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Sorrows #1
Hear Me Scream
A global economic crash and the release of a deadly virus, exterminates most of the world’s population. From the ashes of a ruined nation a new breed of humans arises.
Raven Carrier, guided by a strange voice inside her head, is on a dangerous mission to find her stolen son—or else die trying. Along the way, she meets Ata, a blue-haired girl with an uncertain mission of her own. Together, the two survivors tackle the evils of a lawless state.
Nico Lowell travels from county to county curing the sick and injured. While his healing and sharp senses have saved many lives, he is unable to heal his own weakening body from self-destruction. He cannot fully exist without another, one he has searched for his entire life, until he catches the scent of her spilled blood from miles away. He puts everything on the line to reach her before it’s too late.
Imprisoned by the rebel soldiers who brutally abused and murdered his family, Camden Sickles struggles to conform to the vicious militia overpowering the southern region. In captivity, he learns of the Sorrows, the next step in human evolution. This northern government has deprived the people of basic liberties, including the right to exist. Camden, a southern slave, is forced to do unspeakable acts of degradation until the day he breaks and discovers what it takes to fight for freedom.
For Raven, Nico and Camden, their destinies coincide around Ata. For family, Raven follows the girl to a decaying city. For life, Nico vows to protect her from harm. For freedom, Camden guides her to the uncharted wilderness. For survival, humanity must keep her alive.
The girl screams and all hear.
Raven Carrier, guided by a strange voice inside her head, is on a dangerous mission to find her stolen son—or else die trying. Along the way, she meets Ata, a blue-haired girl with an uncertain mission of her own. Together, the two survivors tackle the evils of a lawless state.
Nico Lowell travels from county to county curing the sick and injured. While his healing and sharp senses have saved many lives, he is unable to heal his own weakening body from self-destruction. He cannot fully exist without another, one he has searched for his entire life, until he catches the scent of her spilled blood from miles away. He puts everything on the line to reach her before it’s too late.
Imprisoned by the rebel soldiers who brutally abused and murdered his family, Camden Sickles struggles to conform to the vicious militia overpowering the southern region. In captivity, he learns of the Sorrows, the next step in human evolution. This northern government has deprived the people of basic liberties, including the right to exist. Camden, a southern slave, is forced to do unspeakable acts of degradation until the day he breaks and discovers what it takes to fight for freedom.
For Raven, Nico and Camden, their destinies coincide around Ata. For family, Raven follows the girl to a decaying city. For life, Nico vows to protect her from harm. For freedom, Camden guides her to the uncharted wilderness. For survival, humanity must keep her alive.
The girl screams and all hear.
- GenresPost Apocalyptic
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
R.M. James
2 books107 followersR.M. James wrote plays as a child and forced her sisters to read them. As she got older, her stories evolved into short movies. Her film and literature studies edged her into one of her truest callings: fiction writing. The majority of her time goes into caring for her family, taking nature shots, and imagining new scenes for another novel. She lives in Nevada.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 20, 2015
This book proved to be a bittersweet experience to me. It started off so well, lots of clues lying around, little pieces of a puzzle which was supposed to be assembled later. I liked how it was not obvious which of the two initial characters was the main one and how that feeling continued throughout the book. Everyone had their own agenda, even though they either didn't know what it was or how to accomplish it. I also liked how it portrayed how a big disaster can bring out the worst in people. And I mean the worst.
But as the narrative progressed, I grew more and more uncomfortable. Waiting for the pieces to be assembled is fine and adds to the suspense but I kind of expect that, when it finally happens, it will make sense. That didn't happen here. With each chapter we knew a little more about each character and their story/purpose, but all very vague and mysterious, and then suddenly there were times when so much information was spewed at such an insane rate that I simply could not wrap my head around it - be it the Carrier family tree or the explanation of a Sorrow, for instance, but there were many, many more examples.
There were abrupt changes to the surroundings and the characters themselves many times a new chapter began. It took a while to get myself situated again but that would be fine, if I didn't keep feeling something was missing between then and now. I had to constantly go back and forth, looking for specific information, and that was not pleasant. Sometimes the characters acted so differently that it just added to my unneasiness.
There are very explicit sex scenes. A lot of men running around with erect penises and 2 of the main characters constantly wanting to get into each other's pants got old after a while, and I am still unsure about the purpose of some of those scenes, at least to this extent. The frequency of them made me feel as if the book could not make up its mind about what it wants to be (erotic fantasy?). I feel like a lot of those descriptions, amongst others, did not add much to the story. I expected violence, but not such thorough descriptions about men being raped and all the 'fusing'. So a heads up regarding this content would have been nice, especially in the book synopsis.
Overall I feel the world and characters described in this book, their stories and backgrounds could have been better elaborated. The premise was so good and then so much was left unexplained, or at least not properly explained, to the point where I could not really connect to what I was reading.
It was still enjoyable at times, especially because I found it different from books of similar genre but, at the end of the day, I expected a bit more closure, I suppose. One minute the characters/plot was explained in a way, then it was something else altogether and in the end I was still extremely confused. The descriptions of their background, quest, purpose and origin changed so dramatically at times that I kept feeling I had walked in in the middle of the explanation. I was simply lost.
Reading this book made me feel the way I felt watching the movie 12 Monkeys, if you know what I mean - but even that gave more closure and allowed to connect all the dots in the end. It's a 'high maintenance' book, you can't believe everything you read and you have to pay VERY close attention. If you miss something, what comes next won't make sense. And you need to have a good memory too. I think the only way this might make sense to me was if I reread it, but even then I wonder if it would, since it doesn't take much to get lost.
I pondered giving the book 4 stars instead of 3, but at the end of the day I have to be true to the feeling I was left with when I finished it and that was an enormous headache.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Feel free to take a look at Book Lair's buddy read of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
But as the narrative progressed, I grew more and more uncomfortable. Waiting for the pieces to be assembled is fine and adds to the suspense but I kind of expect that, when it finally happens, it will make sense. That didn't happen here. With each chapter we knew a little more about each character and their story/purpose, but all very vague and mysterious, and then suddenly there were times when so much information was spewed at such an insane rate that I simply could not wrap my head around it - be it the Carrier family tree or the explanation of a Sorrow, for instance, but there were many, many more examples.
There were abrupt changes to the surroundings and the characters themselves many times a new chapter began. It took a while to get myself situated again but that would be fine, if I didn't keep feeling something was missing between then and now. I had to constantly go back and forth, looking for specific information, and that was not pleasant. Sometimes the characters acted so differently that it just added to my unneasiness.
There are very explicit sex scenes. A lot of men running around with erect penises and 2 of the main characters constantly wanting to get into each other's pants got old after a while, and I am still unsure about the purpose of some of those scenes, at least to this extent. The frequency of them made me feel as if the book could not make up its mind about what it wants to be (erotic fantasy?). I feel like a lot of those descriptions, amongst others, did not add much to the story. I expected violence, but not such thorough descriptions about men being raped and all the 'fusing'. So a heads up regarding this content would have been nice, especially in the book synopsis.
Overall I feel the world and characters described in this book, their stories and backgrounds could have been better elaborated. The premise was so good and then so much was left unexplained, or at least not properly explained, to the point where I could not really connect to what I was reading.
It was still enjoyable at times, especially because I found it different from books of similar genre but, at the end of the day, I expected a bit more closure, I suppose. One minute the characters/plot was explained in a way, then it was something else altogether and in the end I was still extremely confused. The descriptions of their background, quest, purpose and origin changed so dramatically at times that I kept feeling I had walked in in the middle of the explanation. I was simply lost.
Reading this book made me feel the way I felt watching the movie 12 Monkeys, if you know what I mean - but even that gave more closure and allowed to connect all the dots in the end. It's a 'high maintenance' book, you can't believe everything you read and you have to pay VERY close attention. If you miss something, what comes next won't make sense. And you need to have a good memory too. I think the only way this might make sense to me was if I reread it, but even then I wonder if it would, since it doesn't take much to get lost.
I pondered giving the book 4 stars instead of 3, but at the end of the day I have to be true to the feeling I was left with when I finished it and that was an enormous headache.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Feel free to take a look at Book Lair's buddy read of this book: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
October 25, 2014
The leading character is Raven and she lives in this apocalyptic wasteland, and she's looking for her son who was taken away when he was just a baby. Raven's a jaded girl, and she hears a voice in her head. I liked her. She was tough. She meets Ata, a happy girl with blue hair and oranges. They are a mismatched pair right away, Ata is a free spirit and Raven is a debbie downer. But Raven lets her tag along because Ata has food and Raven's starving.
Later we meet Nico, my favorite character. A really nice guy in a not so nice world. In fact, he and Ata sort of stick out as far as nice goes because almost everyone in this book is pretty heartless. He and his dad go to different towns healing people. Nico is a healer. He touches people and heals their insides. His father Kurt is a selfish man wanting more stuff to lug around. I didn't like Kurt at first. But later, he ends up being the one who explains why the world is the way it is, which I wondered about until he did.
So, Nico finds Ata and Raven by scent, Ata's scent, she was bleeding to death. Did I mention she was nearly murdered right off the bet? Nico vows to protect the women and accompany them on their journey. Nico's gentlemanly like that, but also a hunter and vicious if he needs to be. He did disappoint me at times, but I think he always managed to redeem himself. I actually thought he'd end up being Raven's love interest, not the case.
Then we have Camden, a bookworm teenager. His story line isn't linked to the other two until the last act, and he's put through some harrowing stuff. If you don't like physical abuse, or tons violence then his chapters are going to be hard to digest. His family is captured by rebels, and the rebels are pretty terrifying people. They basically rape and pillage.
Among the rebels, the rebel leader, Joshua, was the most interesting in the bunch. He's crazy. In one scene he's like this general giving orders, in another, he's an angry musician who swears a lot, and in another scene he's a philosopher. His men know he's crazy, which was amusing to me, because I thought all the rebels were crazy to some extent. But I agree that Joshua was the craziest. I wish we'd seen more of him.
There are some fantasy aspects to the story. Part two explores Nico's origins, and Ata's relationship with animals. Raven learns about her own background and about Sorrows. Sorrows are psychics. We meet new characters and bonds strengthen. Part two is the educational and love part. But not for Camden. His whole story is dark and depressing.
The last part was intense. We finally find out what Zemi is and what's that voice inside Raven's head. Most of the last part takes place in a decaying city which was a vast difference from the other two parts where the characters roam rural Kentucky. A lot of deaths in this part. Tons of action and much needed revenge.
The story leaves a very good set up for a sequel or prequel. There were questions raised that left me wanting to know what the future held for them and left me wondering about their past.
I think the world and the story as a whole was fun and the ending was satisfying for most of the key characters. I don't want to giveaway spoilers, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future of one character in particular, and I pray he really does come back, stronger then ever!
Later we meet Nico, my favorite character. A really nice guy in a not so nice world. In fact, he and Ata sort of stick out as far as nice goes because almost everyone in this book is pretty heartless. He and his dad go to different towns healing people. Nico is a healer. He touches people and heals their insides. His father Kurt is a selfish man wanting more stuff to lug around. I didn't like Kurt at first. But later, he ends up being the one who explains why the world is the way it is, which I wondered about until he did.
So, Nico finds Ata and Raven by scent, Ata's scent, she was bleeding to death. Did I mention she was nearly murdered right off the bet? Nico vows to protect the women and accompany them on their journey. Nico's gentlemanly like that, but also a hunter and vicious if he needs to be. He did disappoint me at times, but I think he always managed to redeem himself. I actually thought he'd end up being Raven's love interest, not the case.
Then we have Camden, a bookworm teenager. His story line isn't linked to the other two until the last act, and he's put through some harrowing stuff. If you don't like physical abuse, or tons violence then his chapters are going to be hard to digest. His family is captured by rebels, and the rebels are pretty terrifying people. They basically rape and pillage.
Among the rebels, the rebel leader, Joshua, was the most interesting in the bunch. He's crazy. In one scene he's like this general giving orders, in another, he's an angry musician who swears a lot, and in another scene he's a philosopher. His men know he's crazy, which was amusing to me, because I thought all the rebels were crazy to some extent. But I agree that Joshua was the craziest. I wish we'd seen more of him.
There are some fantasy aspects to the story. Part two explores Nico's origins, and Ata's relationship with animals. Raven learns about her own background and about Sorrows. Sorrows are psychics. We meet new characters and bonds strengthen. Part two is the educational and love part. But not for Camden. His whole story is dark and depressing.
The last part was intense. We finally find out what Zemi is and what's that voice inside Raven's head. Most of the last part takes place in a decaying city which was a vast difference from the other two parts where the characters roam rural Kentucky. A lot of deaths in this part. Tons of action and much needed revenge.
The story leaves a very good set up for a sequel or prequel. There were questions raised that left me wanting to know what the future held for them and left me wondering about their past.
I think the world and the story as a whole was fun and the ending was satisfying for most of the key characters. I don't want to giveaway spoilers, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the future of one character in particular, and I pray he really does come back, stronger then ever!
February 11, 2015
Great mixture of fantasy and post apocalyptic fiction. Adult situations makes this not suitable for younger readers. The characters are colorful and believable. The author makes us care about her characters from page one and the reader is invested all the way to the end. This is the first of a series and I'm excited to read the next one when it comes out.
December 11, 2014
good book
June 1, 2015
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I had high expectations for this book, since the starting point is very interesting and well written. Unfortunately, I felt that the end was not up to this beginning.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans try to survive by all means. They have to keep away from the Sorrows, mystical people that took over part of the world, and fight against sickness and rebels in a ruined world.
One by one, we meet the main characters and discover their quests. Their stories and quests are compelling and the characters are well elaborated. Each one stands out with his own character, his own voice, and they feel strong and well sketched. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like all of them evolved and developed much during the book. Ata especially even felt like she “regressed”, lost consistency. She started interesting, but ended like an empty shell. At least, that’s how she felt to me. She was a bit too passive to all that was happening to my own taste, which is a pity because a lot is revolving around her.
As mentioned before, the story starts on a good foot but I got more and more confused as it unfolds. The more reveals there were, the more questions and confusions I felt there were. Also, I sometime had some difficulties following the flow of the story.
Not all the characters storylines converge until the end, so the POV kept jumping from one character to the other. I’m usually fine with it, a lot of books are using this method, but here, the author doesn’t always make clear at the beginning of chapters where we are in space (i.e. with which character), and especially in time (i.e. at which point of the story). Sometime, we leave characters at one place to pick them up somewhere else, which is pretty confusing.
And the end just felt completely crazy to me. I could understand each written word, each sentence. I could understand what the characters where saying, what they were doing, what they said were their motivation. But I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. In a way, if my mind could objectively understand what was happening, I think I just couldn’t subjectively feel it, understand it.
So in the end, if I felt the book had an interesting premise, but in the end, it just left me in a strange place, not really knowing what to think about it.
I had high expectations for this book, since the starting point is very interesting and well written. Unfortunately, I felt that the end was not up to this beginning.
The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans try to survive by all means. They have to keep away from the Sorrows, mystical people that took over part of the world, and fight against sickness and rebels in a ruined world.
One by one, we meet the main characters and discover their quests. Their stories and quests are compelling and the characters are well elaborated. Each one stands out with his own character, his own voice, and they feel strong and well sketched. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like all of them evolved and developed much during the book. Ata especially even felt like she “regressed”, lost consistency. She started interesting, but ended like an empty shell. At least, that’s how she felt to me. She was a bit too passive to all that was happening to my own taste, which is a pity because a lot is revolving around her.
As mentioned before, the story starts on a good foot but I got more and more confused as it unfolds. The more reveals there were, the more questions and confusions I felt there were. Also, I sometime had some difficulties following the flow of the story.
Not all the characters storylines converge until the end, so the POV kept jumping from one character to the other. I’m usually fine with it, a lot of books are using this method, but here, the author doesn’t always make clear at the beginning of chapters where we are in space (i.e. with which character), and especially in time (i.e. at which point of the story). Sometime, we leave characters at one place to pick them up somewhere else, which is pretty confusing.
And the end just felt completely crazy to me. I could understand each written word, each sentence. I could understand what the characters where saying, what they were doing, what they said were their motivation. But I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it. In a way, if my mind could objectively understand what was happening, I think I just couldn’t subjectively feel it, understand it.
So in the end, if I felt the book had an interesting premise, but in the end, it just left me in a strange place, not really knowing what to think about it.
October 31, 2014
This book has lots of action, from the very beginning. It seemed that, with every chapter, there were more ways for the characters to die horrible deaths. Or, end up a sex slave for life.
This is the dystopian story of earth that's been ravaged by disease. We created our own destruction with genetic engineering. Those that survived the plague, are genetically mutated humans. Bigger. Better. Faster. Some can read minds, others can talk to animals. A select few can even reincarnate, and travel through time.
So, it's an amazing world, filled with special powers, love, and rebels who like to turn all their captives into sex slaves. Men and women. Something that drove me nuts was all the gay rape. Oral and anal. Like, over and over.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that, when it came to raping the women, or even small children, we are spared the details. They just get raped. I mean, no actual descriptions of the semen spilling out of their mouths, like when the men get raped. What gives? I was like, here we go. She's gonna get it. Oh, what the fuck... "And then they raped her." That's it? But when they rape and torture the guys, it's like pure porn.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for graphic descriptions of guys getting fucked in the ass. It's just that I'd also like to read about the girls getting raped and tortured. Is that so wrong?
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
This is the dystopian story of earth that's been ravaged by disease. We created our own destruction with genetic engineering. Those that survived the plague, are genetically mutated humans. Bigger. Better. Faster. Some can read minds, others can talk to animals. A select few can even reincarnate, and travel through time.
So, it's an amazing world, filled with special powers, love, and rebels who like to turn all their captives into sex slaves. Men and women. Something that drove me nuts was all the gay rape. Oral and anal. Like, over and over.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that, when it came to raping the women, or even small children, we are spared the details. They just get raped. I mean, no actual descriptions of the semen spilling out of their mouths, like when the men get raped. What gives? I was like, here we go. She's gonna get it. Oh, what the fuck... "And then they raped her." That's it? But when they rape and torture the guys, it's like pure porn.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for graphic descriptions of guys getting fucked in the ass. It's just that I'd also like to read about the girls getting raped and tortured. Is that so wrong?
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
July 4, 2015
This story is told with rotating POVs. Each character has their own desires, and their stories only connect in that they cross one another's path, and in this post-apocalyptic future, it's best to travel with people than alone.
Because the characters are all driven by their own needs and they are not working together towards a single goal, this isn't a mindless read.
The characters are fully fleshed out and have individual personalities. Raven is a hardened woman with a single goal, and no one can prevent her from finding her son. Ata is a young girl a little naive about the world, but her journey shows her how cruel some people can be. Nico is empathetic and wants to save just about everyone he comes across. And Camden... I started off not liking his character, but by the end, the horrible things he witnesses and is done against him makes him way more sympathetic.
The plot is very rich, playing on themes of trust and love. I can't say too much along these lines, but the end of the novel shows that one character is willing to do what ever it takes to be with the one person he/she is closely linked to.
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
Because the characters are all driven by their own needs and they are not working together towards a single goal, this isn't a mindless read.
The characters are fully fleshed out and have individual personalities. Raven is a hardened woman with a single goal, and no one can prevent her from finding her son. Ata is a young girl a little naive about the world, but her journey shows her how cruel some people can be. Nico is empathetic and wants to save just about everyone he comes across. And Camden... I started off not liking his character, but by the end, the horrible things he witnesses and is done against him makes him way more sympathetic.
The plot is very rich, playing on themes of trust and love. I can't say too much along these lines, but the end of the novel shows that one character is willing to do what ever it takes to be with the one person he/she is closely linked to.
Overall, I highly recommend this book.
December 1, 2014
First of all I must say that I got this book from the author to to do a review.
It is a very peculiar book that left me confused at times and to be honest the different characters narrating didn't help. It takes a really skilled author to do this and most times I keep a way from books with this style of narrating.
It didn't flow, and most times I had to go back a page or two to reconfirm something...
What I did found very interesting was Raven and Blue and there quest. That's what kept me reading the book; it held my attention.
The beginning was good, in the middle it became kind of shaky but in the end it returned a bit strong.
I enjoyed it, not fully because it could've been better much. I look forward to the sequel and I hope it kicks ass.
It is a very peculiar book that left me confused at times and to be honest the different characters narrating didn't help. It takes a really skilled author to do this and most times I keep a way from books with this style of narrating.
It didn't flow, and most times I had to go back a page or two to reconfirm something...
What I did found very interesting was Raven and Blue and there quest. That's what kept me reading the book; it held my attention.
The beginning was good, in the middle it became kind of shaky but in the end it returned a bit strong.
I enjoyed it, not fully because it could've been better much. I look forward to the sequel and I hope it kicks ass.
April 9, 2015
This story kept me off balance and guessing what was going to happen next. I received a free copy in return for an honest review.
R.M. James has created an amazing dystopian world where human rebels are set to rage war against a race of super-humans calls Sorrows. Love, intrigue and betrayal are central themes as the main characters attempt to find their way in an unforgiving world. The ability of the Sorrows to enter someone's mind and influence their actions is always a concern. There are very strong sexual elements in this book which seem to be over the top. In their own way, these help to define the desperate needs of the characters and the horrors of this new world but will likely not be palatable by all readers.
R.M. James has created an amazing dystopian world where human rebels are set to rage war against a race of super-humans calls Sorrows. Love, intrigue and betrayal are central themes as the main characters attempt to find their way in an unforgiving world. The ability of the Sorrows to enter someone's mind and influence their actions is always a concern. There are very strong sexual elements in this book which seem to be over the top. In their own way, these help to define the desperate needs of the characters and the horrors of this new world but will likely not be palatable by all readers.
February 25, 2016
Was involved in critiquing this novel prior to the release. The characters are well developed and the plot very apparent. R.M. throws you through a world that is in itself, screaming in pain.
I very much recommend this novel for those who enjoy a dystopian society thrown on its ear.
I very much recommend this novel for those who enjoy a dystopian society thrown on its ear.
October 2, 2014
I honestly had a hard time gtting through this book. There were times where I was confused and missed soemthing and went back to check. It is really upsetting as the book sounded good.
April 6, 2015
I don't normally write a review but here goes as I received a copy in a goodreads comp (although a review was not required.)
This book I found to be "jumpy and rushed" all over the place, there was times I would be reading and would have to go back a page to see if I had missed something but there was nothing to miss. Other times there would be a information overload and tyring to keep up was confusing. Chapters would end and when picking up that character again it was not where they left off, leaving you to wonder how they got there in the new chapter in a new place. Making the story feel rushed.
At times I wanted to give up and throw it at the wall (my ereader wouldn't like that thou). But I did like the idea of the story, when I could keep up.
This book I found to be "jumpy and rushed" all over the place, there was times I would be reading and would have to go back a page to see if I had missed something but there was nothing to miss. Other times there would be a information overload and tyring to keep up was confusing. Chapters would end and when picking up that character again it was not where they left off, leaving you to wonder how they got there in the new chapter in a new place. Making the story feel rushed.
At times I wanted to give up and throw it at the wall (my ereader wouldn't like that thou). But I did like the idea of the story, when I could keep up.
February 4, 2015
It starts off well but quickly becomes disjointed. There are a lot of "time passes" sections that leave holes in the story.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews