Sentient

by Jay VanLandingham

USA 2040: Animal agriculture has drastically changed the climate and the way people live. Drinkable water is scarce, the population is suspicious and isolated, and animal rights activists are all but extinct due to threats by the agribusiness industry.
Bray Hoffman isn’t an activist, but she has a secret. Her best friend Alice is a pig confined to a tortuous life on a factory farm and Bray can feel everything Alice feels. All the pain. All the fear. All the torture. As an animal empath, Bray learns first-hand the truth of the hidden horrors of animal agriculture and with Alice’s days coming to an end, Bray fears what might happen to the pig, and to herself.
Bertan Duarte is an undocumented immigrant working for this agribusiness industry. The secret world in which he works is mired in the dried blood of countless lives lost, where workers must fight both themselves and each other to survive an unfair system that has them trapped in enslavement.
Kage Zair has spent years in hiding with other animal activists. The landscape is far too dangerous for people like them. But Kage cannot just stand by and allow a manipulative agribusiness to destroy animal and human lives and the planet.

Sentient is the first book in a new eco-dystopian series that follows Bray, Bertan and Kage as they fight for answers and freedoms in a society that wishes them none. Told from all three perspectives, this page-turning debut novel is full of action, adventure, suspense and horror.

This isn’t the future we fought for but it’s the future that’s coming.

Genres: Fiction

580 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2022

About the author

Jay VanLandingham’s writing explores the transformative power of relationships. Jay believes that through connection with ourselves, others and nature, we can cultivate empathy and a desire to help.

Above all things, Jay (he/him) wishes for peace and serenity in his life, as well as the lives of all beings.

Jay holds a Master’s degree in Social Work as well as a Bachelor in English. He is also a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher. In his spare time if he’s not outdoors spending time in nature, he’s enjoying time with friends, family, and his one-eyed cat Lucky.

Jay is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

For more information, visit www.jayvanlandingham.com

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read

If you like dystopian, eco terrorism, or alt future Americana, this book is for you. It should also be required reading for anyone who doesn’t understand the horrific implications of factory farming and the power of agricultural business and lobbyists. A true Animal Farm or The Jungle for the modern age.

[Jon Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jay VanLandingham has created the thing I go looking for most when I peel back a cover: a world I want to miss. A world I want to revisit again and again. Characters that instantly feel familiar. And that is what he has given us with "Sentient," the first, thankfully, in a fantasy fiction series what will likely become one of your favorite worlds to inhabit as a reader this year. That's not to say that this is a perfect world by any means. The dystopian backdrop of agro-disaster and S-Corp hums like static as the events unfold for our three (or four?) protagonists without ever overpowering the life of the characters or the subtle magic realism of the plot. The scenes that shone for me included this magic realism and many animals... but no spoilers! I felt like VanLandingham had thrown The Last of Us, Sense8, No Country For Old Men, and The Power into a blender, added some vegan juice, and poured me my new favorite cocktail. I really loved falling slowly into the self-described "eco-dystopian series," and the opening book had the kind of slow build that really draws me into the characters (Kage was my favorite) without feeling like I was just reading exposition the entire time. Instead, the author wisely hits the ground running, so the entire novel feels like its a race to the finish line, and in a lot of ways it actually is. There's enough here to lay the foundation for one of the best magical realism novels you've ever read, and while some of the storylines start to intersect by the end -- which is just the beginning -- we will have to wait for the upcoming books to see how all the threads tie together. I would rate 10/10 for anyone looking for their new favorite series ... vegan-free brownie points if you're an animal lover, queer lover, mental health and wellness lover, or just a lover in general! Jay VanLandingham will keep you flipping the pages and awaiting Sentient: Book 2's release with bated breath. Loved this one so much.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author/publisher for the goodreads giveaway!

This was intriguing and out of my normal type of story. Having read a few other reviews I was expecting to be very conflicted about eating meat, but honestly I found myself more concerned with the mafia aspect and how huge of a generational problem that is and how difficult it is to get out of. Yes, the animal cruelty aspect was there made me consider how close to reality the butchering of cows narrated in the story is to real life, but I kept wishing I could be back with Bertan and the Knocker. I felt like everyone else got a conclusion and a good stopping point to their story, but there was so much more to learn and hear about Bertan!!

[Sheila Zenni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry! If brutal honesty bothers you, read no further.. Here we go.. I knew this wasn't my genre when I purchased this book but thought I would try to read it to assure it was appropriate for my grandson. However my grandson is 11 and is writing a book that may be a little better than this one started out for me. I am a "finisher", I've maybe only not finished a book once or twice in my life. But the first paragraph of this book had me saying, "NOPE"! Life is too short to dance with an ugly man and too short to waste time reading something I don't enjoy. I just felt like I was reading a children's book, it wasn't for me. BUT, books are a form of art and art is subjective so I'm only offering one person's opinion.

[wendi c duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange book. It was good and I loved the parts about bray. The knocker part was weird I get it .it was still strange tho

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this from the author at a street fair. I finally got around to reading it and I really liked it.

I took off one star because there are A LOT of grammatical and spelling errors. However, it is a testament to the story telling ability of VanLandingham that I still read the whole book and enjoyed it thoroughly. Also, I usually don't enjoy dystopian fiction, but this story is more character driven, with the state of the world illustrated with how they interact with it.

I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel or not, but while the ending does leave you with a sense of a story to be continued, the book stands alone as a good story in itself.

If you can overlook the spelling and grammatical errors, I think people that enjoy dystopian fiction and character driven stories will like this. I venture to say that if I enjoyed it enough to overlook them, I think almost anyone could.

[Douglas Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dystopian story about animal rights engaged me from the start. The presented view of America in 2040 is bleak and seems like it could be a possibility based on on where America is in 2024. I thought the characters were fleshed out and they seemed real. The three story lines for Bray, Bertran and Kage moved the story along. I really liked Bertran's story and felt engaged by it.

I admit I had some trepidation about reading this one. I know it's written from a vegan animal rights point of view and I was afraid that it would come across as preachy or scolding. It did not. That view was there but I never felt berated by it.

I recommend this one, it is well worth the read!

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't my normal read, but I loved it! I had a hard time putting it down. There was a little bit of everything; heartbreak, suspense, and representation of the LGBTQIA+ community! As an animal advocate, there were some passages that were hard on the heart, but making it through them was worth it. Knowing what I know as a vegan, this book felt more like the present than a future world. I can't wait to see where the series goes!

[Jenny Doerflein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought and started reading Sentient because I know, like, and wanted support Jay. I kept reading with no relation to Jay, it was because I wanted to know what happened with the characters. If a book can do that, it gets a thumbs up from me whether it is in my normal choice for reading or not.

[Ceal Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so difficult to relate the horrors of animal agriculture to friends and family. Watch a slaughterhouse video? It only took one many years ago for me to become vegan. I don't want to see any more... I am sickened by the fear, pain, and horror suffered by these innocent beings. I won't watch any more, it is too painful. Most people I know won't. But if we love animals, we cannot look the other way and pretend these atrocities don't exist. There is a relatively painless way to learn more, and in an entertaining way. Recommend this book. A very pleasant read with no horror, just real human emotion and understanding. Here, Jay VanLandingham, the author of the novel "Sentient" allows us to experience, through the lives of those involved, the human emotional journey and struggles of animal activists, illegal immigrants trapped by agribusiness, and their friends and families. This book took hold of me from chapter one, and by the final few chapters, I was in tears. I cannot believe this is Jay's first novel, and I cannot wait for the next.

[Yennie Fer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea was there. I loved the concept, but I couldn't be drawn into the characters. I've made it halfway through the book. The book didn't emotionally MOVE me like I'd like. Good concept, just can't feel the connection.