The Sowing Review

I received this book for free from Provided for review through Audiobook Blast/Boom in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Sowing by K. Makansi
Narrator: Ivy Tara Blair
Series: Seeds #1
Published by Blank Slate Communications on August 14th 2013
Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
Genres: Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Pages: 290
Format: Audiobook
Source: Provided for review through Audiobook Blast/Boom
Goodreads

Remy Alexander was born into the elite meritocracy of the Okarian Sector. From an early age, she and her friends were programmed for intellectual and physical superiority through specialized dietary regimes administered by the Okarian Agricultural Consortium. But when her older sister Tai was murdered in a brutal classroom massacre, her parents began to suspect foul play. They fled the Sector, taking their surviving daughter underground to join the nascent Resistance movement. But now, three years later, Remy’s former schoolgirl crush, Valerian Orleán, is put in charge of hunting and destroying the Resistance. As Remy and her friends race to unravel the mystery behind her sister’s murder, Vale is haunted by the memory of his friendship with Remy and is determined to find out why she disappeared. As the Resistance begins to fight back against the Sector, and Vale and Remy search for the answers to their own questions, the two are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together—or tear everything apart. In this science-fiction dystopia, the mother-daughter writing team of Kristina, Amira, and Elena Makansi immerses readers in the post-apocalyptic world of the Okarian Sector where romance, friendship, adventure, and betrayal will decide the fate of a budding nation.

 Julie’s Review:

 

This is kind of a “smart” book, with all the scientific language and descriptions of the chemicals in the food, as well as body processes. The prologue is narrated in first-person, which is really effective as the speaker gets murdered in an attack and talks about the body shutting down.

The plot itself just did not draw me in, however. There is definitely a lot of set-up and world-building to get the reader up to speed with the story. Then the rest of the plot isn’t very special – capturing prisoners, torturing prisoners, escaping and running away, etc. But those aren’t very new plot devices, now are they?

We have Vale, the son of the Okarian Sector leaders – where food is specifically engineered to achieve certain results. For example, the workers are given food specifically designed to keep them strong and healthy, but not allow them to gain intelligence while the leaders are given a different type of food by the dietician that develops their intellect. Vale doesn’t learn this right away, and as he learns more about his parents and what is going on his whole world changes.

Then there’s Remy, the sister of the speaker who gets murdered in the prologue, who then runs away and joins the Resistance movement. She knows all about the cruelty and manipulative ways of the Okarian Sector and helps open Vale’s eyes too. She’s tough and loyal to her cause, refusing to give up any answers while being tortured and held prisoner.

Her friend Soren, who I hear gets his own novella, is quite awesome too. He has some funny and sarcastic lines as he is interrogated. I like characters who have a huge personality, even when their lives are in danger.

I’m not really a fan of this audiobook narrator. This story is told in a dual narration, with alternating first-person POV between the two main characters, Remy and Vale. The problem is her voice sounds the same for all the characters and it sometimes is hard to remember who is speaking. This book would have really benefitted from two different audio narrators. Just saying.

The book did end with an interesting discovery regarding seeds (as this is the Seeds trilogy) so I’m kind of interested to see where that goes, but not sure if I’m interested enough to prioritize the rest of the trilogy on my reading list anytime soon. I really don’t have anything profound or unique to say about this book, which I think speaks volumes for the effect it didn’t have on me. It was intelligently written and had some interesting threads, but overall didn’t grab me or hold me.

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