Regina Shen: Resilience (Book 1) by Lance Erlick


Review of book 2 Vigilance -  HERE!

Regina Shen is an outcast forced to fend

for herself. A storm is coming.....

Synopsis - 

Regina Shen is an outcast forced to fend for herself in a world that bans books and artifacts from before the Great Collapse. An approaching storm could be the least of her problems. The World Federation condemns Regina and her family to live on the seaward side of barrier walls. Those walls were built to hold back rising seas caused by abrupt climate change and as a place to dump outcasts.

A hurricane threatens to destroy Regina’s world, tearing her from sister, mom, and home. Now Federation agents claim she has unique DNA that could prevent human extinction. It's too bad she doesn't trust them enough to barter fairly, let alone with her life. Three-hundred-plus-year-old Grand Old Dames rule the all-female Federation using a rigid caste system. Their notorious Department of Antiquities, under the command of Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco, polices barrier walls, destroys knowledge from the past to suppress dissent, and pursues Regina for her genome.

Regina survives by her wits on swampy islands and thrives on salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Federation. With her photographic (eidetic) memory, she defies Antiquities by consuming salvaged books not available in the Federation, which makes her an outcast even among her exiled peers. With Antiquities in pursuit, Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family. Does she have the resilience to survive both the storm and Antiquities?

Review - 

Regina Shen: Resilience is the first book in a YA Sci Fi series set on earth in a future where the melting of the polar icecaps tumbled the world into disorder.  A new order has arisen. Males have been wiped from the planet, books were destroyed to limit knowledge and procreation for the all-female population is now handled in a lab. An ever changing truth is dictated by the government and a caste system is firmly in place.

Undesirables are cast outside the walled cities on whatever small swampy bits of land they can find - less after every storm as the water level continues to rise. They are called Marginals and live by scavenging, raising what food they can and hunting/fishing.  Regularly their daughters are rounded up to provide slave labour. Inside the walled cities you have the Working Stiffs whose lives are limited to low level job and strictly defined roles, and the Working Professionals who have more money, more freedom and more power. At the top are the GODS - old dames whose medically extended lives have gone on for over 300 years.

I love strong female role models and Regina is just that.  A "swamp rat," she learned from an early age how to take care of herself and stand alone.  She also has a photographic memory and quick mind, so has been privy to study with a teacher who has given her access to a true education and salvaged forbidden books. This teacher struggles to prepare a confrontational Regina to sneak into the walled city, take on a fictional identity and study at one of the universities.

An infertility issue arises that needs to be addressed and it looks like Regina's blood may hold the answer. This puts her in the eye of the storm as bounty hunters, government agents and desperate marginals looking for a reward all search to be the one to turn her in. She is resourceful and brave as she stays one step ahead of her pursuers.

This is a dark story set in a somber future, but it is also full of action, adventure, interesting characters and personal strength. A great read.

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Meet The Author - 

Read a fab interview with the author HERE!

He was raised by a roaming aerospace engineer, growing up in various parts of the United States and Europe, as well as traveling through Asia. He took to stories as his anchor, including the works of Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein, and has been writing since age eleven.

Growing up, he was inspired by his father’s engineering work on cutting-edge aerospace projects to look to the future.

In an ideal world, Lance would find time loops where he could step out for a week at a time to read and write. Then he would return to the moment he left, without life getting in the way. Of course, since everyone would have the same ability, he suspects life would still sneak in.

Lance is also the author of short stories and novelettes.

Connect with the author: Website Twitter Facebook Goodreads


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