Deviants

The Queens of Lower Earth #0.5

by Eden Wolfe

She's disfigured. She's frightened.
...And she's powerful.


Left behind and cowering in the shadows, Rose is condemned to the ghetto of post-apocalyptic Lower Earth.

But when a revenge-seeking enemy comes out of hiding, Rose must make a choice.

If she dares to take action, she could be disappeared - or worse.

If she doesn't, an assassination could threaten the delicate balance that keeps Lower Earth at peace.

She's the only one who can stop them. Rose may be a victim of daily violence and ridicule, but in her blood runs something stronger than perfection.

You'll be sucked into Rose's world, a dystopian thrill ride where it's lawless in the alleys and fascist in the streets.

Get it today.

ebook

First published August 20, 2020

Reviews

[Mary-Ann Maronski · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this prequel to Selfsame we meet the inhabitants of Cork Town, an area of Lower Earth where those who are not so successfully genetically modified, or “deviants” live separated from the rest of society We follow the story of Rose a young woman who works in a pub there. There is also further information given about the situation of men from book 1, but since I don’t believe in posting spoilers all I can say is if you like Selfsame, you’ll enjoy it’s prequel Deviants also.

[Katheyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eden Wolfe’s “Deviants” is a very well-crafted prequel to her upcoming series “Lower Earth Rising”. Set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world in which Eugenics are a reality gone wrong, Rose goes through to life deflecting scrutiny, as every exposure means some kind of abuse. Rose is genetic deviant, a twenty-one-year-old woman trapped in the small frame of a young girl, whom nobody pays real attention other than to ridicule and abuse her. Nevertheless, Rose possess some secret “talents” that aid her in gather information; as she come across a complot aim to someone she loves, she makes a decision that put her right in the middle of two opposite factions.

Eden Wolfe does a terrific job in introducing Lower Earth to the reader in barely sixty pages, all the important elements are there: hegemony of women; scarcity of men; procreation rights system; discrimination of genetic deviants, who are confined to Cork Town, a ghetto where drugs run high, misfits rule, and conspirations are constantly brewing in the dark.

“Deviants” offers a fresh new approach to dystopian tropes and does a superb job in introducing the new series to the reader.

[Traumrealistin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a reading copy for an honest review.

This 58-page novella gives an insight into a currently three-part series, published in Germany as Kindle Unlimited. The story is set in a distant future and a war has changed people's lives greatly. Men are scarce and it has been longer since healthy boys were born. Genetic manipulation is common and it seems that the "healthy male project" is only half-heartedly pursued. But these genetic interventions have serious side effects. Some people are born directly as deviants, for others the process of change begins later in life. In the past, the healthy people and the Deviants lived side by side, but now the Deviants are put into ghettos where some of them disappear from resp. shipped off to an island. It is not a nice place to live. The main character is Rose and I'm curious if she will appear in the later books.

All in all, I think the novella gives a good impression of the series.

[Helgaleena Healingline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world of Rose is harsh. Human life expectancy has crashed, and genders are imbalanced, likely due to ecocide. Like the folk of aboriginal legends, what remains of our species has retreated to 'Lower Earth' where eugenics and its accompanying fascism hold sway.

Her genetics have condemned her to life in Cork Town on the outskirts of the city of Gen. Her genetics also make her more useful than most of her fellow humans realize. In her pulses the blood of Queens...

This tale is well-crafted and enthralling. There is compassion shown for every character, whether antagonist or ally. We can't help but identify with Rose.

[Justin Bohardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deviants is a quick read, meant to introduce the reader into a post-apocalyptic series where mutations to the genetic code cause humans to degrade, be born with defects, and occasionally possess unusual abilities. The ruling bodies are forced to resort to eugenics and those afflicted are shunted aside. I found myself wanting to know more about how we got here as a society, but I assume that is coming in later novels.

I usually try to find a nitpick or two to offer a more nuanced review, but honestly I can't with Deviants. It's a quick paced, well written intro to a series that definitely had be wanting to see what comes next.

[Jean-Charles Garaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sent to me as an Advance Reader Copy against an honest and fair review.

It was my first attempt at a novel from Eden Wolfe.

Well written novel, portraying an interesting dystopian world with a specific tangible atmosphere to it. I missed an explanation to the post-apocalyptic situation of the word being described, perhaps will it be coming up in the next book, this being a short novel I also felt a bit left with the cliffhanger at the end. I would advise reading it and would certainly read the following novel since I have been hooked and would like to go further with this story if not in this world.

[Christan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing once again!!!! I love this series so much. The way that Eden writes, just blows my mind and it always just hooks into me so I have to read more. I love Rose. She is so strong and just in the face of adversity. I strive to be more like her. I think this was a great prequel. It gave me the insight I need to understand Rose’s journey before Selfsame. I am going to reread that then I’m going to enjoy her 2nd book, Culling. If you like a good Dystopian/sci fy novel mixed with some bad*ss female characters, this is the series for you!!! This is something I would definitely usually read. I received this complementary ARC from the author. 🥰

[Chrystalin]

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. In all fairness, I don’t often read the “interlude” stories and I did not realize this was one until after I accepted it. Although I was intrigued by Rose, I didn’t feel like there was enough “story” to really pull me in. If I were to come across the other books in the series, I might pick them up but I’m not going to run out and buy them based on this small snippet.

[Ayezu Tamarapreye Okoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deviants (The Queens of Lower Earth #0.5)
by Eden Wolfe

This is a prose fiction on the life of queen rose(row-zi for row-presence with zi for presence in ikwerre language in Nigeria) taking a low life undercover identity in Cork town where she takes a cleaning (key-lee-nee-inn) job at the pub(poor/paw-be) where Cork town deviants have no reproductive rights.

Reading the book,I thought of whether we had such community or locations in the world

[Ina V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was sent this book for an honest review. I found it intriguing. This is the first book (short story) I have read by Eden Wolfe. It is an interesting read about Rose who live and works as a cleaner in a bar in the ghetto of Lower Earth. I would be interested in read more of the series and hopefully more about Rose.

[Emmeline Everdeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read but very intriguing. The characters are interesting and the little bits of information you get about the world make you curious to know more. I will definitely be looking into the rest of the series! This book was definitely like an appetizer, enjoyable and gets you excited for what’s to come next.
I received this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only.

[Carol Stefanik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short story. Rose is an easy character to get wrapped up in. Enjoyed the writing style enough to read the complimentary first chapter of Selfsame, the first book to follow the short story. Cant wait to see what the book brings.

[Shannon Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly written and extremely intriguing. I am already fascinated by the world and characters in this small glimpse of this prequel. I am super excited to continue to explore with the rest of the series! Fantastic!

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing from the start. The idea of how people were born purposefully and altered is a notion on its own. I look forward to reading this series because it definitely is not something have read before.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this so much! Thanks to VoraciousReaders for the access. The premise is fresh and so intriguing, drawing you in with perfect detail and dialogue, lifelike characters with back story that you just know is important to the plot. Most definitely reading more from Eden Wolfe.

[Lauren M. Hayworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting!

A fascinating world. The dialogue is excellent. Reads well. Enjoyed the main character’s perspective. Can’t wait for the next installment!

[Mike Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting start to what I hope will be an enthralling read. It's actually to short to make an educated review, but I hope to expand on it in the subsequent follow ups.

[Greta Varpiotaite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this. Now I'm very curious about the Queen, she seems very mysterious. I really like the characters, particularly Rose and Marion. ☺️

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free review copy from Voracious Readers. I liked that this was easy to read, but there wasn't really enough in this short book to really get an understanding of the story for me.

[Jo Penhallurick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished reading Deviants and I want more! Loved the characters especially Rose, the lead, and the relationships the villagers had with their lifestyle full of hardship and bigotry.

[Katheyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eden Wolfe’s “Deviants” is a very well-crafted prequel to her upcoming series “Lower Earth Rising”. Set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world in which Eugenics are a reality gone wrong, Rose goes through to life deflecting scrutiny, as every exposure means some kind of abuse. Rose is genetic deviant, a twenty-one-year-old woman trapped in the small frame of a young girl, whom nobody pays real attention other than to ridicule and abuse her. Nevertheless, Rose possess some secret “talents” that aid her in gather information; as she come across a complot aim to someone she loves, she makes a decision that put her right in the middle of two opposite factions.

Eden Wolfe does a terrific job in introducing Lower Earth to the reader in barely sixty pages, all the important elements are there: hegemony of women; scarcity of men; procreation rights system; discrimination of genetic deviants, who are confined to Cork Town, a ghetto where drugs run high, misfits rule, and conspirations are constantly brewing in the dark.

“Deviants” offers a fresh new approach to dystopian tropes and does a superb job in introducing the new series to the reader.

[Myridia · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Free book copy received from Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review)

First off, I really enjoyed the premise of this book. Genetic deviants in an apocalyptic, dystopian, futuristic universe; a girl who secretly holds the keys to the kingdom, and rises above the rest despite her physical limits. All elements that I absolutely love. A really great story in the making... but it was just too short to feel complete!


While I understand this is a short story / prequel, meant to be a teaser for the main series, there just wasn't enough world-building for me to stick around. I don't think it's too much to ask, since it should be considered a standalone story unless it's published as a novel chapter instead. I had an insane number of questions that bogged me down throughout the story. For instance, how did the deviants come about? How did the Queen become the Queen in the first place, and how were she and Rose separated? What makes her and Rose different from the other deviants, and not just because Rose "knows" it to be so? What causes the degradation, and what historical events led up to men being the minority? There just isn't enough exploration of these topics, and maybe it's because I come from a biology background, but I really wanted to know more about the science behind the story.

Though the author refers to a nuclear apocalypse at the beginning and end of the book as her inspiration, it's not enough to tie all of these complex elements together. I really wanted a deeper understanding of why each group in the story - the guards, the deviants, the men, the women - behaved the way they did, where they came from, where they are going. Rose is the type of protagonist anyone can cheer on, but despite the abilities she can tap into, her point of view still feels too limited. Some of her thoughts and perceptions are rather stilted and simplistic rather than emotionally complex, as I would have expected of a twenty-year old despite the body she occupies. And we don't get enough of her history, or of the world's history, to gravitate much toward anyone else.

As a result, I felt as though the story I read was not completely formed, more like a brief glimpse into a small window of an intriguing girl's life. Like looking through a fixed spyglass, I could only see what was contained within the lens, but was forced to guess and infer what lay beyond it. With enough exposition, character- and world-building, possibly from several points of view - this could be a wonderful series, but because I was left with so many questions, I felt lost rather than hooked into the story. I may or may not give the other books a shot, but based on the preview given at the end, I didn't find myself any more engaged than before.

[KatJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a novella to start the series this was a cracker. How would it be to have a society based on genetic superiority? To have a city full of genetic misfits all cast out based on circumstances beyond their control. Its on another level to being born in the wrong place at the wrong place. Being born at all would be a waste. And so we start the story here and this is the first I've read of a narrative based on this trope. Its got all the fantasy boxes ticked alongside a good hint of scifi to it. Add a splash of handmaid's tale and you come out with this. Within the pages you start to see an underground movement and I can only imagine a couple of key characters that set the storyline for the following novels. Having read the beginning chapter for the next novel it seems the author has got a fantastic world in which to explore the nitty gritty downtrodden genetic misfits to the superior race. The next novel looks to be based on the superiors and that will make for interesting read. Looking forward to it!

I was offered a copy by the author for an honest review. Would highly recommend