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Happy Deathday #1
Happy Deathday
The Problem...the Earth's ozone layer is set to be destroyed by a gamma ray explosion from a distant star. In one mighty blast, the Earth will be engulfed by the relentless searing heat of the Sun.
The Solution...build a vast underground structure, a breeding colony, to save the Human Race from extinction to accommodate 6,570 young men and women...the Chosen.
The Hope...that one day the Chosen will rise up, from the depths, to the surface and set about re-populating the Earth. But not today...never today.
Jonathan and Sarah have had their eighteen years in the Colony and their Deathdays are fast approaching. One is born every day; one dies every day. That is the way of the Colony. Like Jonathan, Sarah has successfully completed her breeding programme, a soulless clinical procedure and is ready to re-join the Colony and prepare for her Deathday - a time of celebration when, the contribution each colonist has made to its mission, is fulfilled. It's a moment of glory, a moment of recognition, a moment of...sacrifice. It's all they have. This is your destiny. That's what they've always been told.
But when Jonathan, a model colonist, loses a week's supply of his Supplement...the Supplement he believes contains only vitamins and minerals, he starts to realise that he's been dead for years...walking the corridors of the City in a drug-induced haze of compliance. Without its influence, Jonathan begins to experience all the signs of puberty. He starts noticing things that he's never noticed before, in particular Sarah. With his body no longer under his control, Jonathan struggles with his attraction to her and his growing sexual awareness. He also notices Zack, a Security Response Unit officer and two things become apparent. One... that Zack, and an ever-increasing number of SRU officers, are becoming a threat to the Colony. And two...Zack has designs on Sarah. Fuelled by love, jealousy and the hormones his body's been denied for years, Jonathan takes him on. But his biggest enemy is not Zack, it's time itself. And time is running out...fast.
SOMETIMES YOUR DESTINY IS NOT ENOUGH
'Logan's Run meets Lord of the Flies' in this dystopian debut told from a compelling dual perspective. The story continues in Resurrection (Happy Deathday 2)
The Solution...build a vast underground structure, a breeding colony, to save the Human Race from extinction to accommodate 6,570 young men and women...the Chosen.
The Hope...that one day the Chosen will rise up, from the depths, to the surface and set about re-populating the Earth. But not today...never today.
Jonathan and Sarah have had their eighteen years in the Colony and their Deathdays are fast approaching. One is born every day; one dies every day. That is the way of the Colony. Like Jonathan, Sarah has successfully completed her breeding programme, a soulless clinical procedure and is ready to re-join the Colony and prepare for her Deathday - a time of celebration when, the contribution each colonist has made to its mission, is fulfilled. It's a moment of glory, a moment of recognition, a moment of...sacrifice. It's all they have. This is your destiny. That's what they've always been told.
But when Jonathan, a model colonist, loses a week's supply of his Supplement...the Supplement he believes contains only vitamins and minerals, he starts to realise that he's been dead for years...walking the corridors of the City in a drug-induced haze of compliance. Without its influence, Jonathan begins to experience all the signs of puberty. He starts noticing things that he's never noticed before, in particular Sarah. With his body no longer under his control, Jonathan struggles with his attraction to her and his growing sexual awareness. He also notices Zack, a Security Response Unit officer and two things become apparent. One... that Zack, and an ever-increasing number of SRU officers, are becoming a threat to the Colony. And two...Zack has designs on Sarah. Fuelled by love, jealousy and the hormones his body's been denied for years, Jonathan takes him on. But his biggest enemy is not Zack, it's time itself. And time is running out...fast.
SOMETIMES YOUR DESTINY IS NOT ENOUGH
'Logan's Run meets Lord of the Flies' in this dystopian debut told from a compelling dual perspective. The story continues in Resurrection (Happy Deathday 2)
390 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2013
About the author
Sue Yockney
4 books4 followersSue Yockney, was born in London and spent most of her childhood there. After studying art at Central St Martins, she went on to qualify as a chartered librarian, eventually becoming a School Library Advisor.
Now settled in Devon, her interest in writing began when, as a member of an amateur dramatic group unable to find suitable material to perform, she wrote and directed three murder mystery plays. For many years, she concentrated on short stories and enjoys writing in a variety of genres.
In 2013 Sue published her debut novel, a SF dystopian romance/thriller, Happy Deathday and its sequel, Resurrection . Her third novel, a satirical romp with a dystopian twist entitled, Outside the Box was published in 2016. In April 2019, Viral City (Happy Deathday:Part 3) was published. It can be read as a standalone novel in its own right or as a follow on from Parts 1 & 2.
When she’s not writing Sue enjoys, reading, cinema, contemporary jazz and travel. Sue and her husband have been to Alaska twice, did a five week road trip of New Zealand and a tour of Patagonia Their most exciting and challenging trip to date, was driving the Dempster Highway (the Ice Road Truckers road) up to and beyond the Arctic Circle - in the summer. As Sue points out, doing it in the winter, would just be suicidal.
Now settled in Devon, her interest in writing began when, as a member of an amateur dramatic group unable to find suitable material to perform, she wrote and directed three murder mystery plays. For many years, she concentrated on short stories and enjoys writing in a variety of genres.
In 2013 Sue published her debut novel, a SF dystopian romance/thriller, Happy Deathday and its sequel, Resurrection . Her third novel, a satirical romp with a dystopian twist entitled, Outside the Box was published in 2016. In April 2019, Viral City (Happy Deathday:Part 3) was published. It can be read as a standalone novel in its own right or as a follow on from Parts 1 & 2.
When she’s not writing Sue enjoys, reading, cinema, contemporary jazz and travel. Sue and her husband have been to Alaska twice, did a five week road trip of New Zealand and a tour of Patagonia Their most exciting and challenging trip to date, was driving the Dempster Highway (the Ice Road Truckers road) up to and beyond the Arctic Circle - in the summer. As Sue points out, doing it in the winter, would just be suicidal.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2015
Life in the Colony never changes. From their first day until their Deathday at age 18, everyone peacefully moves through their lives and tasks, not questioning and not caring. Everything is perfectly harmonious... on the surface.
When Jonathan, a Colony citizen soon approaching his Deathday, accidentally drops a week's worth of his supplement into the air vent, he starts noticing things he never did before. And feeling things he never imagined.
Sarah, having just completed the Colony's breeding program, is experiencing similar things, and is just as confused about it. As brand-new attraction sparks between them, they start to notice that they're not the only ones behaving differently. No longer complacent, Jonathan and Sarah struggle with their new emotions and try to figure out why Zack seems to have it out for them.
Happy Deathday is a fast-paced adventure through a dystopian Colony. I have questions that are begging to be answered (Fair warning: it's a cliff-hanger.), and I can't seem to stop tumbling them over in my head, trying to see how Yockney is going to solve it. Resurrection is going on my TBR.
The one big drawback for me (grammar fiend that I am) was the commas. There were way too many of them. If I was a meme girl, this is where I would be putting one along the lines of "Commas... Commas everywhere". It made the story read a bit choppier than it really is.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
When Jonathan, a Colony citizen soon approaching his Deathday, accidentally drops a week's worth of his supplement into the air vent, he starts noticing things he never did before. And feeling things he never imagined.
Sarah, having just completed the Colony's breeding program, is experiencing similar things, and is just as confused about it. As brand-new attraction sparks between them, they start to notice that they're not the only ones behaving differently. No longer complacent, Jonathan and Sarah struggle with their new emotions and try to figure out why Zack seems to have it out for them.
Happy Deathday is a fast-paced adventure through a dystopian Colony. I have questions that are begging to be answered (Fair warning: it's a cliff-hanger.), and I can't seem to stop tumbling them over in my head, trying to see how Yockney is going to solve it. Resurrection is going on my TBR.
The one big drawback for me (grammar fiend that I am) was the commas. There were way too many of them. If I was a meme girl, this is where I would be putting one along the lines of "Commas... Commas everywhere". It made the story read a bit choppier than it really is.
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
February 1, 2014
This book really had me going for a while, at some points I couldn't put it down and at others I wished it would hurry up with the plot! But by the end of it I was left wanting more, what a cliffhanger! will definitely need to get my hands on resurrection! Overall it was well written especially for a book world that got so much across to the reader with characters who remained ignorant was great.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews