Kill Code

I was sent this book by the author for review. This story follows a man named Hogan Duran in the year 2031. Climate change has caused catastrophe on the planet; the oceans have risen to extreme levels and the sun is so hot it can kill if you're not careful. In this new world the rich and powerful have taken complete control and everyone else lives on the fringes of society, many depending on the dump and the wealthy man's garbage to survive. Hogan, an ex-police officer, is struggling

I was sent this book by the author for review. This story follows a man named Hogan Duran in the year 2031. Climate change has caused catastrophe on the planet; the oceans have risen to extreme levels and the sun is so hot it can kill if you're not careful. In this new world the rich and powerful have taken complete control and everyone else lives on the fringes of society, many depending on the dump and the wealthy man's garbage to survive. Hogan, an ex-police officer, is struggling through the day-to-day just like the rest of the poor but has high hopes of being selected to train as an NSC Officer, a job that comes with honor and wealth. As an NSC officer his main job would be to protect the wealthy from the Krails, a band of barbaric men and women who aim to take down the elite. When his acceptance letter finally comes, Hogan heads out, with several other men and women, in the hopes of having what it takes to complete his training and take his place among the powerful paramilitary organization. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned and everything he thinks he knows about this organization is turned on it's head.

Sounds pretty good, right? This story had so much potential. The foundation is strong, but unfortunately it lacks the guts that could have made this a great novel. For starters, this book is only 137 pages long. In some instances this isn't necessarily a bad thing but here it just doesn't work. The story is too complex to squeeze into so few pages and the result is that there is a huge lack of detail, world-building, and characterization. The main protagonist is a very likable and relatable guy and with a bit more background he could have been much more interesting. We know he is ex-police and the reason behind that. We know why he wants to join the NSC and what he stands to gain from it. And that's it. Almost as if he just popped into existence at some point of adulthood and started living his life. On top of that, once Hogan enters the program you quickly learn that he is the best at everything with very little exception. He's your typical good guy with amazing physical prowess in all things. Now add in Ruby, The stunning and brilliant good girl, and Jake, the arrogant bad guy, and you've got yourself the main competitors for the NSC spot. It's all been done before. Then we have some really cool ideas for futuristic technology. But the way this technology is explained leaves something to be desired. It isn't done in a way that makes it seem believable or possible and especially not when this story takes place just 12 years from now. This is another major area where more world-building and description would have played a major role in the success of this book. The author also fell into the habit of "telling, not showing". He used the words "see" and "saw" many times throughout the book but this did improve closer to the end.

"I saw the others were enjoying the meal as much as I was."
"I could see that it hurt Ruby."
"I opened the overhead storage cupboards and saw plates, cups, glasses, and pots and pans."

There were many action sequences that seemed very unrealistic to me, as well. One in particular stands out. In the following scene, the two main protagonists are sliding down a 100-ft.-roof at high speed, the roof tiles tearing into their clothes and skin, trying to escape from two other individuals.

"Brake!" I pushed my shoes down hard on the tiles.
Behind, the officers were almost upon us. A fat man appeared just to my right. Smiling, he pulled out his gun, pointed at me, and steadied his aim.
On the other side, the woman officer had drawn next to Ruby. Grinning maniacally she mouthed a silent farewell as she pressed the trigger on her gun. Ruby kicked out, hitting her hard on her side. She spun around and the bullet flew harmlessly into the air. Undaunted, the woman pulled her weapon back and aimed it again at Ruby.
"Duck!" I screamed. We both bent forward as the woman's bullet flew over Ruby's head. Simultaneously, the fat officer fired. His bullet struck the woman at the same time as her bullet hit him. both screamed in agony as blood spurted from their wounds.
They continued to slide down, moving past us at a higher speed before smashing into the ground-the impact killing them instantly.
"Head for her, Ruby!" I shouted, pointing to the dead woman officer and moving to position myself above the fat officer's body.
Reaching the bottom, my feet dug into the man and twisted him around just as ruby crashed into the woman.
We stood up slowly, happy to be on solid ground and alive.

Throughout this passage all I could think of was the man officer holding his aim on Hogan while the scuffle with the two women took place. Rather than shooting his target while having him in his sights while also flying down a roof, he waits, only shooting when the woman officer finally gets her aim back on her target after being kicked and spun around on the roof and in turn shooting each other. I don't expect everything to be perfect in this type of situation but the likelihood of everything falling so perfectly into place in order for this scene to be successful is extremely slim. At least, that's how I saw it. This passage is the only one that was unrealistic to this degree but not the only one where the main protagonist defied death. This happened many, many times-and each time there was someone there to save him, or some other equally unbelievable stunt is pulled to save him. There are many things I can look past while reading, especially in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, when reading for enjoyment. But this type of thing gets me every time and pulls me out of the story. Even if something isn't actually possible or real, I still need the author to make me believe it is. I think with a different word structure I could have been convinced throughout this book but this author's style of writing didn't allow for that.

even though I felt this book was problematic in many areas, I can still say with confidence that the plot was intriguing. The author did manage to keep me interested in what would happen next and I never felt compelled to put the book down out of boredom. Many of the issues here also improved as the story progressed. The dialogue became more fluid and the plot progressed nicely. The story ended on a cliffhanger that could potentially go many different ways and gives the author the opportunity to improve upon the plot, characters, and world-building. Given the opportunity, I would be willing to continue on and read the next installment, if one were to be released. The novel was interesting enough for me to be curious as to how the story will conclude. This book would definitely appeal to audiences that are interested in climate change and how it could possibly affect the world, dystopians, and action/war type stories. If reading this book purely for enjoyment rather than reviewing purposes, it's very possible that some of the things noted above could be easily looked over. This book definitely has potential.

Thanks to Clive Fleury for the opportunity to read and review his book.