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Freedom
In a future Earth, Patrick Harvey, newly promoted Class One Empath, dreams of the independence his position brings and the apartment he’s saving for. His first solo assignment is treating John Doe 439, a man found outside the city, battered, traumatized, and apparently mute. Despite a strong taboo against Empaths forging romantic relationships, Patrick realizes he feels a strong attraction to his patient. Soon he learns the man is a high-level Psychic Talent named Jac. Then Jac reveals that there are abusive people hunting him for his gifts, and Patrick’s uncomplicated world explodes. Jac needs to meet up with his companions and flee the city before anyone else can find him—but it may be too late. Word of Jac’s talents has leaked to Central Government in Chicago. If Jac wants to retain his freedom, he needs to run—now. And if Patrick wants to explore a relationship his society tells him he can’t have, he’ll have to exchange the safe fetters of his job for the uncertainty of liberty.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 10, 2013
7 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Jay Kirkpatrick
3 books25 followersJay Kirkpatrick has been writing since she could first hold a pencil. When her epic six-line poem The Fox Running was read by the teacher to the entire first-grade class, she knew this is one thing she'd always do.
Years before she ever heard of fanfic, she was writing stories about The Monkees, Garrison's Gorillas, and Lancer. In her early years of fandom (Anyone remember fiction round robins by snail mail?) she wrote Darkover stories, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, and more, along with nonfanfiction.
While working as a journalist and teacher, her biggest playgrounds were in AOL Live Roleplay chat rooms (years ago), in Lord of the Rings fandoms, and finally writing her own original fiction again.
Now, after a long and nonending battle with manic depression, Jay spends her days at home with her wonderful partner of twenty-six years and their twenty-four-year-old daughter... and also the world's best mongrel dog and two lazy and evil cats.
Years before she ever heard of fanfic, she was writing stories about The Monkees, Garrison's Gorillas, and Lancer. In her early years of fandom (Anyone remember fiction round robins by snail mail?) she wrote Darkover stories, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, and more, along with nonfanfiction.
While working as a journalist and teacher, her biggest playgrounds were in AOL Live Roleplay chat rooms (years ago), in Lord of the Rings fandoms, and finally writing her own original fiction again.
Now, after a long and nonending battle with manic depression, Jay spends her days at home with her wonderful partner of twenty-six years and their twenty-four-year-old daughter... and also the world's best mongrel dog and two lazy and evil cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
June 15, 2018
Posted at Shelf Inflicted
While I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, it makes me very happy when the cover is directly relevant to the story and characters within and captures their essence so perfectly. Just one glance at the cover and I knew that life would not be easy for Patrick, Jac and other sensitive individuals possessing empathic abilities.
Patrick Harvey’s abilities were sufficient enough to land him a position in the Empath Center. Even though he misses his friends, he feels lucky to live a comfortable life and not have to endure the subsistence living conditions of the Outside, on the outskirts of New Las Vegas. His first and most challenging assignment is treating Jac, a man who has endured so much emotional pain and trauma that his mind is a chaotic jumble and he is unable to communicate. Patrick uses his empathy to gain his trust and learn the source of his suffering. It takes a bit of time, as Patrick learns that Jac deeply distrusts the white uniforms of the Empath Center staff. The more he discovers about Jac, his friends and family, his strong empathic abilities, and a life totally different from anything Patrick ever knew, the more he begins to question his own life and values.
The first part of the story, Confinement, was about Jac’s treatment at the Empath Center. There were glimpses into Patrick’s life, his friendships and his work. A vibrant cast of characters is introduced, and Jac’s talents are revealed. Though pain and desperation permeates the first half, making it intense reading, I was gripped right from the start and fell in love with Patrick and Jac. The second part, Escape, is told in multiple viewpoints, is fast-paced with much less emphasis on Jac’s and Patrick’s developing relationship and more on their relationship with their friends, their growth and change. Escape is not easy and Patrick and Jac really have their work cut out for them. Jac’s talent makes him attractive to his enemies, who just want to break him. Thanks to their supportive friends who have a desire to build a strong sense of community, there is hope for those with talents.
If you like thoughtful science fiction in a dystopian setting, well-drawn, strong and diverse characters, intense emotions and an engaging plot, then look no further.
This is the first novel by Jay Kirkpatrick and I certainly hope it won’t be the last.
While I’m not one to judge a book by its cover, it makes me very happy when the cover is directly relevant to the story and characters within and captures their essence so perfectly. Just one glance at the cover and I knew that life would not be easy for Patrick, Jac and other sensitive individuals possessing empathic abilities.
Patrick Harvey’s abilities were sufficient enough to land him a position in the Empath Center. Even though he misses his friends, he feels lucky to live a comfortable life and not have to endure the subsistence living conditions of the Outside, on the outskirts of New Las Vegas. His first and most challenging assignment is treating Jac, a man who has endured so much emotional pain and trauma that his mind is a chaotic jumble and he is unable to communicate. Patrick uses his empathy to gain his trust and learn the source of his suffering. It takes a bit of time, as Patrick learns that Jac deeply distrusts the white uniforms of the Empath Center staff. The more he discovers about Jac, his friends and family, his strong empathic abilities, and a life totally different from anything Patrick ever knew, the more he begins to question his own life and values.
The first part of the story, Confinement, was about Jac’s treatment at the Empath Center. There were glimpses into Patrick’s life, his friendships and his work. A vibrant cast of characters is introduced, and Jac’s talents are revealed. Though pain and desperation permeates the first half, making it intense reading, I was gripped right from the start and fell in love with Patrick and Jac. The second part, Escape, is told in multiple viewpoints, is fast-paced with much less emphasis on Jac’s and Patrick’s developing relationship and more on their relationship with their friends, their growth and change. Escape is not easy and Patrick and Jac really have their work cut out for them. Jac’s talent makes him attractive to his enemies, who just want to break him. Thanks to their supportive friends who have a desire to build a strong sense of community, there is hope for those with talents.
If you like thoughtful science fiction in a dystopian setting, well-drawn, strong and diverse characters, intense emotions and an engaging plot, then look no further.
This is the first novel by Jay Kirkpatrick and I certainly hope it won’t be the last.
March 20, 2013
~ ~ ~
4.8 Stars
Splendor/Tragedy
Serenity/Anguish
Humanity/Brutality
Touch/Disconnect
An absorbing read that was equally exhilarating and thought-provoking. I was immediately pulled into this book by expressive writing and palpable characters.
Written in a Part 1 – Confinement / Part 2 – Escape format; Freedom is a captivating look at post-apocalyptic earth where psychic ability determines your status in society. Everyone is tested and ranked according to their abilities and usefulness. The higher one tests is not necessarily a good thing. Having “Talent” is the difference between living a hard street life or being a useful member of society. OR, being a tool to be broken.
Plus, the cover is striking and perfect for the story. It's the best depiction I've seen in a while.
THE CHARACTERS
Patrick Harvey (Paddy) - Naïve, intelligent, gentle and kind. Patrick has much to learn about a world he though he knew well.
John Doe 439 (Jac) - Unique, special, Talented. Jac changes Patrick’s world while relearning it himself.
The additional characters; Charlie, Sam, Rob and more are all fully realized and completely interesting. Ms. Kirkpatrick truly fleshed out each secondary creating a very full story.
THE STORY
Newly promoted Patrick gets a crack at his first solo case, John Doe 439. John Doe has seemingly lost all decipherable communication skills, but Patrick is determined to make progress. Slowly the two learn to communicate and then, more importantly, to connect. The astounding beauty within Jac (John Doe) reveals itself to Patrick gradually, but others are becoming aware of his ‘specialness’ too. The world is turned upside down when we see that it isn’t Jac who is unclear, but instead Patrick who must decide whether to follow Jac into the unknown or remain in a world of deception.
A tender moment, one of the most special lovemaking scenes I have read, cements the reader’s need to see Paddy and Jac survive. But there are many, many difficulties and even interesting current (real life) moral issues you may have to come to terms with in deciding whether their relationship works for you. Lots of food for thought here.
No onscreen sex, but the stunning impressions made by the romance are dazzling.
THE WRITING
There’s an interesting usage of mixed POV’s which flowed surprisingly well. I believe this is a first published work for Jay Kirkpatrick, and if that’s true, this is an outstanding effort. The author has shown humanity's capacity for ugliness and brutality, compassion through touch, and how strong community can adapt to survive to create awareness of what is truly important.
EXCEPTIONAL
~ ~ ~
I truly want to thank Dreamspinner Press for taking a chance and sending me an ARC of this fantastic novel. Thank you.
~ ~ ~
Take a look at my Male/Male Romance Book Blog:
http://www.attentionisarbitrary.blogspot.com
4.8 Stars
Splendor/Tragedy
Serenity/Anguish
Humanity/Brutality
Touch/Disconnect
An absorbing read that was equally exhilarating and thought-provoking. I was immediately pulled into this book by expressive writing and palpable characters.
Written in a Part 1 – Confinement / Part 2 – Escape format; Freedom is a captivating look at post-apocalyptic earth where psychic ability determines your status in society. Everyone is tested and ranked according to their abilities and usefulness. The higher one tests is not necessarily a good thing. Having “Talent” is the difference between living a hard street life or being a useful member of society. OR, being a tool to be broken.
”People like you and me, Paddy, we’re the lucky ones,” he said quietly. “We tested nicely into pre-established categories. We’re Talented enough to be usedful, but not Talented enough to be interesting.”
Plus, the cover is striking and perfect for the story. It's the best depiction I've seen in a while.
THE CHARACTERS
Patrick Harvey (Paddy) - Naïve, intelligent, gentle and kind. Patrick has much to learn about a world he though he knew well.
I wanted to know what was in his mind, what his Talents were, how his life had been. I wanted… I wanted to taste his mouth again, to feel those hard but tender fingers touch my skin. I wanted… wanted…
You can have.
John Doe 439 (Jac) - Unique, special, Talented. Jac changes Patrick’s world while relearning it himself.
The additional characters; Charlie, Sam, Rob and more are all fully realized and completely interesting. Ms. Kirkpatrick truly fleshed out each secondary creating a very full story.
THE STORY
Newly promoted Patrick gets a crack at his first solo case, John Doe 439. John Doe has seemingly lost all decipherable communication skills, but Patrick is determined to make progress. Slowly the two learn to communicate and then, more importantly, to connect. The astounding beauty within Jac (John Doe) reveals itself to Patrick gradually, but others are becoming aware of his ‘specialness’ too. The world is turned upside down when we see that it isn’t Jac who is unclear, but instead Patrick who must decide whether to follow Jac into the unknown or remain in a world of deception.
He is changing me in ways I didn’t know I could change.
A tender moment, one of the most special lovemaking scenes I have read, cements the reader’s need to see Paddy and Jac survive. But there are many, many difficulties and even interesting current (real life) moral issues you may have to come to terms with in deciding whether their relationship works for you. Lots of food for thought here.
No onscreen sex, but the stunning impressions made by the romance are dazzling.
THE WRITING
There’s an interesting usage of mixed POV’s which flowed surprisingly well. I believe this is a first published work for Jay Kirkpatrick, and if that’s true, this is an outstanding effort. The author has shown humanity's capacity for ugliness and brutality, compassion through touch, and how strong community can adapt to survive to create awareness of what is truly important.
Patrick stared at the white toilet on the white floor against the white wall in his tiny white bathroom and listened to the sound of illusions shattering.
EXCEPTIONAL
~ ~ ~
I truly want to thank Dreamspinner Press for taking a chance and sending me an ARC of this fantastic novel. Thank you.
~ ~ ~
Take a look at my Male/Male Romance Book Blog:
http://www.attentionisarbitrary.blogspot.com
December 4, 2013
Food for thought, that’s what this book is. This is more than a futuristic gay romance, it is a look at something we view as a basic necessity in life, and a gift: freedom… the dictionary calls it:
*the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without restraint
*absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government
*the state of being physically unrestricted; not being imprisoned or enslaved
*the power of self-determination attributed to the will
But it is also a state of mind.
Patrick Henry is our hero in Freedom, and he seems to have never really thought deeply about his own freedom within his world. That is, not until he meets his patient, John Doe#439/Jaq. Little by little, Patrick’s eyes are opened to what his ‘perfect’ life really is, and just how much he has given up for safety and security.
Freedom takes place in an alternative universe, ‘new’ Las Vegas, New Earth. It is post-apocalyptic, post cataclysmic— we never really learn what the ‘Burst’ is that so devastated the country, leaving a society divided between those who are ‘in’ and those who are ‘out’. The former live in protected, walled Cities, under guaranteed safety but also severe structure and surveillance (cameras are everywhere; citizens are tagged with tracking devices); while the latter live in the back-and-beyond in near anarchy, are seen as degenerates, are left to a scrounging subsistence.
For Patrick, living inside the City has always been the goal. There, at the Empath Center, he can use his abilities to help others. In this world, some are born with extra-sensory abilities: empathic, telepathic, telekinetic, and these gifts are highly sought-after by the powers that be. These valued abilities are the tickets to life on the Inside. Patrick is a Class One Empath and he is given his first big case, to work with Jaq, a severely beaten and raped, mentally broken, shell of a man found left in the desert to die. Patrick is anxious to prove himself, excited to finally help someone in need, spurred by the challenge of finding the key to Jaq’s mental prison.
But who is really the needy one here? As he finds out more about Jaq and his life on the Outside, Patrick discovers the limitations in his own life. Perhaps Jaq has known greater freedom than Patrick has ever imagined. Patrick’s whole world is set on end as his eyes are slowly opened to what he has given up for that safe and secure life. He also becomes aware of long suppressed emotions sparked by his close interaction with Jaq. The scenes where Patrick works to help Jaq out his nightmare are some of my favorites.
Patrick learns that security comes at a personal cost, and it is easy to make correlations to our present day situation— with surveillance cameras on every corner, drone technology, data mining of phone and internet correspondence in the name of security, the Patriot Act— insidiously and surely, freedom is being altered.
This book is very strong through the wonderful first half. The writing, plotting and pacing are well done, the characters, all of them, compelling. If there is a weakness, it is in Patrick. He is at times frustrating, seemingly naive and too malleable: he has allowed himself to be manipulated by those in charge, he has buried his head in the proverbial sand. It is hard to believe that he could be so oblivious. What saves him is his purity of soul and his nurturing, kind spirit. On the other end, Jaq is a truly unique character, a man of hidden depths. It’s a mistake to discount him, he is more than he seems.The second half of the book is a little less satisfying— it does have great action and drama, but there is an OTT bad-guy who just turns goonish. Also, Jaq and Patrick are separated for much of it… and leaving the cocoon of their blossoming intimacy is jarring.
For me, Freedom draws parallels with where we are right now in our own ‘negotiations’ for security and safety and how these will inevitably affect our access to freedom. This raises it to five stars. Oh, and it is a great love story too!
For this review and other great M/M book reviews and discussion, give aways and lots more, please visit:
The Blog of Sid Love
March 20, 2017
It's difficult to write a review that contains no spoilers, and even more difficult to try to describe how beautifully this story was written. Thanks to Lisa for writing a great review which pushed me over the line to read this book.
The two MCs, Paddy and Jac, are brought together when Paddy is given Jac as a patient. Paddy is a Level One Impath and was told he needed to evaluate and see if there was anything worth saving in Jac. Jac had been physically injured. He made no sense when he spoke and no one thought he would recover. Paddy learns why no one was able to understand Jac and from there, they learned how to communicate with each other.
There is a sweetness to Jac that I dare anyone not to fall for. He is the kind of person you want to cuddle up to. His personality is generous and more than special.
Paddy is trying to figure out why he is so drawn to Jac and what was so great about Freedom.
There are very few books I give five stars to, especially ones that aren't dark, emotional erotica. This is one of those books that I can't describe other than to say I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I hope you don't miss it either.
The two MCs, Paddy and Jac, are brought together when Paddy is given Jac as a patient. Paddy is a Level One Impath and was told he needed to evaluate and see if there was anything worth saving in Jac. Jac had been physically injured. He made no sense when he spoke and no one thought he would recover. Paddy learns why no one was able to understand Jac and from there, they learned how to communicate with each other.
There is a sweetness to Jac that I dare anyone not to fall for. He is the kind of person you want to cuddle up to. His personality is generous and more than special.
Paddy is trying to figure out why he is so drawn to Jac and what was so great about Freedom.
There are very few books I give five stars to, especially ones that aren't dark, emotional erotica. This is one of those books that I can't describe other than to say I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I hope you don't miss it either.
November 30, 2013
Umm...this was different! And I LIKED it!!
So this is set in a post-apocalyptic New Las Vegas where humans have developed powers of the mind...Empaths, Telepaths, Telekinetics...and Illusionists. Patrick, a Class One Empath, has finally been given his first solo case: a John Doe who has been tortured and raped and left with a mind so broken he can't even communicate.
I was initially confused for a bit since I didn't read the blurb before starting, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down! It was different and I loved the characters and I wanted to see all the questions answered. Then, instead of turning into a romance, it turned into a fight for freedom...but still kept me interested.
The first half of the book was pretty much a 5 star read for me, but the second half was all over the place with so many point of view changes. This has to be the first book I've ever read that incorporated both past and present tenses along with first, second and third person POVs! And while it was done well, IMO, throughout the first half of the book, it got pretty sloppy in the second half. Plus, I felt it should have had a longer ending to better explain the HEA. Still really liked it, though.
So this is set in a post-apocalyptic New Las Vegas where humans have developed powers of the mind...Empaths, Telepaths, Telekinetics...and Illusionists. Patrick, a Class One Empath, has finally been given his first solo case: a John Doe who has been tortured and raped and left with a mind so broken he can't even communicate.
I was initially confused for a bit since I didn't read the blurb before starting, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down! It was different and I loved the characters and I wanted to see all the questions answered. Then, instead of turning into a romance, it turned into a fight for freedom...but still kept me interested.
The first half of the book was pretty much a 5 star read for me, but the second half was all over the place with so many point of view changes. This has to be the first book I've ever read that incorporated both past and present tenses along with first, second and third person POVs! And while it was done well, IMO, throughout the first half of the book, it got pretty sloppy in the second half. Plus, I felt it should have had a longer ending to better explain the HEA. Still really liked it, though.
April 3, 2013
It was a 3 stars because I do like it especially the premise of the story. I just have this niggling feeling that it could be better.
The beginning of the story draws me in steadily and surely. I like the unique interactions between the two main MCs - Patrick aka Paddy and John Doe 439 aka Jac/Jacson.
Jac is quite an endearing character to me. He is childlike although being a full grown adult. The reason behind this is still an unexplained mystery. At first, I thought it's because of the myriad of drugs the Empath Center forced upon him. I was baffled when he continued to act the same way even after being drug free.
"The drugs are starting to kick back in, and he’s shaking his head like a dog with water in its ears, trying to clear the effects."
I find it hard to believe... He is so much like a child below 10 years old or younger. Too pure, naive and innocent as if he lived under a rock or something although
Jac's so cute here :)
“What Parri like. Some ting.”
“Ahh….” I consider for a moment. “I like dogs.”
“Dog. Woof?” He barks at me quizzically, confirming.
“Yes.” I have to grin.
His smile is small and genuinely pleased, crinkling the skin around those laser blue eyes. “Parri like woof dog?”
“Has he been talking this baby talk the whole time?” Rob asked. Jac raised his head and glared at Rob, then at Dana, then back at Rob"
Another thing is that, I find the attraction between Paddy and Jac mind boggling and questionable.
Paddy: "I told myself I couldn’t possibly be attracted to him. After all, he was nobody. Not a citizen. He had nothing. He couldn’t even feed or clothe himself if the Center didn’t do it. Sure he was a good-looking man in a starved kind of way.
Paddy does have some valid points here but he could well just be attracted to Jac physically or it could be that Jac's innocents tugs his heartstrings. What's harder to believe is not Paddy's attraction to Jac but Jac's affection towards Paddy which was not as clearly expressed in the story as Paddy's was. I know Paddy has been kind to Jac and treated him nice but that alone shouldn't be enough reason to endear Paddy to Jac. Sigh.. maybe Jac is lonely, just too lonely.
“Is he worth this?” he asked Jac softly. “I know that’s where you went. And now you could be killing yourself, basically. So is he worth it?”- Why indeed.
Okay enough about the two MCs. On to the flow of the story now. I find that the first half of the story before more characters were introduced was much smoother and engaging. As the story progressed, the constant POV shifting between characters in a 1st person's narration finally snaps my concentration and patience. I don't think I need to know everyone's inner dialogues especially of all those side characters. Bit tiresome to be looking through so many different pairs of eyes. Maybe this is the main reason this book failed to engaged me fully. It's not easy to stay focus when you keep losing track of the main characters.
Was the story bad? No, I quite enjoyed the dystopic world settings and loved the scifi aspects of it. And loving the cool displays of mind powers such as telepathy, telekinetic and clairvoyance just to name a few. And of course my unique love for my baby Jac ;) It's just the way the story was delivered that I have issues with.
Here's a glimpse of baby Jac suddenly in adult-mode :) (he does that sometimes):
“Want that, Parri?” His warm wet tongue worshipfully traced the contour of my ear before sliding around my earlobe and pulling it into his hot mouth. I went weak at the knees and grabbed his shoulder out of pure self-defense. Then his mouth was back on mine, and this time the kiss took over my mouth, my body, my mind, my life."
Truthfully, I didn't feel the usual motivation to review this book as I still have mixed feelings about it. Not quite able to sort it out. Maybe, it's just my current restless mood. Maybe, I shouldn't even attempt to review this book just in case I ruined it for others. If I did, I am very sorry.
I don't quite like this review of mine. It felt like I am just rambling away. Pretty incoherently just like my baby Jac.
July 29, 2016
4.5 stars - I thought this was a pretty phenomenal sci-fi read, and one of the better books I’ve read in a while.
I would qualify Freedom as primarily sci-fi, with an m/m romance as secondary. The romance in it is definitely meaningful, but this is a sci-fi/dystopia novel first.
The story follows empath Patrick who is tasked with helping a mysterious and withdrawn John Doe who had survived a vicious assault in the Outside, the wilds beyond the City where Patrick lives and works (and which is tightly controlled and monitored by the government.)
Using his empathic powers, Patrick works through the puzzle that is his mystery patient, and slowly the man unveils before him, and the discovery reveals new truths, sensations, and feelings that Patrick had never considered before in his stark, clean, protected, and touch-free world.
Reading this, I was reminded of the free dystopian reads The God Eaters, with its similar themes of government testing and also Esperanza, with its themes of growing new societies, and how often those communities need to be poly in order to survive. I also was reminded of the YA classic The Giver, since both works deal with the awakening of its MC from one belief system to another.
For those who dislike poly-romance, don’t worry. It doesn’t take over the love developing between the two MCs, but it’s definitely part of this new world, and is really one more layer of the “Freedom” that the characters are fighting for.
I thought this was a wonderful read as well as being very surprising and different. It has a few things that I usually don’t like (multiple POVs and also shifting 3rd to 1st, depending on the section) but overall, the story was strong enough that it didn’t bother me too much. The first 60% I think was the strongest, as it closely focuses on the unveiling of Jac and the growing intimacy between Jac and “Parri”, but really I thought the whole book was a very worthwhile read and very well-paced, so I never wanted to put it down, and when I did, I often thought about it, and wanted to get back to it.
If I had a down point, it would be that I wished the epilogue had been a little bit more embellished. I think that’s the romance fan in me wanting more together-time after the journey.
For fans of future, sci-fi, and dystopia stories, I really recommend it. This will be on my top reads for the year, (and since it seems to be really under the radar, is a contender for most under-hyped. Maybe that can change by the end of this year...)
Great book. Highly recommended. And this is the author’s first and only novel so far. I very much hope she writes more. She’s a voice to watch.
This review was first posted at Boys in our Books.
I would qualify Freedom as primarily sci-fi, with an m/m romance as secondary. The romance in it is definitely meaningful, but this is a sci-fi/dystopia novel first.
The story follows empath Patrick who is tasked with helping a mysterious and withdrawn John Doe who had survived a vicious assault in the Outside, the wilds beyond the City where Patrick lives and works (and which is tightly controlled and monitored by the government.)
Using his empathic powers, Patrick works through the puzzle that is his mystery patient, and slowly the man unveils before him, and the discovery reveals new truths, sensations, and feelings that Patrick had never considered before in his stark, clean, protected, and touch-free world.
Reading this, I was reminded of the free dystopian reads The God Eaters, with its similar themes of government testing and also Esperanza, with its themes of growing new societies, and how often those communities need to be poly in order to survive. I also was reminded of the YA classic The Giver, since both works deal with the awakening of its MC from one belief system to another.
For those who dislike poly-romance, don’t worry. It doesn’t take over the love developing between the two MCs, but it’s definitely part of this new world, and is really one more layer of the “Freedom” that the characters are fighting for.
I thought this was a wonderful read as well as being very surprising and different. It has a few things that I usually don’t like (multiple POVs and also shifting 3rd to 1st, depending on the section) but overall, the story was strong enough that it didn’t bother me too much. The first 60% I think was the strongest, as it closely focuses on the unveiling of Jac and the growing intimacy between Jac and “Parri”, but really I thought the whole book was a very worthwhile read and very well-paced, so I never wanted to put it down, and when I did, I often thought about it, and wanted to get back to it.
If I had a down point, it would be that I wished the epilogue had been a little bit more embellished. I think that’s the romance fan in me wanting more together-time after the journey.
For fans of future, sci-fi, and dystopia stories, I really recommend it. This will be on my top reads for the year, (and since it seems to be really under the radar, is a contender for most under-hyped. Maybe that can change by the end of this year...)
Great book. Highly recommended. And this is the author’s first and only novel so far. I very much hope she writes more. She’s a voice to watch.
This review was first posted at Boys in our Books.
May 13, 2013
I chose Freedom based on a suggestion. I didn’t read the blurb but went in with high expectations. I quite liked the book for most of it, though once the group broke out of the hospital and were on the run, things started to fall apart. The ending is nicely wrapped up but I was left with a lot of questions. Most of all I couldn’t buy into the chemistry between the two lead characters and I found one of the lead men to be weak and uninteresting. These two issues definitely killed some of the reading enjoyment for me. At the same time the writing and creativity are high and I’d cautiously recommend this one. I’m on the fence whether I’d read this author again.
The premise is a post-apocalyptic society where survivors are classed with Talents. These are Psychic talents that manifest in a variety of recognizable ways. Patrick is an Empath and works at a local hospital. He is assigned to treat an unknown man who was picked up off the street, battered and bruised. This unknown man, Jac, has numerous high level Talents and is soon endangered because of them. Now Patrick and others must work to free Jac before he can be apprehended and locked in a lab.
The actual plot is somewhat more complicated and complex than the simplistic summary may suggest, but those are the essential elements. The creativity is pretty high and the author/story did a good job incorporating decent world building and background information. There are no clunky blocks of exposition but instead a smooth transition of dialogue, information, and action. The prose is clean and evocative. The first half of the story while Jac is in the hospital is especially riveting. The dynamics between the characters and details incorporated make for a quick, exciting read.
I especially liked the character of Jac and the interplay between him and Patrick. I could see a connection, of some sort, and sped through the pages with ease. Once Jac’s partner, Rob, is introduced and the group quickly leaves the hospital then the plot, pacing, and interest fell off sharply for me. Here the plot suffers, as there are additional characters that feel distracting, even as they have a point and are interesting in their own right. The race to get away from the government worker feels very uneven - hurry up, wait, hurry up to confrontation. There are additional peripheral dramas, such as Jac’s mental wanderings, that left me confused as to their purpose.
One main issue I had during this part of the book was that Patrick completely unravels. He turns from a somewhat competent man to unintelligent, naïve, and ineffectual. He literally does nothing to help anyone and in fact hinders numerous people in multiple ways. His abrupt shift from compassionate worker/friend to naïve foil made me dislike him and he never recovered in my opinion. His connection with Jac feels weak compared to the strength of Rob and Jac’s bond. I never really saw why Jac was so enamored with Patrick or why he would chose him over Rob. I can extrapolate and make assumptions but I didn’t feel that connection between them.
On the plus side I think the story is creative and well written. It has good world building, a complicated and fascinating cast of characters (all of whom I liked better than Patrick), and a decent story. For most of the book, the pages fly by with interest but the last third kind of lost me as a reader. The plot and lead character turned and never recovered for me. I’d cautiously recommend this as it’s an enjoyable book on the whole, but I’m not sure I’d trust this author again. If readers aren’t as turned off by the last third they should enjoy this considerably more.
The premise is a post-apocalyptic society where survivors are classed with Talents. These are Psychic talents that manifest in a variety of recognizable ways. Patrick is an Empath and works at a local hospital. He is assigned to treat an unknown man who was picked up off the street, battered and bruised. This unknown man, Jac, has numerous high level Talents and is soon endangered because of them. Now Patrick and others must work to free Jac before he can be apprehended and locked in a lab.
The actual plot is somewhat more complicated and complex than the simplistic summary may suggest, but those are the essential elements. The creativity is pretty high and the author/story did a good job incorporating decent world building and background information. There are no clunky blocks of exposition but instead a smooth transition of dialogue, information, and action. The prose is clean and evocative. The first half of the story while Jac is in the hospital is especially riveting. The dynamics between the characters and details incorporated make for a quick, exciting read.
I especially liked the character of Jac and the interplay between him and Patrick. I could see a connection, of some sort, and sped through the pages with ease. Once Jac’s partner, Rob, is introduced and the group quickly leaves the hospital then the plot, pacing, and interest fell off sharply for me. Here the plot suffers, as there are additional characters that feel distracting, even as they have a point and are interesting in their own right. The race to get away from the government worker feels very uneven - hurry up, wait, hurry up to confrontation. There are additional peripheral dramas, such as Jac’s mental wanderings, that left me confused as to their purpose.
One main issue I had during this part of the book was that Patrick completely unravels. He turns from a somewhat competent man to unintelligent, naïve, and ineffectual. He literally does nothing to help anyone and in fact hinders numerous people in multiple ways. His abrupt shift from compassionate worker/friend to naïve foil made me dislike him and he never recovered in my opinion. His connection with Jac feels weak compared to the strength of Rob and Jac’s bond. I never really saw why Jac was so enamored with Patrick or why he would chose him over Rob. I can extrapolate and make assumptions but I didn’t feel that connection between them.
On the plus side I think the story is creative and well written. It has good world building, a complicated and fascinating cast of characters (all of whom I liked better than Patrick), and a decent story. For most of the book, the pages fly by with interest but the last third kind of lost me as a reader. The plot and lead character turned and never recovered for me. I’d cautiously recommend this as it’s an enjoyable book on the whole, but I’m not sure I’d trust this author again. If readers aren’t as turned off by the last third they should enjoy this considerably more.
April 15, 2013
MandyM really said it well. This story was amazingly good in part 1. I loved the story, loved the characters, loved everything.
The premise of Freedom is pretty much what you would expect, given the title. The reader catches a glimpse of a dystopian society, in a world after "burst", where psychically-talented citizens live in the cities, and those without talents are largely relegated to the "outside" or, depending on their connections, are allowed to live in the city but are given thankless jobs.
A John Doe is found outside, horribly beaten/attacked and as a result is borderline psychotic. Patrick, a somewhat talented empath, is brought in to help assess and heal the tortured mind of John Doe. As part of this, the reader gets to experience the building relationship of the two men in a sterile society. Through this relationship, Patrick comes to realize that his "safe and secure" society isn't what it seems.
Kirkpatrick excels at writing the budding relationship in, writing a riveting story, and providing an underlying warning, or mistake to the story- without becoming preachy. Excellent writing.
Where the author started to lose me, similar to MandyM, was in part two. The MCs are temporarily separated, the story focuses more on an ensemble cast (with multi-person head hopping!), and the story takes on shades of an action film. It really felt a bit like Firestarter, to be honest.
Still, I really (really) enjoyed the writing, and looooved the first part if the story. So.. A 3-3.5 overall. Certainly recommended, and I will absolutely check out future work from this author.
The premise of Freedom is pretty much what you would expect, given the title. The reader catches a glimpse of a dystopian society, in a world after "burst", where psychically-talented citizens live in the cities, and those without talents are largely relegated to the "outside" or, depending on their connections, are allowed to live in the city but are given thankless jobs.
A John Doe is found outside, horribly beaten/attacked and as a result is borderline psychotic. Patrick, a somewhat talented empath, is brought in to help assess and heal the tortured mind of John Doe. As part of this, the reader gets to experience the building relationship of the two men in a sterile society. Through this relationship, Patrick comes to realize that his "safe and secure" society isn't what it seems.
Kirkpatrick excels at writing the budding relationship in, writing a riveting story, and providing an underlying warning, or mistake to the story- without becoming preachy. Excellent writing.
Where the author started to lose me, similar to MandyM, was in part two. The MCs are temporarily separated, the story focuses more on an ensemble cast (with multi-person head hopping!), and the story takes on shades of an action film. It really felt a bit like Firestarter, to be honest.
Still, I really (really) enjoyed the writing, and looooved the first part if the story. So.. A 3-3.5 overall. Certainly recommended, and I will absolutely check out future work from this author.
October 13, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It's a pretty typical dystopian novel set in a future where some people have supernatural abilities and are sought after by shady government agencies. It's well written and compelling. The romance is basically a non-entity so don't be fooled by the tags. But some of the characters are cool and that was actually enough for me. What I didn't like was the last 5% or so. It was rushed and awkward. Last minute book montages are fast becoming a pet peeve of mine.
October 3, 2015
There was lots of stuff I loved about this and stuff that bothered me, particularly the ending.
Five stars for part one, three for part 2.
Happy ending?
Five stars for part one, three for part 2.
Happy ending?
March 29, 2015
This is it. Another DNF for me :( 2 stars is for what I've read so far.
***
I am sure it's a great book, everyone says so.
Unfortunately, there is so much going on with switching POVs and Tenses, it's too annoying. Not confusing. Annoying. Present tense was never my favorite, so it must be me.
The story takes place in a dystopian society, which has no problem discarding pretty much anyone if they don't have something valuable to contribute. Yet two men, both John Does, are picked from the side of a highway, treated for their wounds and completely taken care of ...in exchange for what? Nothing? Why? Out of the goodness of that society's heart? On an odd chance they might be empaths? Why was this charity extended to the two unknown, left for dead men, but not to other people, who live outside the city limits? What interested the higher-ups in this particular couple? 45% into the book and that fact is still not explained.
I am not even going to start on Patrick, who I don't get a chance to see as a whole person and do not get a chance to know outside work and a rare interaction or two with his one friend. All I know is that he is a good man at heart. Kudos for him. Anything else? I have no clue, even tho the book is written from his POV and did I mention I am 45% in?
I might give it another try later, when I have more time, but right now I am filing this book under DNF.
***
I am sure it's a great book, everyone says so.
Unfortunately, there is so much going on with switching POVs and Tenses, it's too annoying. Not confusing. Annoying. Present tense was never my favorite, so it must be me.
The story takes place in a dystopian society, which has no problem discarding pretty much anyone if they don't have something valuable to contribute. Yet two men, both John Does, are picked from the side of a highway, treated for their wounds and completely taken care of ...in exchange for what? Nothing? Why? Out of the goodness of that society's heart? On an odd chance they might be empaths? Why was this charity extended to the two unknown, left for dead men, but not to other people, who live outside the city limits? What interested the higher-ups in this particular couple? 45% into the book and that fact is still not explained.
I am not even going to start on Patrick, who I don't get a chance to see as a whole person and do not get a chance to know outside work and a rare interaction or two with his one friend. All I know is that he is a good man at heart. Kudos for him. Anything else? I have no clue, even tho the book is written from his POV and did I mention I am 45% in?
I might give it another try later, when I have more time, but right now I am filing this book under DNF.
Read
March 17, 20133 - 4 stars.
To be honest, I’m not really sure how to rate this book.
It had lots of good ideas and likable characters but sometimes I wanted to know more. More about the cities, the Outside or all the other places. I wanted to know what exactly changed the world. What was this “Burst”? Or why is the government breaking high level talents? Just to see what they can do?
Then there’s the POV or rather the change of POV’s. It was easy to follow and I knew all the time who was talking but I would have liked it more if it weren’t changing so much.
Finally the romance part. For readers like me, who don’t want to read sex scene after sex scene, this book will be a pleasant surprise. The relationship between Patrick and Jac is more like a sub-plot and the talents and what’s happening to them or Patrick’s realization, that the world isn’t just black and white, the main plot – what I really really liked!
So, yes some niggles but I still enjoyed it.
To be honest, I’m not really sure how to rate this book.
It had lots of good ideas and likable characters but sometimes I wanted to know more. More about the cities, the Outside or all the other places. I wanted to know what exactly changed the world. What was this “Burst”? Or why is the government breaking high level talents? Just to see what they can do?
Then there’s the POV or rather the change of POV’s. It was easy to follow and I knew all the time who was talking but I would have liked it more if it weren’t changing so much.
Finally the romance part. For readers like me, who don’t want to read sex scene after sex scene, this book will be a pleasant surprise. The relationship between Patrick and Jac is more like a sub-plot and the talents and what’s happening to them or Patrick’s realization, that the world isn’t just black and white, the main plot – what I really really liked!
So, yes some niggles but I still enjoyed it.
March 28, 2017
Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Freedom is a fascinating post-apocalyptic/dystopian story that takes place in an unspecified future time frame after something called The Burst, which while not explained, I assume to probably have been an EMP or something similar. The bulk of the story takes place in New Las Vegas, where only a chosen few live and work within the city. The rest are pretty much relegated to the Outside, which appears to be the outskirts of the city and in between the two is the NeverNever. In this future society, there are Talents and Non-Talents. The Non-Talents are exactly what you might expect, just normal humans. The Talents are special humans who’ve developed various psi talents. They might exhibit as empaths, telepaths, telekinetics, or other psychic phenomena, some of which are only known to the Talent Management Center, an organization that seems to oversee the various operations around the country that were put in place to identify Talents. The TMC basically ignores Non-Talents, using them in menial type jobs, while those who exhibit a moderate amount of talent will be trained for more specialized jobs within the cities. However, those who exhibit talents that go above and beyond, essentially become lab rats, who are tested over and over to figure out their limits until they are mentally broken. Although most don’t realize it, the TMC rules with an iron fist and are a pretty evil organization. I would have liked to know a little more about them. Are they the new government in this futuristic society? The fact that they have the Marines at their command seems to suggest that they either are or have some sort of government backing, but overall, the author doesn’t go into that too much. They are, however, a very scary organization with equally scary people working for them.
While the dystopian aspect of the book is very intriguing, at its heart, Freedom is very much an emotional human story. Within this landscape, we’re introduced to Patrick, who is a mid-level empath, working in the psychiatric wing of a medical facility. He and his two best friends were tested years before. His friend, Charlie, didn’t have enough talent to qualify to move into the city, but Patrick and Charlie’s girlfriend, Evie, did. Patrick was trained for the job he now holds, while Evie was taken elsewhere and later released back into the Outside. After being tested, she was said to be too psychologically damaged to work and hasn’t been the same since. However, no one really suspects that it was the TMC who did the damage to her. Patrick is pretty content in his job and has just been given his first solo case working with a John Doe who was found nearly dead by the Escapeway. The man is practically wild and doesn’t appear to speak or write except in gibberish. Using his empathic talents, Patrick soon realizes that his John Doe is much more than he seems on the surface and the longer he works with the man, the more he comes to care for him in a non-professional way. He also starts to realize some things about himself and about what’s going on in a wider sense, not only within the facility but the world outside as well. Patrick eventually comes to understand that his patient is in grave danger and he knows he cannot betray him, but he must make a difficult decision about whether he can give up the comfortable life he has in the city for the unknown world beyond.
John Doe 439 is really a young man named Jac, who has partial amnesia. Due to severe injuries, as well as emotional trauma, he sustained when attacked by the Purples, humans who’ve gone feral, he’s forgotten who he is or how he came to be at the medical center. All he knows is that his older brother always taught him to fear the All-Whites, and now he’s locked up in a place that’s completely white and only tended by people dressed in white. Into this frightening landscape comes Patrick, who treats Jac with gentleness, dignity, and respect. Gradually Jac begins to trust Patrick, especially after they connect psychically. To say that Jac is a sweet and gentle soul is almost an understatement. To many around him, he’s viewed as weak and easy prey, because he possesses an almost childlike quality. Even after he remembers how to speak, he does so in the way a small child might, dropping syllables and sometimes mispronouncing words, something his friend, Rob, calls a form of baby talk. Jac has an interesting backstory as to why this is that I won’t spoil for readers, but one of the reasons is that it’s much easier for him to simply communicate telepathically. There aren’t a lot of scenes from Jac’s POV, but on the rare occasions we get a look inside his mind, particularly after he starts to calm for Patrick, we see an intelligent man with a tremendous gift. He has psi talents above and beyond anyone who works with him has ever seen before. Patrick isn’t even certain what to call some of his talents. Again, I won’t spoil anyone by saying what they are, but he truly is a wonder. He’s also a deeply affectionate human being who loves to give and receive touch from the right people and in the right way, which as a touchy-feely person myself, I loved. When he finds out that Rob also survived the attack and they’re reunited, Jac is like a clinging vine who must be physically connected to him at all times, which made me question at times which of the men he was meant to be with, Rob or Patrick. The answer is kind of both but in different ways.
Initially the bulk of the POV scenes belong to Patrick with a few glimpses inside Jac’s troubled mind, but as the story progresses and moves outside the medical center, we get more and more scenes from other characters’ perspectives. There’s Patrick’s top-level empath supervisor, Sam, who recognizes Jac’s talents early on and starts covering up some of the things he can do. Sam ends up being a whole lot more than he seems at first. Patrick also has a co-worker, Dana, who works with Jac, too, and ends up helping in a lot of ways. We get to see things from Rob’s POV as well, as he supports Jac and gives so much of himself to the man he thinks of as a brother of sorts. Then there’s the evil Julia from TMC, who’s a bully determined to get her man and break him, but she didn’t count on him having help and being so powerful himself. If memory serves I think these were the only characters who got their own POV scenes but there are plenty more supporting players such as Charlie and Evie, and several other Talents, as well as at least one Non-Talent who we meet as they make their escape and who played integral roles.
Overall, Freedom was a story that very much drew me in and kept me reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so that being the case you might be asking yourself why I knocked off the half-star. Well, the main reason is that as wonderful as it was, I still felt it had a few weaknesses. First, I was a little reluctant to even classify this book as romance, because that part of the story is rather subdued and kind of secondary to other events in the story. The plot simply doesn’t follow the two men on the same track that most romances do with them meeting, forging a relationship, and falling in love. These things do happen, but in a much different way than what I’m used to. There’s no explicit sex and I don’t even recall them saying, “I love you,” although it’s fairly apparent by their actions. So for me, this was more of a sci-fi story with a light romance on the side. Then there were the questions I mentioned earlier about the greater world outside New Las Vegas and exactly what was motivating the TMC. Lastly, the author wrote the book in a number of different styles. Patrick alone was written in first person present tense when he’s interacting with Jac, first person past tense when he’s taking case notes, and third person past tense when he’s interacting with other characters. Once we start getting into the other characters’ POVs, they could be either first or third person, and I can’t say I understood the differentiation on those. I did get used to it and was never confused as to whose perspective I was reading because each POV change is clearly labeled with the character’s name and setting, but for some readers this may be jarring. Despite these perceived weaknesses, I still couldn’t help giving the book keeper status. I’m fascinated by all thing to do with the inner workings of the human mind and psychic phenomena, so that alone kept me glued to the pages. I also loved all the characters and felt like I was very much a part of their world. This was such a good read, I was quite surprised and a little disappointed to discover that this is, so far, the only book Jay Kirkpatrick has written, but if she (yes, despite the male-sounding name, this is a female writer) ever writes another, I’ll definitely pick it up.
"4.5 stars" Freedom is a fascinating post-apocalyptic/dystopian story that takes place in an unspecified future time frame after something called The Burst, which while not explained, I assume to probably have been an EMP or something similar. The bulk of the story takes place in New Las Vegas, where only a chosen few live and work within the city. The rest are pretty much relegated to the Outside, which appears to be the outskirts of the city and in between the two is the NeverNever. In this future society, there are Talents and Non-Talents. The Non-Talents are exactly what you might expect, just normal humans. The Talents are special humans who’ve developed various psi talents. They might exhibit as empaths, telepaths, telekinetics, or other psychic phenomena, some of which are only known to the Talent Management Center, an organization that seems to oversee the various operations around the country that were put in place to identify Talents. The TMC basically ignores Non-Talents, using them in menial type jobs, while those who exhibit a moderate amount of talent will be trained for more specialized jobs within the cities. However, those who exhibit talents that go above and beyond, essentially become lab rats, who are tested over and over to figure out their limits until they are mentally broken. Although most don’t realize it, the TMC rules with an iron fist and are a pretty evil organization. I would have liked to know a little more about them. Are they the new government in this futuristic society? The fact that they have the Marines at their command seems to suggest that they either are or have some sort of government backing, but overall, the author doesn’t go into that too much. They are, however, a very scary organization with equally scary people working for them.
While the dystopian aspect of the book is very intriguing, at its heart, Freedom is very much an emotional human story. Within this landscape, we’re introduced to Patrick, who is a mid-level empath, working in the psychiatric wing of a medical facility. He and his two best friends were tested years before. His friend, Charlie, didn’t have enough talent to qualify to move into the city, but Patrick and Charlie’s girlfriend, Evie, did. Patrick was trained for the job he now holds, while Evie was taken elsewhere and later released back into the Outside. After being tested, she was said to be too psychologically damaged to work and hasn’t been the same since. However, no one really suspects that it was the TMC who did the damage to her. Patrick is pretty content in his job and has just been given his first solo case working with a John Doe who was found nearly dead by the Escapeway. The man is practically wild and doesn’t appear to speak or write except in gibberish. Using his empathic talents, Patrick soon realizes that his John Doe is much more than he seems on the surface and the longer he works with the man, the more he comes to care for him in a non-professional way. He also starts to realize some things about himself and about what’s going on in a wider sense, not only within the facility but the world outside as well. Patrick eventually comes to understand that his patient is in grave danger and he knows he cannot betray him, but he must make a difficult decision about whether he can give up the comfortable life he has in the city for the unknown world beyond.
John Doe 439 is really a young man named Jac, who has partial amnesia. Due to severe injuries, as well as emotional trauma, he sustained when attacked by the Purples, humans who’ve gone feral, he’s forgotten who he is or how he came to be at the medical center. All he knows is that his older brother always taught him to fear the All-Whites, and now he’s locked up in a place that’s completely white and only tended by people dressed in white. Into this frightening landscape comes Patrick, who treats Jac with gentleness, dignity, and respect. Gradually Jac begins to trust Patrick, especially after they connect psychically. To say that Jac is a sweet and gentle soul is almost an understatement. To many around him, he’s viewed as weak and easy prey, because he possesses an almost childlike quality. Even after he remembers how to speak, he does so in the way a small child might, dropping syllables and sometimes mispronouncing words, something his friend, Rob, calls a form of baby talk. Jac has an interesting backstory as to why this is that I won’t spoil for readers, but one of the reasons is that it’s much easier for him to simply communicate telepathically. There aren’t a lot of scenes from Jac’s POV, but on the rare occasions we get a look inside his mind, particularly after he starts to calm for Patrick, we see an intelligent man with a tremendous gift. He has psi talents above and beyond anyone who works with him has ever seen before. Patrick isn’t even certain what to call some of his talents. Again, I won’t spoil anyone by saying what they are, but he truly is a wonder. He’s also a deeply affectionate human being who loves to give and receive touch from the right people and in the right way, which as a touchy-feely person myself, I loved. When he finds out that Rob also survived the attack and they’re reunited, Jac is like a clinging vine who must be physically connected to him at all times, which made me question at times which of the men he was meant to be with, Rob or Patrick. The answer is kind of both but in different ways.
Initially the bulk of the POV scenes belong to Patrick with a few glimpses inside Jac’s troubled mind, but as the story progresses and moves outside the medical center, we get more and more scenes from other characters’ perspectives. There’s Patrick’s top-level empath supervisor, Sam, who recognizes Jac’s talents early on and starts covering up some of the things he can do. Sam ends up being a whole lot more than he seems at first. Patrick also has a co-worker, Dana, who works with Jac, too, and ends up helping in a lot of ways. We get to see things from Rob’s POV as well, as he supports Jac and gives so much of himself to the man he thinks of as a brother of sorts. Then there’s the evil Julia from TMC, who’s a bully determined to get her man and break him, but she didn’t count on him having help and being so powerful himself. If memory serves I think these were the only characters who got their own POV scenes but there are plenty more supporting players such as Charlie and Evie, and several other Talents, as well as at least one Non-Talent who we meet as they make their escape and who played integral roles.
Overall, Freedom was a story that very much drew me in and kept me reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it, so that being the case you might be asking yourself why I knocked off the half-star. Well, the main reason is that as wonderful as it was, I still felt it had a few weaknesses. First, I was a little reluctant to even classify this book as romance, because that part of the story is rather subdued and kind of secondary to other events in the story. The plot simply doesn’t follow the two men on the same track that most romances do with them meeting, forging a relationship, and falling in love. These things do happen, but in a much different way than what I’m used to. There’s no explicit sex and I don’t even recall them saying, “I love you,” although it’s fairly apparent by their actions. So for me, this was more of a sci-fi story with a light romance on the side. Then there were the questions I mentioned earlier about the greater world outside New Las Vegas and exactly what was motivating the TMC. Lastly, the author wrote the book in a number of different styles. Patrick alone was written in first person present tense when he’s interacting with Jac, first person past tense when he’s taking case notes, and third person past tense when he’s interacting with other characters. Once we start getting into the other characters’ POVs, they could be either first or third person, and I can’t say I understood the differentiation on those. I did get used to it and was never confused as to whose perspective I was reading because each POV change is clearly labeled with the character’s name and setting, but for some readers this may be jarring. Despite these perceived weaknesses, I still couldn’t help giving the book keeper status. I’m fascinated by all thing to do with the inner workings of the human mind and psychic phenomena, so that alone kept me glued to the pages. I also loved all the characters and felt like I was very much a part of their world. This was such a good read, I was quite surprised and a little disappointed to discover that this is, so far, the only book Jay Kirkpatrick has written, but if she (yes, despite the male-sounding name, this is a female writer) ever writes another, I’ll definitely pick it up.
March 12, 2013
4 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Patrick is a newly promoted Class One Empath, counting his lucky stars that he has escaped from the Outside and that he has a bed, decent food and a paying job, but his first case 723, John Doe 439, is about to rock his world as he discovers truths about the Government he works for and he has to make a choice. Jac (John Doe 439) begins to come back to himself with the help of Patrick, but trusting Patrick is difficult for Jac because he has been told what the all-whites do to Talents like him and none of it is good, getting away from the centre with his friends is scary, but what follows them is even scarier when all they want is to be left alone.
This is an exceptional good futuristic/science fiction story that takes you to a time when the world has been vastly changed and humanity is divided. Patrick has a middle of the road Talent and is proud to be able to support himself, escaping the Outside where he grew up. His first case is of a man found severely beaten and whose mind seems to be broken, and the more time that Patrick spends with him the more that Patrick discovers the truth behind his employers. Jac just wants to go home away from the all-whites and the danger they present, but he doesn’t want to leave Patrick behind the all-white he has come to trust and like. But Jac has no choice but to go before someone from Central Government come for him.
This story is set out a lot like a journal, with each person having their own heading when it comes to their point of view, there are more than just Patrick and Jac who star in this story, but Jac and Patrick are the main characters, pulling together the other secondary characters and bringing us a story about a Government who ignore the Talentless and abuse the highly Talented, while hoodwinking the other Talents into believing that they are serving the greater good. The storyline is really good and takes you through a rollercoaster of a time as you become invested in the characters and what is happening to them, it draws you in to supporting them through their decisions and their escape and then finally the danger that they all face, when all they want is to live their lives in peace without being abused and broken.
Jac is a character who you want to protect and shelter, Patrick is a character that you want to scream ‘wake up’ at and Rob, Evie, Charlie, Sam and Dana are people that you root for and pray that everything will work out. While the storyline is brilliant, the romance and relationship are lax, you can see both Jac and Patrick drawing close together and there is an attraction between them, but I got thrown off a bit when Rob turned up, it sort of became tangled and I became unsure of what was to come. I would have also loved to know what the ‘Burst’ was that changed the world and how the Talent’s developed, but we don’t get any background so I was slightly disappointed with that. I have to say though that I still enjoyed this story for what it did have.
I will recommend this to those who love science fiction, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, danger, escapes, realising the truth, and a new beginning with new love.
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews
http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
Patrick is a newly promoted Class One Empath, counting his lucky stars that he has escaped from the Outside and that he has a bed, decent food and a paying job, but his first case 723, John Doe 439, is about to rock his world as he discovers truths about the Government he works for and he has to make a choice. Jac (John Doe 439) begins to come back to himself with the help of Patrick, but trusting Patrick is difficult for Jac because he has been told what the all-whites do to Talents like him and none of it is good, getting away from the centre with his friends is scary, but what follows them is even scarier when all they want is to be left alone.
This is an exceptional good futuristic/science fiction story that takes you to a time when the world has been vastly changed and humanity is divided. Patrick has a middle of the road Talent and is proud to be able to support himself, escaping the Outside where he grew up. His first case is of a man found severely beaten and whose mind seems to be broken, and the more time that Patrick spends with him the more that Patrick discovers the truth behind his employers. Jac just wants to go home away from the all-whites and the danger they present, but he doesn’t want to leave Patrick behind the all-white he has come to trust and like. But Jac has no choice but to go before someone from Central Government come for him.
This story is set out a lot like a journal, with each person having their own heading when it comes to their point of view, there are more than just Patrick and Jac who star in this story, but Jac and Patrick are the main characters, pulling together the other secondary characters and bringing us a story about a Government who ignore the Talentless and abuse the highly Talented, while hoodwinking the other Talents into believing that they are serving the greater good. The storyline is really good and takes you through a rollercoaster of a time as you become invested in the characters and what is happening to them, it draws you in to supporting them through their decisions and their escape and then finally the danger that they all face, when all they want is to live their lives in peace without being abused and broken.
Jac is a character who you want to protect and shelter, Patrick is a character that you want to scream ‘wake up’ at and Rob, Evie, Charlie, Sam and Dana are people that you root for and pray that everything will work out. While the storyline is brilliant, the romance and relationship are lax, you can see both Jac and Patrick drawing close together and there is an attraction between them, but I got thrown off a bit when Rob turned up, it sort of became tangled and I became unsure of what was to come. I would have also loved to know what the ‘Burst’ was that changed the world and how the Talent’s developed, but we don’t get any background so I was slightly disappointed with that. I have to say though that I still enjoyed this story for what it did have.
I will recommend this to those who love science fiction, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, danger, escapes, realising the truth, and a new beginning with new love.
April 19, 2013
4 Stars
This was kind of a heavy read for me. To be honest the cover kind of scared me but I also found myself needing to know why that poor man was sitting alone naked in the corner. I am glad I put on my big girl panties and read this book. I was instantly submerged into this world and just had to know what happened to that man. The story is told from different POVs which I enjoyed for the most part.
Freedom is split into three parts. I found the first part highly intriguing. Patrick is an empath for a medical facility in a futuristic world. He was rescued off the streets as a kid and tested for what they call, Talent, meaning you have some kind of special skill. You are then given a score or level and trained or turned away as too low to benefit the City. His entire life he has considered himself lucky to have a place to live, food to eat and a bright future with the company. His first patient is a John Doe who came to them badly tortured and mentally broken. He’s been resistant to any help but Patrick manages to make a break through with the John Doe. He gets him to eat and is able to communicate with him. He learns the real name of John Doe is Jac through a talent of Jac’s. He is able to create illusions. That alone is an amazing talent but he also he has strong telepathy and a Shamen healing powers. There are no records of anybody ever having that many talents or at his level. Patrick and Jac form a connection and Jac trusts Patrick. Jac is almost childlike and kind you can’t help but want to protect him. He craves touch which Patrick has always been taught not to do. He has never had physical or emotional affection and he starts to feel love and lust for the first time. He realizes that Jac is truly special and those that know him see him as the key to the future. It gives people the freedom to live in the wild and not be confined to cities or the Outside like they’ve been led to believe. The Outside is on the outskirts of the city where people live in poverty and crime is high. His supervisor tells Patrick to keep Jac’s talents quiet. Patrick thinks Jac should have an amazing career ahead of him with his skills but this is about the time he starts to realize the people who raised him may not be the wonderful people he thought they were. There are stories of them breaking the higher level Talents just to see what they are capable of then disposing them into the Outside. Patrick is falling for Jac and he won’t let that happen to him even if it means losing him forever.
Whit's full review can be found at
Live Your Life, Buy The Book
This was kind of a heavy read for me. To be honest the cover kind of scared me but I also found myself needing to know why that poor man was sitting alone naked in the corner. I am glad I put on my big girl panties and read this book. I was instantly submerged into this world and just had to know what happened to that man. The story is told from different POVs which I enjoyed for the most part.
Freedom is split into three parts. I found the first part highly intriguing. Patrick is an empath for a medical facility in a futuristic world. He was rescued off the streets as a kid and tested for what they call, Talent, meaning you have some kind of special skill. You are then given a score or level and trained or turned away as too low to benefit the City. His entire life he has considered himself lucky to have a place to live, food to eat and a bright future with the company. His first patient is a John Doe who came to them badly tortured and mentally broken. He’s been resistant to any help but Patrick manages to make a break through with the John Doe. He gets him to eat and is able to communicate with him. He learns the real name of John Doe is Jac through a talent of Jac’s. He is able to create illusions. That alone is an amazing talent but he also he has strong telepathy and a Shamen healing powers. There are no records of anybody ever having that many talents or at his level. Patrick and Jac form a connection and Jac trusts Patrick. Jac is almost childlike and kind you can’t help but want to protect him. He craves touch which Patrick has always been taught not to do. He has never had physical or emotional affection and he starts to feel love and lust for the first time. He realizes that Jac is truly special and those that know him see him as the key to the future. It gives people the freedom to live in the wild and not be confined to cities or the Outside like they’ve been led to believe. The Outside is on the outskirts of the city where people live in poverty and crime is high. His supervisor tells Patrick to keep Jac’s talents quiet. Patrick thinks Jac should have an amazing career ahead of him with his skills but this is about the time he starts to realize the people who raised him may not be the wonderful people he thought they were. There are stories of them breaking the higher level Talents just to see what they are capable of then disposing them into the Outside. Patrick is falling for Jac and he won’t let that happen to him even if it means losing him forever.
Whit's full review can be found at
Live Your Life, Buy The Book
June 27, 2013
What.The.Hell?
Seriously, are there no editors in m/m romance? Someone seriously needed to take a ruler to this author's knuckles to hammer in some very key points about tense and POV:
1. Second person POV is never OK. NEVER. There is no situation on the face of this planet where second person POV is a good idea. None.
2. Pick a tense! Yes, it's all nice and artsy to go from past to present to past. The only credit I can give the author on this one is that there were scene breaks between the tense changes.
3. Pick a POV, for the love of God, PICK ONE. We went from 1st person to 3rd person to *shudder* 2nd person. What the hell?
Jesus Christ, past tense, present tense, 3rd person, 1st person, 2nd person. What the hell was going on in the editor's office?! As much as the author is to blame for even considering writing like this, it's up to the editor to stop them and fix it. Seriously, someone needs to get fired.
I got the distinct impression the author was trying to be original and different. There is a reason most books are written in past tense, and also why most authors avoid 2nd person like the plague: they're really uncomfortable to read. There is also a HUGE reason why authors stick to whatever tense and POV they've chosen: it jerks the reader (namely: me) right out of the story every time I have to stop and readjust to a new POV or a new verb tense. Your job as the author is to keep me so enthralled with the story that I can't put it down. With this book, I had to keep mustering the energy to pick it back up.
I can't decide which I hated more: the horrifying tenses and POVs used, or the fact that the author kept swapping around between them. Both are bad decisions. At least if the whole book was written in 1st person present tense, I would have put it down immediately.
The saddest thing is that the story really did sound interesting. I could go off on a few character issues I had (i.e. if you want to convince me Jac is smart, and you keep telling me he is, don't have him acting like a child. It's one thing to speak with stilted word choices, it's another to act like you belong in kindergarten), but it sounded interesting enough overall. But the tenses ... my God, it's like trying to pay attention to the flower growing in the dirt while you're waving a read flag at a charging bull: it's way too distracting.
Seriously, are there no editors in m/m romance? Someone seriously needed to take a ruler to this author's knuckles to hammer in some very key points about tense and POV:
1. Second person POV is never OK. NEVER. There is no situation on the face of this planet where second person POV is a good idea. None.
2. Pick a tense! Yes, it's all nice and artsy to go from past to present to past. The only credit I can give the author on this one is that there were scene breaks between the tense changes.
3. Pick a POV, for the love of God, PICK ONE. We went from 1st person to 3rd person to *shudder* 2nd person. What the hell?
Jesus Christ, past tense, present tense, 3rd person, 1st person, 2nd person. What the hell was going on in the editor's office?! As much as the author is to blame for even considering writing like this, it's up to the editor to stop them and fix it. Seriously, someone needs to get fired.
I got the distinct impression the author was trying to be original and different. There is a reason most books are written in past tense, and also why most authors avoid 2nd person like the plague: they're really uncomfortable to read. There is also a HUGE reason why authors stick to whatever tense and POV they've chosen: it jerks the reader (namely: me) right out of the story every time I have to stop and readjust to a new POV or a new verb tense. Your job as the author is to keep me so enthralled with the story that I can't put it down. With this book, I had to keep mustering the energy to pick it back up.
I can't decide which I hated more: the horrifying tenses and POVs used, or the fact that the author kept swapping around between them. Both are bad decisions. At least if the whole book was written in 1st person present tense, I would have put it down immediately.
The saddest thing is that the story really did sound interesting. I could go off on a few character issues I had (i.e. if you want to convince me Jac is smart, and you keep telling me he is, don't have him acting like a child. It's one thing to speak with stilted word choices, it's another to act like you belong in kindergarten), but it sounded interesting enough overall. But the tenses ... my God, it's like trying to pay attention to the flower growing in the dirt while you're waving a read flag at a charging bull: it's way too distracting.
April 24, 2013
I loved the bejeezus out of this book. It totally surprised me with how good it was. The title is perfect in more than one way... it's not only about breaking free from the confines of an institution, or from a messed up system. In the end, it is about the freedom of mind, love, sex, trust and so much more. I wish I could be part of that small tribe forming there...
The pubIishers are praising themselves to offer the finest in M/M romance, but I really loved how circumstantial, kind of, that aspect of the story came in, almost as if by accident. It made it all the more lovely.
I devoured this book in almost one go; I couldn't put it down for long. Actually I wish there was a sequel, but admittedly, this story is told, and brilliantly so. The author bravely switched between several POV's, even between 1st and 3rd person. Some would consider that a huge no-go; but it totally made sense and helped the plot unfold in a steady rhythm and added to its irresistible pull.
I will definitely re-read this. Not very soon though, because it's one of those stories that linger for quite a while. I finished it this morning and kept thinking about it the whole day. Great Job, Mrs Kirkpatrick!
The pubIishers are praising themselves to offer the finest in M/M romance, but I really loved how circumstantial, kind of, that aspect of the story came in, almost as if by accident. It made it all the more lovely.
I devoured this book in almost one go; I couldn't put it down for long. Actually I wish there was a sequel, but admittedly, this story is told, and brilliantly so. The author bravely switched between several POV's, even between 1st and 3rd person. Some would consider that a huge no-go; but it totally made sense and helped the plot unfold in a steady rhythm and added to its irresistible pull.
I will definitely re-read this. Not very soon though, because it's one of those stories that linger for quite a while. I finished it this morning and kept thinking about it the whole day. Great Job, Mrs Kirkpatrick!
March 28, 2015
Very nice and enjoyable book. Loved the characters and the world was wonderfully rich and alive. Really enjoyed Paddy's description of sinking into that peaceful place where Jac and Rob were during sleep. Beautifully written bit that really caught my attention. Highly Recommended.
March 15, 2013
Really awesome, my only niggle was an offscreen 4some, not even offscreen will those EVER work for me, would still love more stories in this 'verse
March 12, 2013
This was kind of a heavy read for me. To be honest the cover kind of scared me but I also found myself needing to know why that poor man was sitting alone naked in the corner. I am glad I put on my big girl panties and read this book. I was instantly submerged into this world and just had to know what happened to that man. The story is told from different POVs which I enjoyed for the most part.
Freedom is split into three parts. I found the first part highly intriguing. Patrick is an empath for a medical facility in a futuristic world. He was rescued off the streets as a kid and tested for what they call, Talent, meaning you have some kind of special skill. You are then given a score or level and trained or turned away as too low to benefit the City. His entire life he has considered himself lucky to have a place to live, food to eat and a bright future with the company. His first patient is a John Doe who came to them badly tortured and mentally broken. He’s been resistant to any help but Patrick manages to make a break through with the John Doe. He gets him to eat and is able to communicate with him. He learns the real name of John Doe is Jac through a talent of Jac’s. He is able to create illusions. That alone is an amazing talent but he also he has strong telepathy and a Shamen healing powers. There are no records of anybody ever having that many talents or at his level. Patrick and Jac form a connection and Jac trusts Patrick. Jac is almost childlike and kind you can’t help but want to protect him. He craves touch which Patrick has always been taught not to do. He has never had physical or emotional affection and he starts to feel love and lust for the first time. He realizes that Jac is truly special and those that know him see him as the key to the future. It gives people the freedom to live in the wild and not be confined to cities or the Outside like they’ve been led to believe. The Outside is on the outskirts of the city where people live in poverty and crime is high. His supervisor tells Patrick to keep Jac’s talents quiet. Patrick thinks Jac should have an amazing career ahead of him with his skills but this is about the time he starts to realize the people who raised him may not be the wonderful people he thought they were. There are stories of them breaking the higher level Talents just to see what they are capable of then disposing them into the Outside. Patrick is falling for Jac and he won’t let that happen to him even if it means losing him forever.
The second and third parts of the book weren’t as great as the first but still good. There is a realistic ending that didn’t satisfy the happy happy ending lover in me but I’m okay with it. The baddie was rather crazy but the author made it all work. The underground railroad was interesting and I would have liked to know a bit about that. The characters were rich and the writing engaging.
This book does have mention of rape. It doesn’t occur on page but was very upsetting. It was part of a very traumatic experience for one of the MCs. I rarely will read a book that has a rape occur in it but I was able to handle this. The torture that occurs is one of those things that is so awful you want to know the details but because you think surely they can’t be as bad as what your mind is creating. However, it’s also good to not know because just knowing it did happen was terrifying enough. Maybe I wanted to know because I wanted someone to blame or know they would be caught. Either way, this part of the book was necessary for the story but there is no escaping that tone it sets.
I found Freedom to be suspenseful and intense with a strong message of hope and enduring the bad to live for the good things in life. Freedom and love is what Jac wanted and he found it with Patrick. There are so many details that I couldn’t possibly include them in all in a review so you will just have to check this out for yourself. It’s a dark journey but worth it IMO.
Review can also be found at http://liveyourlifebuythebook.wordpre...
Freedom is split into three parts. I found the first part highly intriguing. Patrick is an empath for a medical facility in a futuristic world. He was rescued off the streets as a kid and tested for what they call, Talent, meaning you have some kind of special skill. You are then given a score or level and trained or turned away as too low to benefit the City. His entire life he has considered himself lucky to have a place to live, food to eat and a bright future with the company. His first patient is a John Doe who came to them badly tortured and mentally broken. He’s been resistant to any help but Patrick manages to make a break through with the John Doe. He gets him to eat and is able to communicate with him. He learns the real name of John Doe is Jac through a talent of Jac’s. He is able to create illusions. That alone is an amazing talent but he also he has strong telepathy and a Shamen healing powers. There are no records of anybody ever having that many talents or at his level. Patrick and Jac form a connection and Jac trusts Patrick. Jac is almost childlike and kind you can’t help but want to protect him. He craves touch which Patrick has always been taught not to do. He has never had physical or emotional affection and he starts to feel love and lust for the first time. He realizes that Jac is truly special and those that know him see him as the key to the future. It gives people the freedom to live in the wild and not be confined to cities or the Outside like they’ve been led to believe. The Outside is on the outskirts of the city where people live in poverty and crime is high. His supervisor tells Patrick to keep Jac’s talents quiet. Patrick thinks Jac should have an amazing career ahead of him with his skills but this is about the time he starts to realize the people who raised him may not be the wonderful people he thought they were. There are stories of them breaking the higher level Talents just to see what they are capable of then disposing them into the Outside. Patrick is falling for Jac and he won’t let that happen to him even if it means losing him forever.
The second and third parts of the book weren’t as great as the first but still good. There is a realistic ending that didn’t satisfy the happy happy ending lover in me but I’m okay with it. The baddie was rather crazy but the author made it all work. The underground railroad was interesting and I would have liked to know a bit about that. The characters were rich and the writing engaging.
This book does have mention of rape. It doesn’t occur on page but was very upsetting. It was part of a very traumatic experience for one of the MCs. I rarely will read a book that has a rape occur in it but I was able to handle this. The torture that occurs is one of those things that is so awful you want to know the details but because you think surely they can’t be as bad as what your mind is creating. However, it’s also good to not know because just knowing it did happen was terrifying enough. Maybe I wanted to know because I wanted someone to blame or know they would be caught. Either way, this part of the book was necessary for the story but there is no escaping that tone it sets.
I found Freedom to be suspenseful and intense with a strong message of hope and enduring the bad to live for the good things in life. Freedom and love is what Jac wanted and he found it with Patrick. There are so many details that I couldn’t possibly include them in all in a review so you will just have to check this out for yourself. It’s a dark journey but worth it IMO.
Review can also be found at http://liveyourlifebuythebook.wordpre...
March 12, 2015
I grabbed Jay Kirkpatrick’s Freedom because the blurb was intriguing and I love a good male male romance. The reviews I read let me know I was purchasing a good read. Many people have tagged/shelved this as male male romance. This is not a romance. It is still a very good read. There is a bit of romance, several happily ever afters, many happy for nows, but not a romance.
The world as we know it has been drastically changed by the Burst. It has left the majority of the land decimated. The inhabitants have also changed. Perhaps this change is simply evolution, it may also have been due to the Burst. People have been left with Talents. Some have very little in the way of their talents.
Others are now strong telepaths, empaths, clairvoyants, telekinesis, and others are true unknowns. The few people remaining are diverse. Some choose to live Outside while others are dying to get picked to live in the City. Patrick considers himself lucky that as a Class One Empath he gets to live within the City.
The first real solo case Patrick is given will open his eyes to so many things he never knew existed much less possible. The emaciated, battered and scarred John Doe 439 is going to rock Patrick’s world and turn everything he knows upside down. Jac (JD439) is from the outside and his Talents are something beyond rare. He fears the white barren room he wakes in for good reason. Jac has experienced first-hand the horrors and atrocities that can be done to people by other humans. Jac knows that the place where his friendship begins with Patrick is not what it appears to be. He worries that Patrick is not what he appears to be.
I enjoyed the story. While going in expecting a romance I was instead given a post-apocalyptic world where everything I know and love has changed. The world Patrick, Jac, and their friends, family, and coworkers are trying to not just live but to thrive in is riveting. When one decides to go against conformity and reach for freedom the way this world really works is given a different perspective and makes for an intense read. Definitely glad I read it. I know I would not have purchased it intentionally had I known upfront that I wasn’t going to get a love story.
The world as we know it has been drastically changed by the Burst. It has left the majority of the land decimated. The inhabitants have also changed. Perhaps this change is simply evolution, it may also have been due to the Burst. People have been left with Talents. Some have very little in the way of their talents.
Others are now strong telepaths, empaths, clairvoyants, telekinesis, and others are true unknowns. The few people remaining are diverse. Some choose to live Outside while others are dying to get picked to live in the City. Patrick considers himself lucky that as a Class One Empath he gets to live within the City.
The first real solo case Patrick is given will open his eyes to so many things he never knew existed much less possible. The emaciated, battered and scarred John Doe 439 is going to rock Patrick’s world and turn everything he knows upside down. Jac (JD439) is from the outside and his Talents are something beyond rare. He fears the white barren room he wakes in for good reason. Jac has experienced first-hand the horrors and atrocities that can be done to people by other humans. Jac knows that the place where his friendship begins with Patrick is not what it appears to be. He worries that Patrick is not what he appears to be.
I enjoyed the story. While going in expecting a romance I was instead given a post-apocalyptic world where everything I know and love has changed. The world Patrick, Jac, and their friends, family, and coworkers are trying to not just live but to thrive in is riveting. When one decides to go against conformity and reach for freedom the way this world really works is given a different perspective and makes for an intense read. Definitely glad I read it. I know I would not have purchased it intentionally had I known upfront that I wasn’t going to get a love story.
June 17, 2013
Class One Empath Patrick Harvey is excited to be assigned his very first patient. Apparently the man was found outside of New Las Vegas city limits nude, injured, and mute. So far no one knows where John Doe 439 hails from and Patrick has the honor of working with the poor man to uncover his past.
As Patrick unravels the nightmares within John Doe’s mind he comes to realize that the patient is being over medicated, that he’s not mentally challenged, simply traumatized and that he isn’t from anywhere the Empath knows of. When doctor and patient finally manage to communicate properly the empath makes an astounding discovery. It seems that Jac is an incredible Talent with multiple psychic gifts. Someone the powerful based in New Chicago would love to interview and exploit.
All of Patrick’s perceptions are being ripped away, their leadership is not benign and his patient does things with his mind that cannot be explained. And it goes without saying that falling in love wasn’t part of the plan. The empath’s entire world is crumbling, but all that matters is saving Jac.
Freedom shines. This riveting alternate reality resonates with quiet passion and purest love. Drama begins to build from the very first page, the suspense rolls gently in and then consumes the plotline. Next comes the pulse pounding action and you can’t read the pages fast enough until Freedom liberates all. A special love story where communicating means more than sexual activity. I Joyfully recommend Freedom.
Reviewed by Lisa for Joyfully Reviewed
As Patrick unravels the nightmares within John Doe’s mind he comes to realize that the patient is being over medicated, that he’s not mentally challenged, simply traumatized and that he isn’t from anywhere the Empath knows of. When doctor and patient finally manage to communicate properly the empath makes an astounding discovery. It seems that Jac is an incredible Talent with multiple psychic gifts. Someone the powerful based in New Chicago would love to interview and exploit.
All of Patrick’s perceptions are being ripped away, their leadership is not benign and his patient does things with his mind that cannot be explained. And it goes without saying that falling in love wasn’t part of the plan. The empath’s entire world is crumbling, but all that matters is saving Jac.
Freedom shines. This riveting alternate reality resonates with quiet passion and purest love. Drama begins to build from the very first page, the suspense rolls gently in and then consumes the plotline. Next comes the pulse pounding action and you can’t read the pages fast enough until Freedom liberates all. A special love story where communicating means more than sexual activity. I Joyfully recommend Freedom.
Reviewed by Lisa for Joyfully Reviewed
August 11, 2014
I was kind of expecting a cold, harsh read about a distopian future, and whilst the harsh future is there and references to a terrible crime are there in memories, the story itself is one of hope and wonder really.
I'm not greatly into futuristic scifi stories but the writing here is light, the pace of the story was fast and the characters were formed enough to make you empathise(!) with them.
Patrick is lucky, he has been rescued from the outside and now lives an easy life working as an empath, helping people through trauma. He still supports his outside friends on the sly, but life is good. Then he meets Jac, his first solo case and whilst we gradually learn more of Jac just as Jac himself starts coming back to himself, so Patrick also starts to wake up to more possibilities than his pristine world.
The AU world is near enough to now, with New Las Vegas, New Chicago etc for me to relate to and whilst we never learn much about The Burst, I assume it is an EMP sun thing that wiped out technology and therefore a lot of civilisation.
I really enjoyed the development of both Jac and Patrick's consciousness, in different ways, through their sessions, though not learning about what had happened to Rob, Jac, Mandy and Tedrick. The escape to Freedom was good to read though felt a bit rushed at times compared to the details in the first half of the book - and Childers definitely sent a chill so glad she got her comeuppance!
I'm not greatly into futuristic scifi stories but the writing here is light, the pace of the story was fast and the characters were formed enough to make you empathise(!) with them.
Patrick is lucky, he has been rescued from the outside and now lives an easy life working as an empath, helping people through trauma. He still supports his outside friends on the sly, but life is good. Then he meets Jac, his first solo case and whilst we gradually learn more of Jac just as Jac himself starts coming back to himself, so Patrick also starts to wake up to more possibilities than his pristine world.
The AU world is near enough to now, with New Las Vegas, New Chicago etc for me to relate to and whilst we never learn much about The Burst, I assume it is an EMP sun thing that wiped out technology and therefore a lot of civilisation.
I really enjoyed the development of both Jac and Patrick's consciousness, in different ways, through their sessions, though not learning about what had happened to Rob, Jac, Mandy and Tedrick. The escape to Freedom was good to read though felt a bit rushed at times compared to the details in the first half of the book - and Childers definitely sent a chill so glad she got her comeuppance!
December 19, 2014
Very few books grab me from the outset. It's usually like a blind date, with the two of you eyeing one another and wondering just how soon you can politely leave. Freedom got me from the first paragraphs. Intricately plotted, and set in a dystopian future interesting in it's own right, what sets Freedom apart from others, in my opinion, is the deft delineation of it's main characters, and the *laser* focus of it's depiction of the meeting, and initial interaction of it's main characters. I've spent enough time in hospitals as an orthopedic patient to feel a deep tug of resonance and kinship with *both* characters. All of the confusion, the pain and sense of depersonalization are there, along with that strange sense of *decompressing* as you emerge into ordinary life. The book is a fantastic read in it's entirety..and deserves more attention than it's gotten, but that first portion will always have impact for me. Well done. Very well done. Go read it.
June 17, 2013
Up to now most gay-themed books I've read were coming-of-age books (e.g. Mark Roeder, Jay Bell, John Goode). Therefore I wanted to read a different kind of gay-themed book. I tried Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim, but the child abuse theme isn't really my thing. However, Freedom by Jay Karkpatrick is something different. It is a sci-fi book with an interesting plot which kept me interested from the very first chapter. To avoid spoilers I will not go into details of the story of the book. One of the good parts of this book was that the intimacy between the two main (male) characters was considered 'normal' in the setting of this book. So, instead of the coming-out-of-the-closet struggle so often described in gay-themed books, this book could focus on the intimate development between two persons.
November 12, 2013
3.8 stars
CONTAINS a bit of SPOILER! :)
As much as it reminds me so much of one of my favorite books "Waiting for the Moon" by Kristin Hannah I can't give it a perfect 5 stars. It's just that I was not satisfied between Jac and Patrick. I really like Jac, he's adorable! hehe while Patrick hmmm... -_- he turned out to be a boring and useless? (sorry!) character, he was good at the 1st part but at the 2nd part he didn't only jeopardized the escape plan he was not much of used to them while they were battling. Rob was even more interesting than him but I still almost love this book so 3.8 stars especially the FIRST PART! I love the first part! hehe :D
CONTAINS a bit of SPOILER! :)
As much as it reminds me so much of one of my favorite books "Waiting for the Moon" by Kristin Hannah I can't give it a perfect 5 stars. It's just that I was not satisfied between Jac and Patrick. I really like Jac, he's adorable! hehe while Patrick hmmm... -_- he turned out to be a boring and useless? (sorry!) character, he was good at the 1st part but at the 2nd part he didn't only jeopardized the escape plan he was not much of used to them while they were battling. Rob was even more interesting than him but I still almost love this book so 3.8 stars especially the FIRST PART! I love the first part! hehe :D
April 23, 2013
It's a great story. Much more a science fiction adventure story than a m/m romance, but that's a good thing. The last forty pages or so get a bit muddled, because the transitions move too quickly (but, to be fair, I may only be thinking that because I really wanted this novel to stretch out). I preferred the first segment with Jac and Patrick working through Jac's trauma to the other segments--again, I'd have liked that segment to stretch out. This would make a fantastic Indy sci fi film--if you're a producer or Indy director, get the rights to this one.
May 24, 2013
Very imaginative, well-developed world with great characters.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, and just good ol' romance. The love story is developed alongside a gripping story, and it's all perfectly balanced.
I'll really look forward to reading more from Jay Kirkpatrick.
Just have to mention the cover: it's perfect. Anne Cain does it again. She shows us the bleak, white environment the poor prisoner is kept in, and his despair and attempt to shield himself from the world he finds himself in.
I'd recommend this to anyone who likes sci-fi, paranormal, post-apocalyptic, and just good ol' romance. The love story is developed alongside a gripping story, and it's all perfectly balanced.
I'll really look forward to reading more from Jay Kirkpatrick.
Just have to mention the cover: it's perfect. Anne Cain does it again. She shows us the bleak, white environment the poor prisoner is kept in, and his despair and attempt to shield himself from the world he finds himself in.
April 13, 2017
There was nothing wrong with this book, but I like the time I spend reading to be happier. This was a little bit bad things happen, bad things happen, more bad things happen, awful things happen, but, hey, we all persevered in the end. The premise is interesting and the writing is good, but when I was done I was left feeling depressed.
Also, it's possible I'm just too burnt on the dystopian future dramas. Doesn't anyone think the future is going to be okay anymore?
Also, it's possible I'm just too burnt on the dystopian future dramas. Doesn't anyone think the future is going to be okay anymore?
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