Another one of those books where the blurb made it seem like something I'd really like but the way in which the author dealt with the plot in question just didn't quite work for me. As usual, YMMV.
The basic premise is that it's science fiction, set in a world where corporate entities control entire planets, which means that the people living there (whether human or not) have to live under the dictates of those corporations. One of our protagonists, who goes by Jasper (aka Mason, when he's undercover) has grown up on one of those worlds, where use of drugs on the population has led to a number of side effects cropping up which give the planet's inhabitants various psychic powers, while simultaneously decimating the birth rate. Somehow this has been able to be kept from the company which ran this (and many other) planets and so Jasper uses his particular gift of being able to see the emotional connections between people to try and sabotage that company's work on other planets.
Our other protagonist, Jasper's eventual love interest, is Kovari rather than human - despite his name Sowing of Small Havoc lives within a society where working towards the group good is the main goal and that's been abused by the company who owns this planet to make even the idea of organising against the company almost taboo. When our main characters meet, Jasper is supposedly encouraging unionisation but also has a plan to try and infiltrate the company headquarters, as further work is being done on a drug that works much like the one that affected his planet, destroying the birth rate but being immensely profitable.
In general terms, there's pretty good world-building and a nice range of supporting characters (including a spaceship which has recently acquired sentience and wants to get involved in what's going on) but the main characters aren't as strong as they could be. I had some trouble visualising what the Kovari look like, so it's probably a good thing that this is not a particularly explicit book for m/m and I hope the writer has a clear grasp of the respective biologies if she plans to change that in future installments. There's also a bit of bleed-over from what looks like the author's own experience of unionising, as sometimes there's a degree of info-dumping of 'how to organise people into a union' which just feels awkward.
So, in general terms not a bad book and it's likely to work well for some - for me, it just lacked that clarity of characterisation that makes me care what happens to the people involved and then want to pick up the next in the series.
A good friend of mine for the last few years has worked tirelessly over the past few years to find his niche in the music world. His passion for music does not go unnoticed, with various acoustic projects I've been aware of since we were at summer camp together, to his current dabbles with electronic/ experimental music. His life is music and I am exceptionally excited to see the viral success of his first major release within under 24 hours. Congrats Daniel and I can't wait to see more of your work in the coming weeks.
Fall is approaching fast! With that said, we at Warped State have decided some change is in store in order to grow as a company while providing the best products we can to our loyal customers. Here's a quick glance at some of our coming changes:
-Warped State will be releasing a sub-line called dream. This line will cater to creating more sleek and simple designs focusing on contrast and fashion savvy apparel.
-A new Warped State tee design will be released this fall!
-From this point forward, all Warped State tees will be printed in limited quantities of 40 permanently. No re-releases, no custom ordering, once the design is sold out, it's gone! That holds true for all our past designs as well, so be sure to grab any tees you've been eyeing in advance!
-Custom ordering will take place as always a few weeks prior to the release. At this time customers may choose to have designs from both Warped State or dream printed on a diverse range of products including hoodies.
Thanks for your continued support and we look forward to these exciting new changes coming soon!
Stay up to date with the release, discounts, specials, and contests at facebook.com/warpedstate and check out our online shop at www.warpedstate.com
