May 9, 2013

Storm Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway



Welcome to my stop on the Storm blog tour hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

Storm (Swipe #3)
Author: Evan Angler
Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Paperback/e-book
288 pages
 
Description:

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark allows citizen to shop, go to school, and even get medical care--without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he's been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In "Storm," Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis' army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation--and the world--the weather is become less stable, and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.... 

Storm is the thrilling third installment in a Christian young adult dystopian series that deals with a group of kids known as the Dust - those that are Markless. The Mark was implemented by the government as a way to keep a trace on the people, but it also allows them their citizen rights. Those without the Mark are outcasts from society and even get arrested just for not having the Mark. Enter in our main character, Logan Langely, who is a member of the Dust, and has recently escaped the clutches of the elusive Archeron prison - a place where they brainwash the Markless into soldiers for their cause. Inside, Logan found his long lost older sister, Lily, only to discover she had conformed to their ways. After learning about Trumpet - a disease that the Union had made to keep the Markless "under control" - Logan and his friends have to race to find a cure - and fast. Because one of their own, a Marked girl named Erin, has just shown the first signs of infection - and time is running out.

Growing up going to church, I have always heard stories and sermons dealing with the "End Times." The Antichrist, the Mark of the Beast - so all of this is familiar to me. That might be part of the reason that I am so engaged in this series. It was all eerily familiar and had a tinge of possible reality to it that made it all the more engrossing for me to read. It's a great concept with a well written and fast paced narrative - regardless of the reader's familiarity with the concepts. The characters are flawed, mostly broken, and completely believable - so it's easy to identify with them early in the book, especially if you've read the first two installments to the series. As I mentioned, the plot deals with the apocalypse and other references from the Bible, such as the Mark and the end of the world. It also threads a story of a single person and his friends who rise up against the new government and takes on the seemingly impossible task of stopping them from killing thousands of people.

I found the entire story to be a page-turner and I was completely hooked from the first paragraph up until the very end. The novel ends with another great cliffhanger, so I was left wanting more - I wanted to know what happens to the characters and how things were going to end. I couldn't put this book down until the very last page and I am definitely eagerly awaiting the next book. This is one of those series that seems to only get better with each installment, which can't be said of many series out there. I highly recommend this novel to fans of YA, dystopian, apocalyptic, and thriller genres.


Evan lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon.
Swipe is his first book. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about it, and you didn't hear anything from him. Don't make eye contact if you see him. Don't call his name out loud. He's in enough trouble already.
And so are you, if you've read his book.  

Giveaway: Print books 1-3 in the Swipe series, US only.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

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