall this book had some definitely pluses, but some minuses as well. I’m not sure at this point whether or not I’ll be continuing with the series, but I’m thinking I might. This book doesn’t end on a cliffhanger necessarily, but it’s definitely not resolved.
Overall Rating: 3
Language: Mild
Violence: Heavy
Smoking/Drinking: Mild
Sexual Content: Moderate
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“If there was one thing you could say about the rats–they were survivors. That’s what Myra liked most about them. They had that in common.”
“No mercy in the face of weakness”
“‘Look, the point is to know my soldiers,’ Aero said. ‘And the best way to know them is to fight them. A soldier reveals his or her truest self when facing death.'”
“It swam through the portal door like a creature begat by the deep and plunged into the darkness of the sea.”
“‘The world is full of mysteries,’ he said softly. After what they’d just been through, nobody could argue that.”
“‘I’m afraid that I’m not cut out for this journey. I’m losing my faith.’
He smiled grimly.
‘Me too.’
‘Then what can we do?’ she asked, her eyes searching his face.
He thought for a moment, before arriving at his answer: ‘The only thing that humans have been able to do for more than a thousand years–endure and hope.'”
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Prize: Win a The 13th Continuum Prize Pack: a signed copy of Jennifer Brody’s book, a bookmark and a custom tote bag (US/CAN Only)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Brody’s debut novel The 13th Continuum sold to Turner Publishing in a 3-book deal and is being packaged into a feature film. The book is the first in a trilogy and will come out in Spring 2016. She is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. She lives and writes in LA.
After studying film and graduating from Harvard University, she began her career in feature film development. Highlights include working for Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and New Line Cinema, most notably on The Lord of the Rings films and The Golden Compass. In 2008, she produced the feature film Make It Happen for The Weinstein Company. Her recipes and articles have appeared in xoJane, Fox News, Parade Magazine, Whole Life Times, and Meatless Monday, and many other publications.
She is an alumni of the Sirenland Writers Conference, where she studied with Meg Wolitzer, and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, where she studied with Victor LaValle. She recently completed a 3-week residency at The Lemon Tree House and has been accepted for a residency in Spring 2016 at the Helen R. Whiteley Center, run by the University of Washington.
She founded and runs BookPod, a social media platform for authors with 400 members. She’s also a mentor for the Young Storytellers Foundation. In Spring 2015, her mentee’s script was picked out of over 900 scripts for the Glee Big Show, where it was performed by the cast of the hit Fox TV show, and in Fall of 2015, her mentee’s script was chosen for the Biggest Show, where it was performed by Jack Black and Leslie Mann.
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Note: I received this book free from the author/blog tour in exchange for an honest review.
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