Paradigm – Ceri A. Lowe

Format: E-Book (Kindle)
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: June 13th 2014
Pages: 382 Pages
Series: Paradigm

The Blurb
What if the end of the world was just the beginning?

Alice Davenport awakens from a fever to find her mother gone and the city she lives in ravaged by storms – with few survivors.

When Alice is finally rescued, she is taken to a huge underground bunker owned by the mysterious Paradigm Industries. As the storms worsen, the hatches close.

87 years later, amidst the ruins of London, the survivors of the Storms have reinvented society. The Model maintains a perfect balance – with inhabitants routinely frozen until they are needed by the Industry.

Fifteen-year-old Carter Warren knows his time has come. Awoken from the catacombs as a contender for the role of Controller General, it is his destiny to succeed – where his parents failed.

But Carter soon discovers that the world has changed, in ways that make him begin to question everything that he believes in. As Carter is forced to fight for those he loves and even for his life, it seems that the key to the future lies in the secrets of the past.

Rating: 5/5

The Review
Thank you to the author Ceri and also Kim from Bookouture for sending me a copy of ‘Paradigm’ to read and review.

I’ve been wanting to read something ‘different’ lately and with the nature of Paradigm, I certainly got that. Paradigm is the first in the trilogy and I have to say it was fantastic. I know I need a better word to describe amazement, but hey, fantastic is the best you’re going to get!

I can’t say I’ve read a Dystopia novel before so it was a nice introduction into this genre. I think I understand the nature of the content, so in all honesty, I would probably read more. For those that don’t know Dystopian Fiction…’(sometimes referred to as apocalyptic literature) is a creation of an utterly horrible or degraded society that is generally headed to an irreversible oblivion…’ (Thanks, Wiki for the info’).

You follow the lives of both Alice and Carter who have experienced the nature of the deadly Storms. The Storms are the product of Global Warming and they have destroyed modern life as we know it. There’s hardly anyone alive and those that are, are taken to the Community and programmed to live the Community life.

I know Dystopia novels have a nature of pessimism, but wow, it definitely made you think how lucky you are. I couldn’t imagine losing my entire family and being the only one alive and then having to readjust to living a restricted life. I think your feelings would take over and the longing for your previous life would kick in. Ceri has a great imagination and draws you in with the Community lifestyle and describes the destruction of Earth to a realistic level. Alice and Carter see things that you wouldn’t want to ever experience, dead animals and people, friends becoming insane and also, their homes being destroyed.

You’d think living in the Community would be harrowing enough but no, there’s always someone or a group of people that are corrupt. Living in confined spaces with a large number of people isn’t always going to be a bed of roses and both Alice and Carter realize this. In a place like the Community you’ve got to be careful who you can trust and for me, I didn’t expect a certain someone (I won’t tell you who) to do what they did! Can you feel all the mystery? he he.

If you’re keen to give Dystopia a go I’d definitely recommend Paradigm. It’s not too depressing where you finish and think ‘Oh, I need to go sit in a dark room and cry’ but more that you sit there and think ‘Wow, that issue really hits home’.

You can purchase ‘Paradigm’ on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Paperback.

Find out more about Ceri at her website www.cerialowe.com on and on Twitter @cerilowepetrask.