I don’t often read sci-fi, so today’s one is slightly out of my comfort zone. It’s not something I reach for, but after this, I’m excited to explore more in the future.

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Killer Domes and the Chosen One
by Gibbo Gibbs

get it here

BOOK SUMMARY

As the old world burned, the elite departed to colonise space in search of a new home. Most of the human species perished on earth’s surface, but a protected few remained. Many generations passed without question, but now suspicions are starting to rise.

Follow the story of Maz and her best friend Hap, as a chance encounter with a stranger lures them into a mission to decide the future of humankind.

BOOK REVIEW

*A copy of this book was given by the author in exchange for an honest review. Do note that this is a review of the first version. There is an updated version released in December 2019.

It opens with Maz opening a file on the cathedral and admiring the designs of buildings that existed years ago. She was speaking to her friend, Hap, who wore a pirate hat and a long black beard. It’s a bold statement, I don’t agree with his taste but it’s a bold statement. However, he then said, “Avatar menu, face, beard, remove.” Which made me wonder: what am I reading?

In this book set in the future, humans are bald, required to reboot, use augmented-reality to order sustenance in the form of liquid that is tailored specifically to their bodies’ needs, and constantly had design projects.

Honestly, as a design major, I was intrigued.

The story was fast-paced but lacked a lot of explanation and development that I hoped for. I guess that’s what a novella is like. There were a few things that were left between the lines that would’ve given me a fuller picture of the way the domes worked, who The Elite were and more about Krakat’s leadershi style. I have a lot of things I want to write this book, but because the book description was vague, I feel as if it would all be a big spoiler.

As for the characters, I didn’t like Maz much. I thought her character was selfish – pushing Hap to delay his reboots, dismissive of him, and overall quite rude towards him, though I do see that she cared. I understand that she feels special and is special, but is that…her entire personality? More characters were introduced in the latter part of the story, almost all of them annoys me. The only character whom I adored, Logan, made me feel so betrayed. I loved him to bits, he was such a friendly, awkward robot but man I felt so betrayed. Also, not so fun drinking game, take a shot or a sip of water every time “chosen one” was mentioned.

I liked the ending and enjoyed the twist at the end, but it also left me even more confused. Personally, I think it has the potential to be something great. There were multiple things going on, and so many questions left unanswered that left this feeling underdeveloped. I believe if this wasn’t a novella, it would’ve been fleshed out better.