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TSP #1
The Challenge
No Longer Available.
Set 200 years into the future, splicers live in compounds and follow the orders of the guards in charge of them. Other than the elders, no one is over the age of 18.
The answer to why will come as a shock when they're all rounded up and thrown into the backs of semi-trucks. Dying can only be the beginning. Living will send them on a treacherous journey they aren’t prepared for but will have to face head on.
Set 200 years into the future, splicers live in compounds and follow the orders of the guards in charge of them. Other than the elders, no one is over the age of 18.
The answer to why will come as a shock when they're all rounded up and thrown into the backs of semi-trucks. Dying can only be the beginning. Living will send them on a treacherous journey they aren’t prepared for but will have to face head on.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2014
85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 23, 2014
I received this novella in advance and in exchange for a fair review. This is the first novella in what I hope will become a series. As the synopsis says, it's a novel about those who've played God in the laboratory, set two hundred years in the future. It's a world of the young with no one over the age of eighteen except for the elders. Told from various first-person POV's, it details how a group of Splicers have to survive a deadly obstacle course set by their masters and enforced by rather sadistic guards and are forced to rely on each other in order to live.
The cool thing is that everyone has different powers--echolocation, electricity, mind reading and more--and they use their powers during the so-called 'training' (actually, survival) course in order to help each other through...even if they don't like or trust each other all that much at the outset.
What I liked most about this novella was the breakneck pace Ms. Dowell sets. Everything is fast, fast, fast, and that's a plus in the grand scheme of things. Although the characterizations are rather slight at the outset and limited to the physical descriptions, bits and pieces are added as the story moves along and the characters really begin to grow on you once the kaleidoscopic action and thought sequences begin.
The drawback is that having multiple POV's can get to be a bit confusing even though we know which character is doing the narration from the title. The dialogue also sounds a bit generic in places. And (this is a bit of a spoiler) would anyone know about Scooby Doo two hundred years from now? Added to that, using "alright" instead of "all right" in the narration is one of those little things I've learned from bitter reviews on my own earlier work never to do, but that's quibbling over a minor matter right now.
Overall, very much worth a read and definitely worth the price, and I hope that Ms. Dowell will provide more adventures for her hardy band of splicer survivors. I would love to see a novella or novel set from only one POV at some point, and perhaps Ms. Dowell will do just that.
The cool thing is that everyone has different powers--echolocation, electricity, mind reading and more--and they use their powers during the so-called 'training' (actually, survival) course in order to help each other through...even if they don't like or trust each other all that much at the outset.
What I liked most about this novella was the breakneck pace Ms. Dowell sets. Everything is fast, fast, fast, and that's a plus in the grand scheme of things. Although the characterizations are rather slight at the outset and limited to the physical descriptions, bits and pieces are added as the story moves along and the characters really begin to grow on you once the kaleidoscopic action and thought sequences begin.
The drawback is that having multiple POV's can get to be a bit confusing even though we know which character is doing the narration from the title. The dialogue also sounds a bit generic in places. And (this is a bit of a spoiler) would anyone know about Scooby Doo two hundred years from now? Added to that, using "alright" instead of "all right" in the narration is one of those little things I've learned from bitter reviews on my own earlier work never to do, but that's quibbling over a minor matter right now.
Overall, very much worth a read and definitely worth the price, and I hope that Ms. Dowell will provide more adventures for her hardy band of splicer survivors. I would love to see a novella or novel set from only one POV at some point, and perhaps Ms. Dowell will do just that.
December 24, 2014
I received this book for a fair review.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were really creative between the xray bat, to the mind reader that could control people. Some were really creative and others you kinda wonder why we wanted to splice those particular animals, but what else do you do when playing god. I really enjoyed Daphne who wasn't at all prepared for the situation she was thrown into. And in the typical female fashion took over and bossed all the boys around. She's my type of girl.. small but packing a lot of charisma and abilities. I do think ripping her arm off was a bit much but the hope is since she's a sponge that it grows back.. quickly... I definitely want to read the next book to see what happens after they made it through this challenge since only those willing to work together as a team made it through. Those that only looked out for themselves .. well. died.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were really creative between the xray bat, to the mind reader that could control people. Some were really creative and others you kinda wonder why we wanted to splice those particular animals, but what else do you do when playing god. I really enjoyed Daphne who wasn't at all prepared for the situation she was thrown into. And in the typical female fashion took over and bossed all the boys around. She's my type of girl.. small but packing a lot of charisma and abilities. I do think ripping her arm off was a bit much but the hope is since she's a sponge that it grows back.. quickly... I definitely want to read the next book to see what happens after they made it through this challenge since only those willing to work together as a team made it through. Those that only looked out for themselves .. well. died.
December 24, 2014
The story was very fascinating. I liked the combination of abilities and personalities of the characters with their animal counterparts.
The fusion was smoothly done, though I'd like to know the reason, for example, why Phoenix's touch makes someone sick aside from being intrusive of the other and not being welcome. Is this because there is a sickening jolt from touching a real swan?
If that was because of this
Then I guess one would get sick...not physically. No offense to her fans.
It was told from varying perspectives of each character and while some were shorter than the others, it was substantial enough to make the message clear and be felt as if it was longer than it really was.
There are lots of characters in such a short story, but I didn't feel that I was being bombarded with them because;
1. They were introduced by group and all of their qualities were briefly, not extensively shown.
2. They were given their POV's that helped each of them be more exposed without hassling the readers to memorize every bit of them from a single statement.
I liked how Daphne didn't appear as too much of a damsel in distress even though she was clueless as introduced. She has a strong personality while appearing such a weakling and she proved the others wrong about that and gained their respect in return. Pity about Griffin though...
I certainly hope that the "Fallen" guy at the end was not part of Daphne's "first" group. That would be a bummer.
The fusion was smoothly done, though I'd like to know the reason, for example, why Phoenix's touch makes someone sick aside from being intrusive of the other and not being welcome. Is this because there is a sickening jolt from touching a real swan?
If that was because of this
Then I guess one would get sick...not physically. No offense to her fans.
It was told from varying perspectives of each character and while some were shorter than the others, it was substantial enough to make the message clear and be felt as if it was longer than it really was.
There are lots of characters in such a short story, but I didn't feel that I was being bombarded with them because;
1. They were introduced by group and all of their qualities were briefly, not extensively shown.
2. They were given their POV's that helped each of them be more exposed without hassling the readers to memorize every bit of them from a single statement.
I liked how Daphne didn't appear as too much of a damsel in distress even though she was clueless as introduced. She has a strong personality while appearing such a weakling and she proved the others wrong about that and gained their respect in return. Pity about Griffin though...
I certainly hope that the "Fallen" guy at the end was not part of Daphne's "first" group. That would be a bummer.
January 2, 2015
I bought the book by mention of it's author, being that it fits into reverse harem genre, which I find absolutely fascinating.
First of, I did not know previous to buying the book that this its split into episodes,makinng the publication similar to the Spearwood Academy. That slightly threw me of the wagon at the end, because I were expecting a first book in a series.
So for an honest review.
- I would have loved a more thorugh introduction, and character depth before being thrown right through the action, this caused a slight confusion on my part, because the awful things happenig to different characters, well, I couldn't respond emotionally because I didn't know them.
- First person view works for me, but from almost every character? Totally confusing, because I had to go back to the chapter introduction to see from which point of view the thoughts and so on are from, and I also had to remember who where wich from only a couple of conversations...
- Main heroine? Altough I didn't get much goodietreats from Daphne, I already like her.
There are also some grammar issues, but heck. If this is fixed up, with more world building, and perhaps rethinking the whole first person view on every main characters, I would totally recommend this book. The story, and theme got a wicked load of potential, and I find it an awsome concept - Splicing? Heck yeah!
First of, I did not know previous to buying the book that this its split into episodes,makinng the publication similar to the Spearwood Academy. That slightly threw me of the wagon at the end, because I were expecting a first book in a series.
So for an honest review.
- I would have loved a more thorugh introduction, and character depth before being thrown right through the action, this caused a slight confusion on my part, because the awful things happenig to different characters, well, I couldn't respond emotionally because I didn't know them.
- First person view works for me, but from almost every character? Totally confusing, because I had to go back to the chapter introduction to see from which point of view the thoughts and so on are from, and I also had to remember who where wich from only a couple of conversations...
- Main heroine? Altough I didn't get much goodietreats from Daphne, I already like her.
There are also some grammar issues, but heck. If this is fixed up, with more world building, and perhaps rethinking the whole first person view on every main characters, I would totally recommend this book. The story, and theme got a wicked load of potential, and I find it an awsome concept - Splicing? Heck yeah!
October 28, 2014
The Splicing Project: humans intermixed with the genes of animals. When a group of young splicers are loaded up on trucks and hauled away for the Challenge, they find their very lives at stake. The only way to survive is to work together, but some may have other ideas.
I've always like the idea of humans genetically altered with animal DNA. The Splicing Project has a nice mixture of interesting and unique genetic alterations in its characters. These characters are engaging and clearly defined, though there are a lot of them for such a short novel, and each has their own special powers as a result of the tampering with their DNA.
The action takes right off from the beginning, when a group of friends are woken in the middle of the night for reasons beyond their knowing. Things get more dire as the story progresses and the friends find themselves thrust into a life or death situation.
I found this story thoroughly engaging and read it all in one sitting. I'd certainly be interested in the next installment and seeing where the story goes on from here.
I've always like the idea of humans genetically altered with animal DNA. The Splicing Project has a nice mixture of interesting and unique genetic alterations in its characters. These characters are engaging and clearly defined, though there are a lot of them for such a short novel, and each has their own special powers as a result of the tampering with their DNA.
The action takes right off from the beginning, when a group of friends are woken in the middle of the night for reasons beyond their knowing. Things get more dire as the story progresses and the friends find themselves thrust into a life or death situation.
I found this story thoroughly engaging and read it all in one sitting. I'd certainly be interested in the next installment and seeing where the story goes on from here.
December 26, 2014
(100%) This was a really good book. The idea that people can be spliced with animal genes to give them the characteristics of that animal isn't necessarily new, but the author takes this one step further by showing that these new powers can be deadly as well.
The Good!
Fast paced story. I found my palms growing slick with sweat when the characters had to fight for their lives by rushing across platforms.
Very diverse characters; each has their own personality, strengths, and weaknesses.
Splicing someone with a jellyfish who can electrocute people in water is badass!
The Bad!
My only complaint is that there are many perspectives, and I don't really get to know the characters as well as I would like before jumping to another perspective. The introduction is a bit abrupt, but this may just be me.
The Ugly!
Just a few places where I am not sure who is saying what, but backtracking slightly takes care of that.
In all, I highly recommend this book, and it was a fun read!
The Good!
Fast paced story. I found my palms growing slick with sweat when the characters had to fight for their lives by rushing across platforms.
Very diverse characters; each has their own personality, strengths, and weaknesses.
Splicing someone with a jellyfish who can electrocute people in water is badass!
The Bad!
My only complaint is that there are many perspectives, and I don't really get to know the characters as well as I would like before jumping to another perspective. The introduction is a bit abrupt, but this may just be me.
The Ugly!
Just a few places where I am not sure who is saying what, but backtracking slightly takes care of that.
In all, I highly recommend this book, and it was a fun read!
April 22, 2015
I was given an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest opinion. This is Mismousey's very honest opinion of "CHALLENGE (TSP#1).
Heather Dowell has done an excellent job taking your imagination into the future with writing about spiders and who is in control of them.
She has such an imagination and brings it forth on paper. However- at times with the names of the critters - I did have a small problem following one from the other. Other than that this is an excellent story. One that ya would love to read - it is an full of twist and turns . Keeps you on the edge of the page and your seat. It is also a must read for all.
Who will prevail in this story and who will win the spiders or the elders??
The plot and cover are amazing -characters and scenes everything about this book this great. I recommend this book for ya readers. MisMousey gives it an over all rating of 45 out 5 stars.
Heather Dowell has done an excellent job taking your imagination into the future with writing about spiders and who is in control of them.
She has such an imagination and brings it forth on paper. However- at times with the names of the critters - I did have a small problem following one from the other. Other than that this is an excellent story. One that ya would love to read - it is an full of twist and turns . Keeps you on the edge of the page and your seat. It is also a must read for all.
Who will prevail in this story and who will win the spiders or the elders??
The plot and cover are amazing -characters and scenes everything about this book this great. I recommend this book for ya readers. MisMousey gives it an over all rating of 45 out 5 stars.
November 25, 2014
Human's spliced with all sorts of animals genes. The Splicers are loaded up into the back of the truck and carted off. They have no idea what lies ahead for them and if they will survive. They have to work together, using their strengths to win and survive. Who survives and who dies?
I had a hard time keeping characters straight, they are all kind of tossed at you at one time. The dialog was a little hard to read an understand at time. I love the idea of Splicing and messing with the DNA. That is way cool. But I wanted more of that, more weird science mayhem.
It's a good start with all the action, but as soon as it was getting good, it was over. I'm anxious to see what #2 has to offer.
I had a hard time keeping characters straight, they are all kind of tossed at you at one time. The dialog was a little hard to read an understand at time. I love the idea of Splicing and messing with the DNA. That is way cool. But I wanted more of that, more weird science mayhem.
It's a good start with all the action, but as soon as it was getting good, it was over. I'm anxious to see what #2 has to offer.
November 18, 2014
I only give this one a three star because, with all the different characters and the info dump, it was hard to keep track of who was who and what POV I was reading. The dialogue was also a bit hard to follow from the lack of dialogue tags and I kept forgetting which character had what abilities. There was a part that was too graphic for me and I had to skip over it but I LOVE the idea of the splicers and the way the author described them. I can't wait for the next episode!
January 7, 2015
This book is a splice between divergent and Xmen. The teens go through different challenges like in divergent to see who can make it out and the neat thing is they all have special powers like in Xmen. You should definately check it out its such a quick read. I finished it in about an hour.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews