A new world and a strong message of hope reside in new science fiction book
Science fiction books provide a wonderful and entertaining way to temporarily escape the real world, whisking readers away to new planets and galaxies only found within the imagination. More and more are being published every year and many new science fiction stories from new writers are making their names known through the online crowdfunding publisher, Inkshares. The newest addition to their science fiction collection houses many elements of fantasy and is one of the five winners of The Nerdist Collection Contest. Brian Guthrie’s Rise comes out this month for all readers to enjoy and escape into.
People reside on a shattered planet. The fragments of the world’s crust are known as Shells and are nothing but barren wastelands and deserts. An ancient technology known as the Network sustains humanity; however, the Network is breaking down. On top of that, water is becoming scarce and the people residing on the different Shells are beginning to turn on one another. With a war on the rise, who will step up to try and stop it? Four strangers meet and find they must join together to save humanity from itself.
With the wonderful mixture of science fiction and fantasy, Rise would make an excellent addition to Square Enix’s well-known Final Fantasy franchise. Along with the similar story arcs found in the popular video games, Guthrie’s world is truly amazing and rather large; so large that only a part of it is shared in the first book of his Future Worlds series. For such a large world and such a large book, it is a story that readers should take their time reading. It is best not to rush through and take all in at once, for it can be overwhelming at times with information and traumatic experiences endured by the characters.
There are many terrible events the characters go through. On a world that has shattered and the few means left used for survival dwindling, how can terrible events not happen? Even after everything his characters endure, Guthrie has created incredibly likeable and relatable characters, each with his or her own personality and readers will find themselves growing very attached to certain ones. Amongst these characters and amongst the struggles they endure, Guthrie relays a simple, yet powerful message: hope. Hope, unfortunately, always seems to be fading, both in fictional worlds and in reality; however, Guthrie encourages readers to never lose hope. Even if only a sliver of it remains in the darkest of times, NEVER lose it.
What a world readers will be introduced to in Rise. A large and well-developed world one must take the time to be introduced to to become fully immersed within. For the first in his series, Guthrie has most certainly made an impression with not only his world, but his use of detail, his well-developed characters, and his underlying message. These are just a few elements readers will take away and enjoy. Rise offers an excellent escape from reality while also showing that there is hope even in a dark reality. Even Guthrie’s dedication is full of hope: To the broken, the shattered; Those whose world has been torn apart. To those hiding in a dark room, longing for the light; Those who have lost hope. This story is for you. Perhaps someday, when Guthrie’s Future Worlds series is complete, Square Enix will make it into a game. For now, it makes an amazing introduction to a series destined for greatness and to those who fall in love with Rise, its sequel Fall is now available for pre-order.
