"A Sci-fi fantasy adventure with ecological themes where a small group fights to protect and defend a community of rebels against a corrupt government and one particularly vicious general."
In a world devastated by conflict and human action, food is scarce and closely rationed by The Authority, but a group of rebels hold out against Authority control, with rumours of access to bees and honey and long considered extinct farming opportunities. Merging a sci-fi adventure in a desolate futuristic world with blasters and advanced technology with a contemporary message about the importance of bees for our ecosystem and human impact on the climate, Critical Habitat by Terrence King manages to merge a relatable topic with a futuristic and engaging storyline.
I enjoyed this sci-fi tale, a few different aspects reminded me a bit of Star Wars: a pit in the ground that prisoners get fed into, an elderly wise man who meditates and shares how wisdom helps to protect younger rebels, a roguish trader reluctantly offering help for personal gain with transport that doesn’t look impressive before seemingly appearing to change his mind about the rebel cause, and the helpful, unpredictable, yet characterful robot. Although the character arcs and storylines are not the same, any sci-fi fan may enjoy noticing these familiar references along the way. This is a fast-paced adventure that dives straight into the storyline with a cast of nuanced characters to get to know. As this initial encounter with The Authority comes to a close, there is a spark of hope and opportunity to extend the storyline in future books.
Charlotte Walker, a LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Science Fiction |
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What does it mean to be a rebel, a hero, or the destroyer of habitat and civilization?
As a devastated world recovers from war and plight, an unlikely heroine emerges and attempts to rescue distressed rebels from the government’s corruption controlling the rationed food supply and from a rogue general trying to steal the only known honeybees.
And Earth itself fights back.
Following the Great Uprising of the Millennium, the remaining human population in the Third Continent’s forty-four districts—starved and weakened—are dependent on the Authority. The new power structure that emerged after the war rules by fear and tyranny, confiscating property, and feeding the masses poisoned food.
Yet out of the rubble, rebellious clans who dream of a better future emerge, able to grow their own food because of their secret weapon—the last remaining nest of honeybees. Now a war wages between the rebels and the Authority. X and Y, children of the rebellion, have the key to the rebellion’s success: a download that can bring down the Authority once and for all.
Power hungry and corrupt, the Authority’s General Speer is intent on finding the download, along with the rebels’ bees and food stocks. And he will stop at nothing until he rules all the districts.
The fate of humanity hangs in the balance as X and Y join forces with an unlikely heroine and their allies in a race against time. But in a futurist world where survival is paramount and everyone has an agenda, who can they trust?
Critical Habitat features in the following genres: Science Fiction, Indie Author Books, Indie Books We Love, Action Adventure, Dystopian and utopian fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Recommendations, Speculative fiction
Critical Habitat is available in Ebook
Critical Habitat was written by Terrence King and published by Penguins & Ducks Press
