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November #4
August
After a sterility plague has nearly extincted mankind, a few men begin to manifest a rare and unpredictable ability to bear children. As everyone struggles to rebuild, these Carriers try to find their own identity in a changing world - and become the targets of a desperate society.
For former professor Phidias Alexander and his son Cadmus, the Change means traveling away from everything they know, moving halfway across the globe to the home of wealthy businessman Henrik Angstrom and the wild unknown of the Arabian desert. Transitioning into a world of captured brides, arranged marriages, unimaginable luxury, political machinations and mysterious scientists, Phidias slowly comes to know himself - and comes to question his powerful and enigmatic husband.
Warning: Rape/Non-Con
Words: 112290 complete
For former professor Phidias Alexander and his son Cadmus, the Change means traveling away from everything they know, moving halfway across the globe to the home of wealthy businessman Henrik Angstrom and the wild unknown of the Arabian desert. Transitioning into a world of captured brides, arranged marriages, unimaginable luxury, political machinations and mysterious scientists, Phidias slowly comes to know himself - and comes to question his powerful and enigmatic husband.
Warning: Rape/Non-Con
Words: 112290 complete
337 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 1, 2012
As with Kabi's November, I hate this world, but I have to admire the writer.
April 3, 2013
Amazing!
I recommend this to all MM+SciFi fans out there. Even if you didn't like November, August is different enough to be worth having another go at this series. There is Dom/sub in how the relationships are structured, but mostly on an emotional level rather than involving ritualised D/s "scenes" (as in "Ivan Kosin" for example).
I read November first so the plot twists in August came as a very nice surprise. November is more post-apocalyptic dystopia, whereas August seems to have hints of of the paranormal while still advancing the themes introduced in earlier stories.
Okay, for the skeptics, it could be mind-altering effects of the "Change- agent", or drugs plus developing religion-cults under the pressure of a society pulling back from the brink of extinction. But seriously,
I recommend this to all MM+SciFi fans out there. Even if you didn't like November, August is different enough to be worth having another go at this series. There is Dom/sub in how the relationships are structured, but mostly on an emotional level rather than involving ritualised D/s "scenes" (as in "Ivan Kosin" for example).
I read November first so the plot twists in August came as a very nice surprise. November is more post-apocalyptic dystopia, whereas August seems to have hints of of the paranormal while still advancing the themes introduced in earlier stories.
Okay, for the skeptics, it could be mind-altering effects of the "Change- agent", or drugs plus developing religion-cults under the pressure of a society pulling back from the brink of extinction. But seriously,
October 11, 2012
A good read. I don't know what to say about this one or November.
January 26, 2012
Set in the same world as November. Biological warfare has wiped out all fertile women and a small number of men have mutated to be able to bear children, including becoming weaker and acquiring some feminine traits. Of course they're immediately coveted and fought over by the normal men, and get stripped of all rights and sent to a "carrier education center" to prepare for a lifetime of child bearing and subservience. This is a very dark work with lots of rapes and nonconsensual situations, though the rapes are not described graphically, but it's also well written and tightly plotted, and with happy endings for enough (not all) of the characters to be satisfying.
The related story, Ivan Kosin, on the author's website, is also very good, and actually not as dark as August.
The related story, Ivan Kosin, on the author's website, is also very good, and actually not as dark as August.
March 8, 2015
Less dystopian than November. Some signs that "men" and "carriers" can actually have a decent relationship. Disparate plot lines with lots of back and forth. Again for me it's like watching something I don't want to see, but it's so fascinating I can't stop looking.
April 17, 2023
So I'm confused by the ending and a few other things...
Spoilers...
Henrick made a shot that can turn normal men into carries and all the governments knew... My question is how come the government didn't just turn a lot of men to help repopulate the world. Seems like our governments would do that...
Next question... Henrick made another shot from Phidias and used the blood from one that got turned by Phidias shot to turn someone else. So does this mean that carrier can pass this virus down.
Next question... Um I skimmed the first book November, but do these men actually grow lady parts.. Because I was under the impression that the men had female organs grow in the hole already provide???? Um yeah.
Some things I didn't like were how the men who married or courted or raped the carrier men the normal men called the carrier men wives.. The carries were men, are still men cause they have a penis testicles and testosterone, and these carrier men are just supposed to take this shit. Like dude guys everyone the carrier men are freaking men, but they force them to wear skirts and make up and shit. I don't get it. The government also brain washed the younger kid who are carriers.
Damn guys use caution reading this because it kinda bleak and depressing...... Like no love. Sorry 😔😔
Spoilers...
Henrick made a shot that can turn normal men into carries and all the governments knew... My question is how come the government didn't just turn a lot of men to help repopulate the world. Seems like our governments would do that...
Next question... Henrick made another shot from Phidias and used the blood from one that got turned by Phidias shot to turn someone else. So does this mean that carrier can pass this virus down.
Next question... Um I skimmed the first book November, but do these men actually grow lady parts.. Because I was under the impression that the men had female organs grow in the hole already provide???? Um yeah.
Some things I didn't like were how the men who married or courted or raped the carrier men the normal men called the carrier men wives.. The carries were men, are still men cause they have a penis testicles and testosterone, and these carrier men are just supposed to take this shit. Like dude guys everyone the carrier men are freaking men, but they force them to wear skirts and make up and shit. I don't get it. The government also brain washed the younger kid who are carriers.
Damn guys use caution reading this because it kinda bleak and depressing...... Like no love. Sorry 😔😔
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2017
This dystopian series is completely fascinating to me. I love books that explore a really good "What If" - in this case, a world without women (following uncontrolled biological warfare) in which some men mutate into "carriers", developing female-style organs, but not until adolescence or even adulthood. Since the carrier/man ratio is a lot less than 50/50, every carrier must reproduce to maintain the population. More to the point, there is tremendous competition among all those men for sexual access to the carriers. This means that after years of living as men, new carriers are forced into indoctrination centers to be essentially reprogrammed, lose their jobs, suffer marriage-by-rape, and generally get to see the most repressive side of the man/woman relationship up close and personal.
Don't let the fact that the series is self-published (it's all available on Archive Of Our Own) deter you. The writing is good enough that I read everything available in just a few days.
Don't let the fact that the series is self-published (it's all available on Archive Of Our Own) deter you. The writing is good enough that I read everything available in just a few days.
March 3, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this work. It took me a while to get back to the November series due to the mess that was how the carriers were treated lol. It was a very interesting and addicting plot that I wished was longer. I would have loved to see Phidias throughout the pregnancy and the rebuilding of Dothan but of course a story can go on for so long. Hopefully it is extended on in a later story. I also loved that Ivan got dealt with and almost felt bad for him with how he was dealt with, but...oh well, he was an ass. I am REALLY looking forward to more from this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2016
This was the most disturbing story I've ever read. Full disclosure, but I did not read any other part of the series before reading this part. It was dumb on my part, but for some reason I thought it was a stand alone novel. It is, in a way, but it would probably have made more sense had I read November or the other parts in the series. Nevertheless, I finished, grudgingly, and now I get to share my two cents.
I actually really hated this book. I wish I had never read it; I would have been better off had I not.
There are three carrier's whose story this revolves around. I don't mean it in a "they're the main character", because Phidias is the main character, but there are different stories that are happening at the same time that tie together at the end. So of course there is Phidias, who wakes up one day with bloody sheets not long after his son changes, Adrian, who is from a cult, and Sheridan who resists becoming pregnant. Their lives, their husbands, and their friends, are at the center of the story.
The reason this story was so frightening to me was two reasons. The government is scary. Once men change into carriers, they no longer have rights. They are brainwashed by the CEC to be good "mothers" and frankly, the entire things was horrifying to me as a woman. It reminded me too much of what the world was like before women started to have more rights. I literally cried for Phidias as he was stripped of his identity and molded into something else. Caddy, Phidias' son shows how susceptible the youth are to this brainwashing. And this is just the government! There is an actual cult in this story!
Again, keep in mind that I have only read part 4 (and do not want to read any other part). I immediately recognized the cult methods of brainwashing used in the book. It's worse than the government because it used religious bullshit to justify even more bullshit. So Adrian and his husband Sean, every scene with them fucking made me quiver. I can handle stories about rape, violence, torture, abuse, disgusting things, really, but this cult stuff just made me sick. I don't know. It's probably because I know this stuff is real. There are real cults in the world right now that act just like this. The women are slaves to their husbands. Girls are raped at a young age and often become pregnant. Running away means your death or the death of your loved ones. You must follow the cult rules, understand them, live by them. So the Dothan society embodied everything I hate.
No, I get it now. The reason this book disturbs me so much is because there is an underlying tone throughout the book that what is happening is acceptable. Several times it is mentioned that certain characters know that everything is fucked up, but still, by the end, everyone is just complacent. At least in other stories there is some acknowledgment that someone is crazy and that the behavior is not good. I'm reading Fallocaust right now, it's fucked up, honestly, but at least they acknowledge that it's fucked up. August just feels like they give in. And it scares me. They give in.
There is nothing about this book that makes me feel satisfied, nothing that makes me want to pick it up again, recommend it, or read more. I only finished by my willpower alone. The only good thing in this book is probably the fact the Phidias at least seems to be in a loving relationship with his husband, for the most part, somewhat. He seems to like sex with him by the end. His husband is less of an asshole as I first believed. That's probably it. I HATED THIS BOOK
But I won't begrudge this book because my tastes are not the same as others. I know I'm missing out on a lot of information by jumping into the series halfway through. It was written well enough, uniquely but still to my tastes. A few errors here and there but nothing to whine over. No, it was the content. I'll give the book this: my strong reaction shows how good it is.
So I will end it at this. If you are ready to feel sick because of the psychological and physical abuse, the society that says rape is okay, the cults, the lack of rights for carriers, go right ahead my friend.
I actually really hated this book. I wish I had never read it; I would have been better off had I not.
There are three carrier's whose story this revolves around. I don't mean it in a "they're the main character", because Phidias is the main character, but there are different stories that are happening at the same time that tie together at the end. So of course there is Phidias, who wakes up one day with bloody sheets not long after his son changes, Adrian, who is from a cult, and Sheridan who resists becoming pregnant. Their lives, their husbands, and their friends, are at the center of the story.
The reason this story was so frightening to me was two reasons. The government is scary. Once men change into carriers, they no longer have rights. They are brainwashed by the CEC to be good "mothers" and frankly, the entire things was horrifying to me as a woman. It reminded me too much of what the world was like before women started to have more rights. I literally cried for Phidias as he was stripped of his identity and molded into something else. Caddy, Phidias' son shows how susceptible the youth are to this brainwashing. And this is just the government! There is an actual cult in this story!
Again, keep in mind that I have only read part 4 (and do not want to read any other part). I immediately recognized the cult methods of brainwashing used in the book. It's worse than the government because it used religious bullshit to justify even more bullshit. So Adrian and his husband Sean, every scene with them fucking made me quiver. I can handle stories about rape, violence, torture, abuse, disgusting things, really, but this cult stuff just made me sick. I don't know. It's probably because I know this stuff is real. There are real cults in the world right now that act just like this. The women are slaves to their husbands. Girls are raped at a young age and often become pregnant. Running away means your death or the death of your loved ones. You must follow the cult rules, understand them, live by them. So the Dothan society embodied everything I hate.
No, I get it now. The reason this book disturbs me so much is because there is an underlying tone throughout the book that what is happening is acceptable. Several times it is mentioned that certain characters know that everything is fucked up, but still, by the end, everyone is just complacent. At least in other stories there is some acknowledgment that someone is crazy and that the behavior is not good. I'm reading Fallocaust right now, it's fucked up, honestly, but at least they acknowledge that it's fucked up. August just feels like they give in. And it scares me. They give in.
There is nothing about this book that makes me feel satisfied, nothing that makes me want to pick it up again, recommend it, or read more. I only finished by my willpower alone. The only good thing in this book is probably the fact the Phidias at least seems to be in a loving relationship with his husband, for the most part, somewhat. He seems to like sex with him by the end. His husband is less of an asshole as I first believed. That's probably it. I HATED THIS BOOK
But I won't begrudge this book because my tastes are not the same as others. I know I'm missing out on a lot of information by jumping into the series halfway through. It was written well enough, uniquely but still to my tastes. A few errors here and there but nothing to whine over. No, it was the content. I'll give the book this: my strong reaction shows how good it is.
So I will end it at this. If you are ready to feel sick because of the psychological and physical abuse, the society that says rape is okay, the cults, the lack of rights for carriers, go right ahead my friend.
August 20, 2014
This book, it held my attention. In fact, it still does.
For me, this book and one of it companions, Ghali's Story, was difficult to read. It is extremely well written and needs little to no editing. Some might class it is Fantasy but it is all Science Fiction to me. Unlike many Sci-fi works, the science is not what grounds this work, the people ground it. Almost every person in August and its companion works could exist in the here and now. Their behaviors and related thought patterns are within the realm of human and existing possibility to me, even though I have limited experience and have lived a very closed life.
People are fearful and fear does make use controlling. Isolation and a sense of honor (deny it though some of us might) will make us step out of ordinary or regularly performed action to ensure our own or the safety of those we care about. A controlled and regulated existence will cause many a person to be come complacent or compliant. The loss of positive options with inviting outcomes will force one to look beyond what we or others would have hoped for or considered in the past. All very HUMAN and to me ordinary actions because of the humanity they illustrate. All of these adjustments, and more, illustrated in the books reference.
The only other book I can recall being so real in its Science Fiction is A Solid Core of Alpha by Amy Lane.
Both these books are spookily realistic to me. They are total bubbles of fiction, science fiction at that, that put a glaring light on what it means to be human while providing a clear view of how our instincts are still closer to the surface than we think. Not feral instincts but living, breathing, day to day, figure it out instincts.
For me, this book and one of it companions, Ghali's Story, was difficult to read. It is extremely well written and needs little to no editing. Some might class it is Fantasy but it is all Science Fiction to me. Unlike many Sci-fi works, the science is not what grounds this work, the people ground it. Almost every person in August and its companion works could exist in the here and now. Their behaviors and related thought patterns are within the realm of human and existing possibility to me, even though I have limited experience and have lived a very closed life.
People are fearful and fear does make use controlling. Isolation and a sense of honor (deny it though some of us might) will make us step out of ordinary or regularly performed action to ensure our own or the safety of those we care about. A controlled and regulated existence will cause many a person to be come complacent or compliant. The loss of positive options with inviting outcomes will force one to look beyond what we or others would have hoped for or considered in the past. All very HUMAN and to me ordinary actions because of the humanity they illustrate. All of these adjustments, and more, illustrated in the books reference.
The only other book I can recall being so real in its Science Fiction is A Solid Core of Alpha by Amy Lane.
Both these books are spookily realistic to me. They are total bubbles of fiction, science fiction at that, that put a glaring light on what it means to be human while providing a clear view of how our instincts are still closer to the surface than we think. Not feral instincts but living, breathing, day to day, figure it out instincts.
February 4, 2013
Это не книга - это адский, лютый пиздец. Хорошо написанный (самое страшное, что _верибельно_ написанный, не с точки зрения биологии, там-то полный мрак, а с той, что я верю, что такое общество может существовать), но тем не менее пиздец. Я дочитывала с надеждой ну хоть на какой-то позитив, ну хоть самую крохотную надежду на лучшее - фиг там. Автор методично, последовательно и отстраненно убивает главных героев как личностей, и в этой методичности нет никакого просвета.
Но надо отдать автору должное - писать она умеет. Хотя я не хочу знать, что у нее в голове.
Я над книгами часто плачу, но над этой у меня случилась реальная истерика (на эпизоде с утрясанием школьного расписания Адриеном и прочими вынашивателями - да, давайте мало того, что убьем свое поколение, так еще и не дадим ни малейшей надежды последующему).
В общем и целом: если жизнь и рассудок дороги вам, не притрагивайтесь к этой книге.
Но надо отдать автору должное - писать она умеет. Хотя я не хочу знать, что у нее в голове.
Я над книгами часто плачу, но над этой у меня случилась реальная истерика (на эпизоде с утрясанием школьного расписания Адриеном и прочими вынашивателями - да, давайте мало того, что убьем свое поколение, так еще и не дадим ни малейшей надежды последующему).
В общем и целом: если жизнь и рассудок дороги вам, не притрагивайтесь к этой книге.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2014
What the heck kind of ending was that after about 20 chapters of headache inducing reading? I found the couples in November much more interesting, and once the whole Phantom business was introduced I was skimming and bored to tears. Ugh. 2.5
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October 28, 2013CarrierVerse continues on AO3.
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March 27, 2013page 38
March 7, 2015
3,5 stars.
August 30, 2015
Great story, and I love the carrierverse that Kabi had created.But there are too many characters in one story that kinda confused me....
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews