E.J. SwiftBesprekingen

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-coral-bones-by-e-j-swift/

A gem. It’s set in three timelines, the past, the present and the future, in and around Australia. (Apparently the author has not actually been to Australia, but I couldn’t tell.) The unifying theme is environmental apocalypse, as observed by women scientists; the three plots are each engaging on their own terms, and then the linkage at the end is very satisfying. A real warning about what we are doing to our world and ourselves. It is very much in keeping with the spirit of other recent Clarke winners, and Sir Arthur himself would have appreciated the diving scenes; personally I was especially grabbed by the nineteenth century science.

A shiftless young English woman goes to Paris, works in a tacky nightclub, does a bit of time-travelling, has an affair. Decently written but unengaging.½

This is a book set in a post-apocalyptic world where the ocean city of Osiris is believed to be the last place on Earth that is still inhabited by humans. The main characters, Adelaide and Vikram, come from polar opposite worlds and and are complete opposites themselves. Adelaide is a pampered socialite from one of the founding families, and Vikram comes from the west where life is full of violence and you have to become very hardened to survive. This unlikely pair each need something from the other and find themselves working together to this end.

This book was very character driven. We were given a lot of back story on the main characters and their friends and family, which I think helped me better understand the different worlds the characters lived in. You basically had the Citizens, who were very wealthy and lived high on the hog, and the westerners, who lived in squalor and were very poor. The world building here was phenomenal! The plot was evenly paced and the characters were well written, as mentioned above.

All told, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to continuing the story in book 2.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank E.J. Swift and Night Shade Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Didn't hold my interest, so I didn't finish it.

What an utterly delightful time-travel/atmospheric tale of freedom, choice, and Paris.

I was struck by just how descriptive and easy the text flowed, but then I was sucked in to all the different time periods as I drifted through the theater of 1875, from catacombs to bohemians, from Moulin Rouge to Moulin Vert... all the way to 2017 with crowded bars and modern woes... to a dystopian and war-torn future of 2042 that includes time travelers and the ever dreaded and alluring Anomaly in the timestream.

There's a definite and dark cost to time travel, but sometimes the cost is worth it. Sometimes, we don't even know what we're paying for. Such is the problem of free will and choice.

Above all, this novel is a real delight to read. It's easy, it's immersive, and it's very easy to fall for and into the lives of these free-spirited people. Even more than that, it's very easy to fall in love with Paris. It evokes and succeeds in drawing out the beauty, the oppression, and the crazy desperation of the people who live and breathe the world... no matter the time.

For all this, I am quite pleased that it is also an easy read. Freedom shouldn't be oppressive. :)

I'm totally recommending this for all you free-spirits.

And thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Paris in different eras

This is a pedestrian time travel book that is interesting only because Hallie, the modern young female protagonist, is someone new in time travel stories. Having an interesting person at the centre of the book does not, unfortunately, lift the book above the middle rank. Hallie is jerked from era to era in Parisian history. Each is nicely described and the little interludes are pleasant, but the methods and reasons for the involuntary displacement is too long delayed. My attention wandered.

I received a review copy of " Paris Adrift" by E.J. Swift from Rebellion press through NetGalley.com.

Idea behind the story had merit. Always love a good time travel novel but this was full of paradoxes and struggles. Characters never had any depth or heart so I felt no emotional parallel to them at all. The constant influx of foreign phrases were confusing without the meaning explained. This book was provided by Rebellion Solaris via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

I really enjoyed this book. A very interesting and entertaining plot, well developed character and a very sound plot.
Highly recommended

Osiris was a dream that turned to dust, but then what kind of dystopic post-apocalyptic book would we have if everything did not go to hell?

In this world storms and well everything really turned the world to a wasteland and Osiris was a refuge for some. The rest of the world is dead..or is it? (no really is it? I wanna know!! I guess I have to wait until book 2 for that). But this Oasis is not a happy place. There are citizens who have it all, and then refuges behind a wall who has nothing and freeze to death. The perfect setting to cause some conflict. Especially since our heroine is a spoiled rich girl and the hero a poor Westerner.

The premise is interesting. A city eating itself, but some being to close-minded to see it. A world where I wonder if anyone is alive in the world? Because the rich have secrets.

The characters are not exactly lovable. Adelaide is rich and spoiled, and obsessed with finding her lost brother. Vikram on the other hand is nice, but maybe a bit naive. Sometimes you just have to storm the barricades. But they grow on you.

Osiris has a pace of it's own, it moves slowly, like a dream. And when it ends I do wonder, what's next? I enjoyed it.

This science fiction novel is the first in a series and is highly enjoyable. It is well-written with elements of literary style. Characters are well-developed and interesting.

A familiar scenario, it is about a city, Osiris, which is divided between the haves and the have-nots. In this aspect, it is similar to the Hunger Games, Elysium and many others. The city is perhaps all that is left on the planet after the sea levels rise. The ocean plays a constant role as provider and danger, prison and thoroughfare.

The two main characters, Vikram and Adelaide, come from each side of the divide and it is their coming together which supplies the main plot. This is not a love story but a joining of like minds trying to resolve their problems with each other’s help. There are a number of secondary characters who add a great deal to the story, again from both sides of the divide, supporting or hindering Vikram and Adelaide.

An engaging novel. I’m interested enough to know how the story will develop in subsequent novels.

An exciting series.½

Tiptree shortlist 2014.The Tiptree Shortlist story "A Woman Out of Time" by Kim Curran was OK but most of the rest were do dull I didn't finish.

Interesting people and interesting story.½

Saga is a famous astronaut who loses touch with her three children because of her work. Then something unexpected happens...

Book Info: Genre: Science fiction/dystopian
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Those who like their stories really dark
Trigger Warnings: execution, keeping “outsiders” in ghetto/thrall, violence, fighting, killing, murder, victimization

My Thoughts: What a very strange world this is. You're just thrown into the water and expected to swim, figure out what the language means, and I was well into the book (almost halfway) before I figured out exactly where this was supposedly taking place. It's a very dark story, very depressing, but bits and pieces of it are downright beautiful, like, “She felt like the scent of dried roses.”

I enjoyed the story for the most part, but have rated it just three stars because it is a very dark and sad story. Maybe it was just my mood, but it was very difficult to read. The lack of hope for the people in the western part of Osiris was devastating, and the descriptions of their poverty and suffering were heartbreaking, where as the opulence and rich lifestyles of the Citizens was disgusting to the extreme.

This was written by a very talented writer, however, so if you enjoy darkness, if you like very heavy stories, you might enjoy this one. It is strongly character driven. While there is action, it is interspersed with lots of introspection, so take that into account.

Series information: The Osiris Trilogy
Book 1: Osiris
Books 2 and 3: TBA

Disclosure: I received an e-galley copy from Night Shade books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: "Nobody leaves Osiris. Osiris is a lost city. She has lost the world and world has lost her . . .” Rising high above the frigid waters, the ocean city of Osiris has been cut off from the land since the Great Storm fifty years ago. Most believe that Osiris is the last city on Earth, while others cling to the idea that life still survives somewhere beyond the merciless seas. But for all its inhabitants, Citizens and refugees alike, Osiris is the entire world-and it is a world divided.

Adelaide is the black-sheep granddaughter of the city's Architect. A jaded socialite and family miscreant, she wants little to do with her powerful relatives-until her troubled twin brother disappears mysteriously. Convinced that he is still alive, she will stop at nothing to find him, even if it means uncovering long-buried secrets.

Vikram, a third-generation storm refugee quarantined with thousands of others in the city's impoverished western sector, sees his own people dying of cold and starvation while the elite of Osiris ignore their plight. Determined to change things, he hopes to use Adelaide to bring about much-needed reforms—but who is using who?

As another brutal winter brings Osiris closer to riot and revolution, two very different people, each with their own agendas, will attempt to bridge the gap dividing the city, only to find a future far more complicated than either of them ever imagined.

The book is very readable. However, there are many things I did not like about it. The lead female character is over the top selfish and snobbish, though I think the reader is meant to like her. The main male character would in no way grow attached to the female lead, but he does. The way the events are discovered by the female lead: one minute she doesn't know, then some thing happens (not sure what) and then she knows. Hate that type of story telling. The "look behind this curtain" way things are deployed - sad. I wanted to give the author a chance due to this being her first book. However, I will not be reading the follow ups of this trilogy. I wished I skipped this book.

A prisoner on a penal planet is faced with release.

Won @ Myan Prophecy Averted Giveaway by NightShade Books