Core of the Nations

by Jesse B. Booth

The world is just days away from nuclear destruction, but here's the catch - this isn't the first time the world has ended. In fact, it has ended several times, and as the world we know begins to fall, two select people have been chosen to survive the destruction to recreate and rebuild a new world with one purpose: world peace, the hope of the human race.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

Jesse Booth is a USA Today Bestselling Author. He works full time as an IT Professional.

Jesse's parents helped him harness a love for books at a very young age. He started writing for fun in the second grade. His very first piece was a continuation of the Soup series by Robert Newton Peck. Fully illustrated by Jesse, it was called Soup on Water.

Jesse's childhood fascination with medieval times and all things castles and knights caused him to delve into Redwall by Brian Jacques, and the series set the foundation for Jesse's love for the Fantasy genre. Jesse then got lost in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain.

The most inspirational stories for Jesse are JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow series', and more recently, Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere.

Jesse has written twenty novels, as well as many short stories and poems.

Also a musician, Jesse plays the piano, guitar, and alto saxophone. He writes music on a contractual basis.

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good first book for this budding author, my brother! Intriguing premise about 5 civilizations created in hopes of attaining world peace, yet each failed and became extinct except for two people from each group. The time has come for the sixth and final attempt. Hope in mankind is a recurring theme which maintains an optimistic tone throughout. I loved the emphasis on record-keeping and journal writing. Although it's not necessarily in my genre-of-choice, it was still an enjoyable read. Very clever and creative! Nice work, Jesse!

[Helynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bold, imaginative first novel by 25-year-old University of Utah student Jesse B. Booth is a dystopic story about pairs of hand-picked "Adams and Eves" who are preparing to regenerate the earth and its inhabitants after a nuclear apocalypse. Until this task begins, the pairs are protected in an underground sanctuary with all of comforts of a 21st-century world as well as a 23rd-century food replicator, super-cars, etc. It's tempting to refer to these Adams and Eves as young people, but some of them are not quite young anymore. In fact, some have jump-started destroyed worlds before--including Earth just after its dinosaur age--and they are immortal due to galactic gizmos called "resensitizers with biological and Biblical-style powers to keep them going--if no one else steals the gadgets first. This bring up the question of their nemesis, an evil-incarante baddie named Natas (spell it backwards) a former Adam gone sour who is now alone and miserable and seeks to gain power by foiling the Adam and Eves' benevolent plans. As powerful as the good guys are, they are not invulnerable. Although they have a healing device called a miracle-sphere (Boy, would I love to have access to one of those in our current health-care system!), there are still some tragedies and heartbreaks along the path to their quest. In short, this is a cautionary tale about the devastation of planetary pollution (one pair of Adam and Eve's has already seen Mars destroyed by the carelessness and selfish neglect of its inhabitants) as well as the obvious parallels to Genesis in the Old Testament. Bits of philosophy are interjected as the more experienced Adams and Eves train the new ones. "There is always hope. Never give up hope," one progenitor says. "As long as there are humans alive, there is hope. . . only a few humble, righteous, and willing souls get to grasp the real knowledge this world has to offer. If grasped honestly and properly, wisdom is endowed to that individual" (157). With that philosophy follows an upbeat and idealistic conclusion. Hope is really the principal theme here, with the caveat that human foibles are always ready to throw a world into chaos. A thought-provoking read.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the brother of this author, I think reading Core of the Nations added dimension to my understanding of my brother. Whenever an author writes about an idealistic society, the reader gets a glimpse of that author's perception of what ideal is (only a glimpse, as writing is never transparent).

The idea behind this book is unique, and brilliant. The main ideal of achieving world peace is a worthy one.

This story provides fictional explanations of things left unexplained by science and history. It also provides unique ideas for intriguing, futuristic technology.

I enjoyed the story, and the insight I received while reading this book. Although this edition of the book is in obvious need of a little revision, the point definitely gets across to the reader.

One of the weak points is that there is little variation between some of the characters (possibly a consequence of complete unity of purpose). Also, the quick acceptance by the main characters of their situation seems a little unbelievable. But all in all, this was a great read.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked that this book is fiction, but still makes you think. I liked the fictonal explanations to things that we don't know the answers to. There could have been a bit more character development, but this book I think wasn't as much about the characters in it, as it was about the tasks they needed to do, which I liked. I enjoyed it!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and imaginative read. . . and I love the author ;)

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I bought the Kindle Ebook version.

Will and Allya are two separate people approached by competing representatives of opposing groups. One one side, Nate, who warns of them being controlled by some shadowy others. On the other side, pairs of husbands and wives, who have come for a purpose: to invite Will and Allya to a mountain that holds a deep secret: the salvation of the planet and it's eventual repopulation.

I'm not going to mince words. The novel isn't good. The biggest thing is that there's very little story to it. There's a lot of telling, especially about the history of the Core people, but no real action or intelligence in it. If people are told that the world is going to plunge itself into nuclear war, and only they will be saved, they are not going to be okay with it, nor be okay with needing to be summarily married. If I were an adversary of these people, I'd do a lot better than throwing poison darts at them and indulging in petty vandalism of their terraforming gear. I would also hope I'd put up more of a fight.

Most of the book is about the aliens, their weird history, and how they transform the new earth. the nuclear apocalypse is handled off camera, people don't seem to care much, but they kind of like a good breakfast and playing chess. It's dull stuff. It's probably half of the book. It's anti-climatic because there is no tension nor fear of any failure.

I don't like being harsh about it, but I can't recommend buying it. If the author had dropped the long sections about how the adams and eves worked, and instead focused on Will and Allya dealing with being chosen, and whether or not to accept or reject it, there might have been a story about it. If Nate had been more of an active character, with some viable reasons for what he did, it would have helped as well. But way too much space is given telling, not showing the dull life after as the blissful couple changes the world. But as it is now, pass.

[Muhno Ahmed]

i dont have friend?theis is my 1st 1

[T. Jackson · Rating 1 out of 5]

little to far-fetched. Couldn't even pretend to like it.