Alia Hess

Disclaimer: I read an Advance copy of this novel, although I think it is now for sale.

I've been following Alia's work for awhile, quietly amazed to watch as an already-strong writer has continued to grow from strength to strength.

I enjoyed Travelers (book 1) and gave it a 4 star rating. Wolfwater takes the same half-wild post apocalyptic world, the same enduring and sweet characters, and wrings misery, reflection, and unrelenting tension out of them. I was sort of afraid that the "island prison" bits would be dull, but far from it. They have a powerful sense of claustrophobia and desperation, and the clash of opposed characters keeps the tension strung high.

I'm glad to see Owl continuing to find herself, and assert herself (it feels like she's growing into her skin a little more with each novel), and also it's refreshing to have an SFF book in which almost all the characters are in established adult relationships.… (plus d'informations)

I was a given an advance copy of this novel to read, in exchange for an honest critique/review. I am not a relative/personal friend of the author prior to having read it, nor was I paid to read it.

Post-apocalyptic is a pretty saturated sub-genre, so a post-apoc story either needs to be pretty well written or be quite different from the norm to attract my interest. Travelers is very much both. I want to avoid spoilers so I'll just list the general things I enjoyed.

Artwork and cover design--very beautiful, and adds wonderful flavour to the novel.

The writing is straightforward and pleasant, and rather than focusing on the gritty and grim side of the apocalypse--although there is some of that as well--the story is primarily a gentle romance, about people who overcome prejudice, past abuse, and external danger to create a better future for themselves. It isn't a Mad Max style guns and leather affair, though, so if that is your preferred type of post apoc, it may not be for you.

I've only read two other self-published novels aside from this one; the first I DNF, the second I struggled through and rated 1 star (unsalvageable). I like the concept of self-publishing, and would like to see more well-written indie books out there which fall into my genre preferences; this was a nice little discovery for me.

Nota bene: The rating system I use is similar to Matt Hilliard's, who writes the blog "Yet There Are Statues".

One star - Books I outright hate
Two star - Actively dislike
Three star - Recommend only with many reservations
Four star - Good and recommended
Five star - The next Gene Wolfe… (plus d'informations)

I won an advanced copy of Travelers through Library Thing and am so grateful for an opportunity to read this. The concept is very interesting, but I'm not quite sure I like the actual follow-through. I thought all the characters were awkward, especially the romantic relationship between Trav and Owl. I also thought there should have been a clearer explanation of what was going on with the violence and population decrease. I liked the post-apocalyptic feel of the book with the strange animals and deserted towns. However, I'm not sure this book interested me enough to want to continue the series. Thank you though.… (plus d'informations)