The Coffee House

#4. 2500

Participant in the 2019 Chaos Awards 7 organized by CreativeChaos and judged by me under the genre Sci Fic.

Book- 2500
Genre: Science Fiction/Dystopian
Mature: Yes
LGBTQ: No

Author: zanthenewt

Book Title

The numbered title seems uncommon at its first impression but after you've read the book, it seems to be the most obvious title.

Book Cover

The cover chosen has got some skyscrapers along with a sun of a bright orange hue. Other colors are darker. The cover definitely gives the hint that the book revolves around a nation where darkness lurks in. While everything seemed fine to me, I'd suggest that the author should work on the subtitle, "Hail Our Great Fatherland." The subtitle plays a major role in the book by appearing many times and it is one important element of the book. It should be made more understandable on the cover.

Book Description

I must say that this was one good book description; especially, the question that was aimed at the readers was a very good attempt of attracting them. I don't think it needs any more improvements or additional things. I also liked how the author clearly stated the reasons for the book being of a dark theme in their section, "Warning."

Plot

Our main characters are Jeanie and Ander who share the same University: Carthowa. Jeanie just finished her graduation from Carthowa University which was in a land where women are given two options for choosing the pathways of their lives. One was, women needed to name their lives in raising children and looking after the family whereas the other one was to obtain education and bid adieu to option one forever. That was it. Jeanie chose education but she did fall in love with Ander. However, Jeanie never wanted to disobey the rules set upon and betray her nation, which was known to be Fatherland. Here's how opposite Ander is. Ander plans of a rebellion and to break the stereotypes the Father of the Fatherland set upon. It wouldn't be easy with for Ander when the world around him was constantly observed the keen watchers assigned by the Father. While the book gives some vibes of the renowned author George Orwell's "1984," it has definitely got more and different things to offer.

Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar and Vocabs

I didn't find any issues with spelling, punctuation and grammar. The vocabulary used was understandable too.

Writing Style, Character Development, Flow and Setting

The prologue was a speech by Jeanie and it had some portions where the quotations didn't close. This wasn't clear to me. The author was quite successful with the visualizations and development of the characters and the setting. Some of the great moments created were in chapter one when Jeanie was called upon by Dr. Ervin, the headmaster of Carthowa University. I also got a pretty good idea of the personality of Jeanie; she respected elders. Dr. Ervin seemed to be in support of the government and wasn't quite really elated with Jeanie's activities. There was another part where the author described Jeanie's tattoo in a very understandable way. The flow gets along well and I'd say that the prologue was spot on.

Creativity and Enjoyment

The author definitely did an amazing job when introducing Jeanie and Ander as strangers. I fell for the trap the author designed beautifully: only to discover later that they didn't share the relationship that the author convinced us about some time back. Sarcasm and humor are the strength of author- that's what I believe. There had been a comment from Ander for Jeanie's dad in chapter four which was indeed a deadly one. It was overall an amazing read and there were many clear traces that showed the author's effort.

The End