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A review by vesperbell
Survival Colony 9 by Joshua David Bellin
4.0
I received my copy of this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
I’m pretty sure I inhaled this book, it took me under a day to read; there is not one dull or sluggish moment and the pace stays consistent throughout.
Survival Colony 9 is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged from war and global warming. It is set further in the future than we usually see, where leftover resources are completely used up, where animals have become extinct, beetles seeming to be the only species left besides scattered groups of humans who are constantly on the move to stay alive. A changed environment is not the only thing that the human colonies have to contend with however, as an alien race dubbed the Skladi descended to Earth and now hunt on the remaining humans. Not wanting to give anything away, the Skaldi are a terrifying threat, leaving you unable to trust anyone, even the people closest to you. They arrive quickly, silently, and leave nothing behind.
Our journey through this world is through a young boy called Querry, suffering from memory loss and attempting to find his place within Colony 9. Tensions are high within the colony, with leadership a point on contention amongst the group due to frequent Skaldi attacks that seem to be more strategic than those they faced in the past.
This is a very human story, with scatterings of almost heartbreaking humour when you realise that customs which are second nature to us, like clapping in applause, are unnatural to these people, lost to previous generations. They hold on to trinkets of the past, such as a tattered pair of ballet shoes, or the handle of a coffee mug, but these items have lost all meaning.
Whilst there are a few predictable turns of the plot, there are many more unexpected turns which keep you reading to discover the answers you seek. The ending of the book could easily make Survival Colony 9 a standalone novel, though I’m hoping that a sequel may happen in the future! There seems to be a lot of room for expansion and further conflict, and you can’t help but wonder how the other human colonies are coping in other parts of the world. We learn about previous attempts for human survival that failed, but perhaps there are other strategies that have succeeded elsewhere?
I’m pretty sure I inhaled this book, it took me under a day to read; there is not one dull or sluggish moment and the pace stays consistent throughout.
Survival Colony 9 is set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged from war and global warming. It is set further in the future than we usually see, where leftover resources are completely used up, where animals have become extinct, beetles seeming to be the only species left besides scattered groups of humans who are constantly on the move to stay alive. A changed environment is not the only thing that the human colonies have to contend with however, as an alien race dubbed the Skladi descended to Earth and now hunt on the remaining humans. Not wanting to give anything away, the Skaldi are a terrifying threat, leaving you unable to trust anyone, even the people closest to you. They arrive quickly, silently, and leave nothing behind.
Our journey through this world is through a young boy called Querry, suffering from memory loss and attempting to find his place within Colony 9. Tensions are high within the colony, with leadership a point on contention amongst the group due to frequent Skaldi attacks that seem to be more strategic than those they faced in the past.
This is a very human story, with scatterings of almost heartbreaking humour when you realise that customs which are second nature to us, like clapping in applause, are unnatural to these people, lost to previous generations. They hold on to trinkets of the past, such as a tattered pair of ballet shoes, or the handle of a coffee mug, but these items have lost all meaning.
Whilst there are a few predictable turns of the plot, there are many more unexpected turns which keep you reading to discover the answers you seek. The ending of the book could easily make Survival Colony 9 a standalone novel, though I’m hoping that a sequel may happen in the future! There seems to be a lot of room for expansion and further conflict, and you can’t help but wonder how the other human colonies are coping in other parts of the world. We learn about previous attempts for human survival that failed, but perhaps there are other strategies that have succeeded elsewhere?