Paradise

by Jonathan Fore

They promised her that no matter what happened, they would be waiting there for her. They promised that it would only be two weeks, a short vacation, just some time to spend together and away from the daily demands of parenthood. They promised it would be just like going to sleep, and before she knew it, it would be over. These were promises they could not keep.

They always told Hope that Paradise was the place they would wait--forever. Paradise was where they married long before Hope was born. It was the faith instilled, over and again before placing her in stasis. Just a short respite, a vacation to work things out Hope was too young to understand.

While locked in stasis, a solar storm ravages the planet, burning the life from those exposed and bringing society to ruin. Helpless in the stasis pod, Hope absorbs an educational augmentation program, not for two weeks, but for centuries, awaiting her parents’ return.

Michigan, a young hunter in a tribe of hunter-gatherers discovers Hope during a mating contest and awakens her to a world where she inhabits the body of an adult, is emotionally only seven, and the is final vessel of all humanities applied knowledge.

Plagued with the unending monotone voices lecturing knowledge implanted during stasis, Hope tries to adapt to this new world, to this small tribe, themselves failing to illness, to a dwindling food supply, and the unrelenting taking of the Amabo. The Amabo were once a peaceful philanthropic tribe, caring for those survivors unable to care for themselves. Now they are brutal takers. Their culture is one of violence, of dominance, and the collecting of their needs from others. A practice, after so many generations, that has become their birthright.

Hope and Michigan resolve to find Paradise, to fulfill the last promise of her parents and free themselves from a world of savage collection.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2011

About the author

Jonathan Fore was born in Marysville, Ohio in 1968, the third son of Dave and Judy Fore. After graduating Manalapan High School in 1987, Jon enlisted in the United States Navy, serving a combat role during Desert Storm.

Jonathan lives in Florida with his beautiful wife Lisa, and three wonderful children, two dogs (Katie aka. Nutter-Butter-Butt and Po-po), and a cat or two. The cats' names were withheld because cats don't really use them. I mean, why would they? They never come when you call them. I suppose if you could spell the sound of a cat food can being opened ...

Now Jonathan works as a full-time technologist, fails as an impromptu comedian, works with inspiring writers both young and old, and is a full time biker (almost always successful).

Jonathan is currently writing a young adult novel series called Lexicon Chase and the Kingdom of Everhope, the first title, Lexicon Chase and the Scrolls of the Harlequin was released to critical acclaim on September 25th of 2015.

Reviews

[Jonathan Fore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am the author of this book, so I really like it.

[Kate Seger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once you turn off your inner editor, this is a wonderful book. When a young woman from a high tech future manages to survive a near extinction event, she awakens in a woman's body with a mind full of computer generated knowledge, in a world very different from the one she fell asleep in as a child. Sci -fi, adventure, romance and more are mingled in this esoteric novel that beautifully depicts the power of both a culture and individuals to overcome "the way it is" and see the light of "what could be."

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful work that explores life after the fall of modern civilization when what was left of humanity has returned to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, that is until the appearance of an "ancient" (modern human being) who awakes from the chamber where she has been frozen for generations. This special "yellow haired girl", having been exposed to a wealth of modern information and knowledge during her slumber through the technology of the past, leads her adoptive tribe to a new vision of civilization. There is romance, there is food for thought, and there is excitement. I truly enjoyed this read, despite a number of typos throughout that can be somewhat distracting. It was beautifully written and well worth reading, perhaps more than once!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read sci-fi but a friend recommended it and I was pleasantly surprised! The concept of this book was a really good one, very fresh and unique! Hope is so well developed, and the minor characters were rich and interesting. The twists never detracted from my complete enjoyment of this book. As a story about love, fighting for survival, and (no pun intended) hope even in a dystopian age, Paradise is truly a fantastic book.

[Darby · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I liked about the story (without trying to give too much away) is that though it was sort of a dystopia kind of book it wasn't all that tragically sad. The ending was very good, a little sad but still happy. Um, yeah. So if any questions feel free to ask.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per Wikipedia:
Paradise is a religious term for a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the supposed miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and idleness.
Paradise is often described as a “higher place”, the holiest place, in contrast to Hell.

Paradise by Jon Fore can only be described as a thought-provoking novel, because while we certainly concentrate on how a true apocalypse can happen (I’m talking, the lights have gone out and say goodbye to 99% of human civilization), we don’t often think too hard about what can come after. But what does come after something of that magnitude? Jon Fore’s novel explores that, and more, by creating a cataclysmic event that gives the world a second chance.

In Paradise, the world as we know it ends abruptly and violently, the seas boiling, humans burning and everything is lights-out. A small percentage of humans survive, including one little girl, Hope, who exists in what can only be described as a time-capsule of sorts, feeding her sustenance and knowledge while the centuries churn by and humanity picks up the pieces. She goes in at seven-years-old with the world in tact; she emerges a young woman to something very different.

Paradise is a very unusual novel, and at times, I wasn’t sure if I was enjoying it, while at other times, I simply couldn’t put it down. Fore has managed to create the kind of “after” that explores what would happen in the event of a “lights-out” situation, but he’s taken it three steps further: humanity isn’t existing just by its leftovers; it’s like it has received a second chance, a do over if you will, and we’ve gone back to the beginning, we’re reinventing the wheel. At times, this premise made for a slow read, with some info-dumping, which was frustrating while reading it. But having finished the book, I now appreciate how he got us from Point A to Point B, because the information was necessary throughout the novel and brought me to love Hope that much more.

I only finished this book a day ago, but I found myself thinking of Hope, and her life for the majority of the day after, and above all, I thought mostly of her purpose. Throughout most of Paradise, I wondered why Hope was special, and what her purpose was. I often thought about the impossibilities of her situation (existing in a glass coffin, for example, after the lights go out) and how Fore would address those (or would he ever???). Honestly, it was a factor that also frustrated me throughout most of the novel but….the ending was so perfect, it answered most of my questions. The rest, I assume, have to do with general religious or holy ideals (don’t worry, there is nothing religious or preachy about Paradise), and I can accept some higher power in the story had a hand in things.

I wish that Fore had explored more of Paradise City, it was such a fascinating portion of the book. A lot went in to the description of the tribe life, but this reader wanted more of life after-tribe, because that was such an integral part of Hope and her “more.” I wish I could go into more, because it was my favorite part of the book, hands-down, but I’d be giving away the farm if I told you any more about it. Overall, I really enjoyed Paradise and the underlying themes (everything you are searching for is there if you look hard enough) that accompanied it.
And above all, I loved Hope’s purpose.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book!

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. When I first started reading this book, it seemed like a cross between 'Clan of the Cave Bear' and 'Idiocracy.' I still can't think of a better way to describe the concept/setting of this book. Hope is put in a containment unit that keeps her in suspended animation while her parents go on a trip; however, while she is in there an apocalyptic event happens that wipes out most of the people on Earth. We are then transported to Michigan (person’s name not the state)'s tribe. Hope eventually wakes up and we are given a majority of the book that revolves around Hope trying to understand the tribe and them listening to her stories of the 'ancients,' all while Hope is searching for a place called 'Paradise' where her parents should be waiting for her. The story and concept were very interesting, but I did not feel that I got to know very much about any of the characters. Some of them were describes as chatty/talkative, strong, healers, ect. However, I never got to see them in action. I was just told how these people were and was expected to want to know more about the story. The pace of the story was pretty good until the last few pages. After a whole book that only spanned a few weeks, maybe months, the last few pages all of a sudden summarized almost hundreds of years. It did not feel like a real ending and left me a bit disappointed. Overall, I liked the book, but I wanted to want to know the characters and their plights more.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise, but didn't really feel things were developed. Certain parts of the boom were rushed, which in my opinion were more interesting to explore and certain things had a lot of time spent when I didn't think it was overly important. The ending felt quite a bit rushed as well. There were so many editing errors as well that distracted fem the story.

[Marika Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of the book more than the book itself. Had potential but failed to live up to it.