If you liked Promised Land...

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic copy of this book for review through Library Thing's Member Giveaways program. Also, minor spoilers ahead as well as a trigger warning for discussions of rape.)

If anything, this book taught me an important lesson: Never request a sequel for review before reading the previous books in the series. Just don't do it!

In my defense, I really expected to love Promised Land. I really didn't. While Verhoff has some really interesting and exciting ideas - time travel to a future Earth that's home to countless humanoid species chief among them - the story doesn't quite live up to its potential. While future Earth does indeed make for an engaging setting, I had trouble relating to many of the characters. In particular, I was put off by Red the Second; he didn't strike me as an especially charismatic or compelling leader, and I had trouble believing that all but the most evangelical Galatians would follow him across a strange new land, with only his cryptic proclamations about "God's will" to guide them. Pacing problems and sloppy editing abounded, as did problematic language: protagonist Lars, who suffers from Erb's Palsy, was continually called a "cripple," and by a number of characters. Josie slut shamed older sister Feenie more than once, though this was thankfully cut short by Feenie's death early in the book. The single sex scene - between Red and his wife - was as icky as it was unnecessary, and the magical rape scene involving Magus, Feenie, and Barret was just straight-up appalling.

In Promised Land, the residents of Galatia - and underground military bunker in Ohio - are forced to the surface generations ahead of schedule when a cave-in and fire rip through their home. Forty years earlier, a colonizing species of aliens called the Celeruns unleashed a plague designed to wipe out humanity; while most humans did indeed perish, a select few not only survived, but thrived: they developed special abilities called charismas. With the help of their new-found powers - and a nuclear bomb - the few remaining humans nuked Earth and its alien invaders, seeking refuge underground until the day when their planet would become habitable again.

When they emerge into a post-apocalyptic hellscape, Mayor Red the Second inadvertently zaps them forward about 50,000 years in time. Here they find an alien Earth populated by lush (but often deadly) plant life and a vast array of humanoid species who are the direct descendents of humans and Celeruns. Though humans are lauded - deified, even - the Galatians are not welcome here. The Treaty of First Rights forbids travelers from settling areas to which they are not native. Under this treaty, the Galatians can technically lay claim to all of Earth; but first they must prove their native status. To do this, they need the Blood Map.

Seeker of the Four Winds begins where Promised Land leaves off: with the Red Squad departing Galatia in search of the Blood Map. It's a journey that's to take nine months and cost countless lives. Meanwhile, under Red's leadership, the people of Galatia attempt to rebuild a new city around the Mouth of God. As the Western Alliance's armies converge of Galatia, power struggles come to a head. Will Josie, Lars, and the rest of the Red Squad make it back in time to avert war?

To my surprise, I found that the first half of Seeker of the Four Winds flew by rather quickly. Red the Second - and thus all the religious themes that so irritated me in Promised Land - are mostly absent from the first 50-60% of the book. Josie and Lars's time with Mr. Bayloo's Traveling Theater & Company - during which they're forced to fight to the death for the pleasure of the masses - was especially engaging. Once the story refocused on Galatia, however, it started to drag. Much like Promised Land, Seeker of the Four Winds could stand to lose 50 pages or so. While the editing is slightly better, I still noticed a number of mistakes; and the writing is a bit crisper, but not nearly crisp enough.

Unfortunately, there's even more sex - and rape - in Seeker of the Four Winds than was in its predecessor. The sex scenes are as gross as they are unnecessary; with phrases like "grinding his girth against her pelvis" and "forbidden cavern," I cringed every time it seemed like two characters might hook up.

Magus's rape of Feenie - which took place in Promised Land - is, for some inexplicable reason, rehashed and elaborated upon. Magus recalls his enchantment and rape of Feenie while he masturbates - and right before sexually assaulting Feenie's younger sister Josie. Josie awakes from a troubling - but seemingly real - dream to find her jeans and underwear pulled down around her ankles. Lindsay tries to comfort her new frenemy: "If he was a rapist, surely he would have went for me over you, so try not to worry." (UM HOW ABOUT NO. TAKE YOUR RAPE CULTURE AND GO HOME.) Later, using her Rewind charisma, Lindsay determines that Magus was interrupted before he was able to rape Josie; while this should come as a relief of sorts, it seems to make everything perfectly okay, as if Magus touching Josie intimately and without her consent isn't also troubling and a violation.

And then there's Feenie. Whereas husband Barret - and, by extension, the rest of Galatia - thinks that she died in a wagon accident, in actuality Feenie has spent the past four years studying the dark arts and building her own coven under the tutelage of Magus. After Magus raped Feenie during a fertility ritual, he put her under an enchantment and made her - and Barret - fall in love with him. Even though Feenie is now seemingly with Magus by choice, her consent is a matter of debate. Feenie ultimately returns to Galatia with a harrowing story of being kidnapped and sold into prostitution by slavers. Basically, she lies about being raped. And then she seduces Barret into leading a coup against Red.

A rape victim is turned into a villain who lies about being raped to garner the sympathy vote - because we all know that rape victims are uniformly met with unconditional kindness, compassion, and understanding. Not.

The slut shaming of Feenie continues in Seeker of the Four Winds, with a number of guys referring to her as a "slut." Upon hearing that she'd been held as a sex slave, Barret's nephew Isaiah notes, "perhaps it explained why she acted so...well, slutty." (Way to empathize with a rape victim, dude. No wonder Belle left you!) When Feenie, Barret, and Magus are defeated, Luke refers to the trio as "a slut, a traitor, and a crazy warlock" - as if Feenie's greatest crime is her sexuality, and not, say, mass murder. Meanwhile, the teens find video footage of unsuspecting women's chests and butts in Barret's video collection - which they dismiss as harmless fun. Double standard much?

Just...no. No no no.

Also, I found it rather unbelievable that the citizens of Galatia - not to mention the tens of thousands of troops surrounding the city - simply let Feenie and her coven slink away, escaping punishment for seemingly murdering their Mayor. Sure, this sets up the third book (Exiled) quite handily - but at what cost?

If it wasn't for all the horrible rape stuff, I'd probably give Seeker of the Four Winds three stars; there are some interesting elements here, and the story isn't all bad. But the slut shaming and the perpetuation of rape culture (only pretty girls and sluts get raped; women lie about rape to further their own interests) are just straight-up toxic.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/05/16/seeker-of-the-four-winds-by-cd-verhoff/ ( )

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

As with the first novel, Verhoff does an amazing job intertwining MANY genres into one. This is a story where time is running out to save what is left of the human race after apocalyptic calamity strikes. The story can be read as a stand alone but I would suggest reading the first. The storyline flows well and characters are well-developed. Can't wait to read more from the author. ( )

Seeker of the Four Winds begins where Emerge ends. For those who read them in chronological order, which is recommended, the explanation as to how the earth became populated with so many strange species isn't needed. However, for those who have skipped around, a little bit of back story has been added to chapter two.

"On occasion, Lars caught himself staring at the Regalan and the Bulwark, trying to imagine what their alien ancestors might have looked like before mixing their DNA with humans. It had been at least a hundred thousand years ago since the Celerun mother ship, with its cargo of animal and plant species gathered from across the universe, had landed on earth. Stranded by a series of catastrophic events that decimated the planet, the few aliens that remained alive hooked up with the last humans in order to survive, inadvertently creating entirely new species, but they had just as often warred with one another, or so the historians speculated. Now, only a handful of life forms on Earth remained pure, untouched by alien DNA, including the Galatians. Nonetheless, considering the emergence of the charismas, humanity had evolved."

In book one, the Galatians have emerged from their state-of-the-art modern bunker totally bewildered to find themselves in this new version of Earth, where they soon discover they are not welcome. The new species tell them to go back where they come from. Since that's impossible, the Galatians have no choice except to fight for their right to stay there. Josie and Lars, two misfits in love, have come up with a plan to save their people. Book two follows them on their quest to implement it. Of course, nothing works out as expected, leading to many mishaps and adventures.