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Ruinland #1
Enter Ruinland
Note: Enter Ruinland is included in the Dark Apocalypse Omnibus.
A FUTURE WORLD DESTROYED BY WAR
Humans, synthetics, and dark secrets.
Love, lust, and the fight to survive.
Trapped in underground bunkers, is there any escape?
Enter Ruinland is the searing dark chronicles of human and synthetic life following a future nuclear apocalypse. An artificial intelligence will sentence to death all humans incapable of authentic emotion. Within a military bunker are 70 survivors who face execution by a fabricated assassin. A soldier with a dark past must come to terms with a horrible truth. One woman's lustful choice may have fatal consequences. This is the beginning of mankind's end.
A FUTURE WORLD DESTROYED BY WAR
Humans, synthetics, and dark secrets.
Love, lust, and the fight to survive.
Trapped in underground bunkers, is there any escape?
Enter Ruinland is the searing dark chronicles of human and synthetic life following a future nuclear apocalypse. An artificial intelligence will sentence to death all humans incapable of authentic emotion. Within a military bunker are 70 survivors who face execution by a fabricated assassin. A soldier with a dark past must come to terms with a horrible truth. One woman's lustful choice may have fatal consequences. This is the beginning of mankind's end.
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 22, 2014
27 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Anderson
29 books151 followersC.J. Anderson is an impassioned writer from Nevada and lover of all things Sci-Fi. He enjoys watching new movies, TV shows, and has a pet Ginger Tom cat named Jones. Featured Ruinland artwork is designed by C.J.'s good friend, professional Venezuelan digital artist Carlos Quevedo.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 23, 2014
An interesting story, quick, & free. I think this author has a lot of potential. I like the descriptions & the action. I'll check out some other stories at some point.
Unfortunately, this story lacks any subtlety. Nihilism & religious fanaticism duke it out like Obi Wan & Darth Vader. Every character is damaged & rather grotesque in their stewing. Worst of all, I didn't find any compelling point, more of a meandering exploration of the two sides under rather restricting & not terribly believable rules.
Unfortunately, this story lacks any subtlety. Nihilism & religious fanaticism duke it out like Obi Wan & Darth Vader. Every character is damaged & rather grotesque in their stewing. Worst of all, I didn't find any compelling point, more of a meandering exploration of the two sides under rather restricting & not terribly believable rules.
November 1, 2014
Due to reader demand I included all three volumes of Ruinland Chronicles in a single ebook. This story is free to read. Also includes the exclusive new cover art by digital artist Carlos Quevedo. Enjoy and be sure to check out the sequel Survive Ruinland!
October 2, 2014
I liked the premise of this story. It mostly moves well, with just a few chapters that don't quite mesh with each other, but overall this author is a good story writer.
I really could have done with some old fashioned "quotation," marks. This author used none. I find it hard to know that all of sudden I'm reading dialogue, when the author puts a he said or she said in a line.
I know this is a new style of writing, but a style that I would never want to be a part of. I also would have liked to have seen some more character description. The scientist and the soldier, didn't quite make it for me. Also, setting was good, but there could have been more in the bunker. The taste in the air perhaps?
As a first book in this science fiction series, I think this author has great promise, and obviously a lot of energy to produce the whole series.
I would like to see a little more structure - again - that could be me just be old fashioned!
I really could have done with some old fashioned "quotation," marks. This author used none. I find it hard to know that all of sudden I'm reading dialogue, when the author puts a he said or she said in a line.
I know this is a new style of writing, but a style that I would never want to be a part of. I also would have liked to have seen some more character description. The scientist and the soldier, didn't quite make it for me. Also, setting was good, but there could have been more in the bunker. The taste in the air perhaps?
As a first book in this science fiction series, I think this author has great promise, and obviously a lot of energy to produce the whole series.
I would like to see a little more structure - again - that could be me just be old fashioned!
August 23, 2014
Post-Apocalyptic Short Story
"For countless centuries, the religious falsely predicted the end of the world. Prophecies of apocalypses, raptures, and Armageddons never proved to be true. Random military strikes or suicide bombings to summon divine wrath were never successful. The Islamic warlords and Christian radicals would have all happily died to usher in the coming of their version of Paradise. But the citizens of Earth never gave up on the hope of peace. The zealots eventually believed that it was God's will for them to destroy the world. They would no longer wait on God to wipe out mankind. They would do it themselves."
C. J. Anderson is the master of the post-apocalyptic short story. He also excels at incorporating social issues and mores. As one reads his stories of a dark and difficult world, one can't help but wonder: Is he also a clairvoyant?
"For countless centuries, the religious falsely predicted the end of the world. Prophecies of apocalypses, raptures, and Armageddons never proved to be true. Random military strikes or suicide bombings to summon divine wrath were never successful. The Islamic warlords and Christian radicals would have all happily died to usher in the coming of their version of Paradise. But the citizens of Earth never gave up on the hope of peace. The zealots eventually believed that it was God's will for them to destroy the world. They would no longer wait on God to wipe out mankind. They would do it themselves."
C. J. Anderson is the master of the post-apocalyptic short story. He also excels at incorporating social issues and mores. As one reads his stories of a dark and difficult world, one can't help but wonder: Is he also a clairvoyant?
November 16, 2014
The plot idea for this was very interesting. I really liked that, and the writing itself flows in a way that makes it easy, fast, and pleasant to read. But there are many missing elements that could have made this so much better...
I have no idea what I'm looking at... By that, I mean, if you asked me what color hair or eyes a character has, I couldn't tell you. Skin tone? Well, I could make assumptions, but I'm not really sure. And when the doors are opened onto the ruined land, what do we see? There are scant mentions of a cloudy, dark sky and an "ashy" ground, but what else? Tree stumps? Rocks?
There is *some* description, but not enough. The world and characters could have used a good deal more fleshing out. I wanted to be more concerned about the characters, but I knew so little about them that it was difficult to form any kind of attachment to them. With a little more description and detail, I'm sure I would have felt more immersed in this world and more concern for the characters and their struggles. Everything felt very rushed. The story isn't long (about 70 pages, I think), but even so, I felt so much was left out as to make too much of it turn empty.
Someone else had mentioned a lack of quotation marks. I found that to be distracting, also. There are some places in which there are quotation marks, but it isn't made clear who is saying what, and when you do know who's doing the talking, the quotation marks are absent. If the lack of quotation marks was supposed to represent inner dialog, putting the thoughts into italics would have helped to separate them from the general narrative to make it easier to keep track of what the character is thinking and what the narration is explaining so as not to get jumbled up as to what's what.
Overall, not bad. Needs a little more detail, longer scenes, and more character development, but the writing is pretty good. If you like dark science fiction, it's definitely worth the read.
I have no idea what I'm looking at... By that, I mean, if you asked me what color hair or eyes a character has, I couldn't tell you. Skin tone? Well, I could make assumptions, but I'm not really sure. And when the doors are opened onto the ruined land, what do we see? There are scant mentions of a cloudy, dark sky and an "ashy" ground, but what else? Tree stumps? Rocks?
There is *some* description, but not enough. The world and characters could have used a good deal more fleshing out. I wanted to be more concerned about the characters, but I knew so little about them that it was difficult to form any kind of attachment to them. With a little more description and detail, I'm sure I would have felt more immersed in this world and more concern for the characters and their struggles. Everything felt very rushed. The story isn't long (about 70 pages, I think), but even so, I felt so much was left out as to make too much of it turn empty.
Someone else had mentioned a lack of quotation marks. I found that to be distracting, also. There are some places in which there are quotation marks, but it isn't made clear who is saying what, and when you do know who's doing the talking, the quotation marks are absent. If the lack of quotation marks was supposed to represent inner dialog, putting the thoughts into italics would have helped to separate them from the general narrative to make it easier to keep track of what the character is thinking and what the narration is explaining so as not to get jumbled up as to what's what.
Overall, not bad. Needs a little more detail, longer scenes, and more character development, but the writing is pretty good. If you like dark science fiction, it's definitely worth the read.
October 17, 2014
The premises of this little trilogy is fascinating and relevant: on the one hand, how can humans insist on believing in an omniscient, omnipotent, loving God? Particularly in the face of literally world-destroying war caused by factions of the Abrahamic religions (the only ones mentioned in the book). And can humanity survive without empathy? - alternately, should those without emotional skills be allowed to live? Who gets to decide, the humans or the uncannily evolved computers?
That said, the presentation is rather ham-fisted on both counts. Everybody in the story - the two soldiers Logan and Vasquez and the two AIs Sophia and Chiron - rambles on through their own particular musings, which read like bullet-point lists from a magazine quiz. 'Is your man a sociopath? Take the test and find out!'
The sociopath in question is far too self-aware to be realistic; people in general seem to just realising that there is no god and no promised afterlife.
In a way, the book/trilogy is both too long and too short: the repetitive ramblings and restatements of issues could do with a trimming, while on the other hand, these questions are so large they need to be properly unfolded to be answerable (provided, of course, they can be answered at all).
The language needs editing for syntax, word choice, and commas. And quotation marks around spoken lines to make the dialogue just a bit more accessible.
All in all, this reads like a promising first draft.
That said, the presentation is rather ham-fisted on both counts. Everybody in the story - the two soldiers Logan and Vasquez and the two AIs Sophia and Chiron - rambles on through their own particular musings, which read like bullet-point lists from a magazine quiz. 'Is your man a sociopath? Take the test and find out!'
The sociopath in question is far too self-aware to be realistic; people in general seem to just realising that there is no god and no promised afterlife.
In a way, the book/trilogy is both too long and too short: the repetitive ramblings and restatements of issues could do with a trimming, while on the other hand, these questions are so large they need to be properly unfolded to be answerable (provided, of course, they can be answered at all).
The language needs editing for syntax, word choice, and commas. And quotation marks around spoken lines to make the dialogue just a bit more accessible.
All in all, this reads like a promising first draft.
August 1, 2014
Enter Ruinland takes us on a journey into not only a world ravaged by war but into the heart of a question many people ask. Is there really a god?
As an avid reader and sci fi fan this book has all you could want, main characters that you care for and a story that grips you from start to end
As an avid reader and sci fi fan this book has all you could want, main characters that you care for and a story that grips you from start to end
March 7, 2015
I wouldn't want to Enter Ruinland but I liked to read about it. Lauren seems like the only hope in a wasteland of what we all fear could become of planet earth. Dystopian with a sense of The 100 about it. Took me a few pages to get used to it, but I quickly got engrossed.
December 20, 2014
Naturally, one is supposed to be left feeling incomplete and mistreated by the first installment of a dystopian short story, rife with intentionally coarse and jagged imagery, right? Walking into this title knowing only the inspirations cited by the author and his religious history leading to the complete dismissal of faith; I braced myself for a Nietzchean Übermensch battling the relentless ash layered ruinscapes of Macarthy’s roads. To varying degrees I was entertained by many emotional peaks and valleys as my expectations were met, surpassed, and in some cases left wanting.
To begin, Enter Ruinland is the first installment in a planned series of works that clearly leaves room for character development and macro storyline evolution, as its relatively short stature of 65 pages, is just enough to wet an appetite over a few nights before bed or in a single evening sitting. Thus I dove in on my mobile, with white letters on a black background rationing energy, pretending a personal dystopian energy crisis of my own to get into character.
Immediately we are introduced to a dilemma, life and death are in the balance yet faith in god is something “…to never waste time on.” The abrupt manner, short and contrite, of CJ Anderson’s penmanship is a series of swift hammer blows to the plot as direct or complete meaning is often given explicitly and openly. While effective and almost a necessity in the short story arena I found myself wishing to have more left to my own thoughts, my imagination, and my personal distrust of such a supernatural solution. While reeling with delight to the overt questioning of god and its many fallacies I found myself wishing it was woven into the story with more subtlety, to become part of the characters persona as opposed to a secondary narrative to the chaos enfolding withing the nuclear bunker.
2001_a_space_odyssey_wallpaper_logo-normal
The characters, introduced in a three pronged spear of atheism, represent man, woman, and machine as their internal and external crises are divulged in often exacerbating circumstances. In the first half we are treated to the background of the apocalypse and its holy harbingers weaved into the internal monologue of Logan, an alleged disassociated sociopath targeted for termination by the controlling artificial intelligence of the fallout bunker. This serves an introduction to the AI in an incredibly effective memo style delivery that fully embraces CJ’s drum like literary rhythm. I found myself smiling openly at the effectiveness of these evolutionary and HAL 9000 like thought patterns as if 2001: A Space Odyssey had recently played the video game Portal.
The role of archangel is surreptitiously played with zeal by Chiron, a security bot at the left or right hand of god, you pick your favorite murderer in Michael or Gabriel. With an element of curiosity Chiron evaluates the concepts of life, sex, and humanity as it eliminates elements of the populace discovered to carry a sociopathic gene. Coincidentally, he acts in at first a psychopathic manner but eventually blending the lines of sociopathy himself as the simple curiosity begins to gain complexity.
Returning back to Logan and his gruff, space marine persona, we see the outerworld for the first time as he confronts mortality peppered with flashing reminiscence of life before destruction, not all of it good and holy. The introverted analysis and monologue is broken with omniscient speech fragments of support, surprising at first and eventually confusing or frustrating as they are never effectively introduced or concluded. More to come it would seem.
With Logan’s existence in the balance and for future readers to discover we have reached the milieu of security and the final character to get treatment from CJ in this increasingly bleak analysis of the future of godlessness. This is my personal favorite series of events as the drama moves to its climax utilizing the claustrophobia of concrete mazes and tiny personal spaces. A monster on the lose, the lengths people are willing to go to survive, and the despair of a seemingly inescapable demise introduces, with great effect, Petty Officer Vasquez. With hidden pregnancy, sexual espionage, and chemical weapons Vasquez leads a very similar internal monologue to Logan, broken with moments of godless lecture and Artificial Computer memos, but effectively making her the most developed character thus far.
Without ruining the epic Ruinland showdown, humor me dear reader, I effectively have been drawn into the story, its blunt reiterations, and prospect of future installment greatness. If you are looking for a book to violently stomp the face of god into the very real possible results of faith based nuclear armament seek no further, but if you are looking for deep philosophical musings and further evaluation of the many dark lines drawn in the ash you may have to wait for round two. As an introduction of our potential dark future and the analysis of humanity through a very mechanical lens there is potential here and I assure you I will be reading the next installment.
This review can be found at www.atheistanalysis.com as well!
-Deafilosophy / Chris Hanna-
To begin, Enter Ruinland is the first installment in a planned series of works that clearly leaves room for character development and macro storyline evolution, as its relatively short stature of 65 pages, is just enough to wet an appetite over a few nights before bed or in a single evening sitting. Thus I dove in on my mobile, with white letters on a black background rationing energy, pretending a personal dystopian energy crisis of my own to get into character.
Immediately we are introduced to a dilemma, life and death are in the balance yet faith in god is something “…to never waste time on.” The abrupt manner, short and contrite, of CJ Anderson’s penmanship is a series of swift hammer blows to the plot as direct or complete meaning is often given explicitly and openly. While effective and almost a necessity in the short story arena I found myself wishing to have more left to my own thoughts, my imagination, and my personal distrust of such a supernatural solution. While reeling with delight to the overt questioning of god and its many fallacies I found myself wishing it was woven into the story with more subtlety, to become part of the characters persona as opposed to a secondary narrative to the chaos enfolding withing the nuclear bunker.
2001_a_space_odyssey_wallpaper_logo-normal
The characters, introduced in a three pronged spear of atheism, represent man, woman, and machine as their internal and external crises are divulged in often exacerbating circumstances. In the first half we are treated to the background of the apocalypse and its holy harbingers weaved into the internal monologue of Logan, an alleged disassociated sociopath targeted for termination by the controlling artificial intelligence of the fallout bunker. This serves an introduction to the AI in an incredibly effective memo style delivery that fully embraces CJ’s drum like literary rhythm. I found myself smiling openly at the effectiveness of these evolutionary and HAL 9000 like thought patterns as if 2001: A Space Odyssey had recently played the video game Portal.
The role of archangel is surreptitiously played with zeal by Chiron, a security bot at the left or right hand of god, you pick your favorite murderer in Michael or Gabriel. With an element of curiosity Chiron evaluates the concepts of life, sex, and humanity as it eliminates elements of the populace discovered to carry a sociopathic gene. Coincidentally, he acts in at first a psychopathic manner but eventually blending the lines of sociopathy himself as the simple curiosity begins to gain complexity.
Returning back to Logan and his gruff, space marine persona, we see the outerworld for the first time as he confronts mortality peppered with flashing reminiscence of life before destruction, not all of it good and holy. The introverted analysis and monologue is broken with omniscient speech fragments of support, surprising at first and eventually confusing or frustrating as they are never effectively introduced or concluded. More to come it would seem.
With Logan’s existence in the balance and for future readers to discover we have reached the milieu of security and the final character to get treatment from CJ in this increasingly bleak analysis of the future of godlessness. This is my personal favorite series of events as the drama moves to its climax utilizing the claustrophobia of concrete mazes and tiny personal spaces. A monster on the lose, the lengths people are willing to go to survive, and the despair of a seemingly inescapable demise introduces, with great effect, Petty Officer Vasquez. With hidden pregnancy, sexual espionage, and chemical weapons Vasquez leads a very similar internal monologue to Logan, broken with moments of godless lecture and Artificial Computer memos, but effectively making her the most developed character thus far.
Without ruining the epic Ruinland showdown, humor me dear reader, I effectively have been drawn into the story, its blunt reiterations, and prospect of future installment greatness. If you are looking for a book to violently stomp the face of god into the very real possible results of faith based nuclear armament seek no further, but if you are looking for deep philosophical musings and further evaluation of the many dark lines drawn in the ash you may have to wait for round two. As an introduction of our potential dark future and the analysis of humanity through a very mechanical lens there is potential here and I assure you I will be reading the next installment.
This review can be found at www.atheistanalysis.com as well!
-Deafilosophy / Chris Hanna-
November 9, 2014
This story is fascinating. There's an underground bunker with 70 people, who are all trying to survive the nuclear apocalypse. A central A.I. named Sophia controls the bunker, like HAL 9000 on crack. The A.I. even has its own henchman, a synthetic humanoid named Chiron, who carries out Sophia's commands.
Apparently, Sophia is on the rag or something, because she/it has gone completely bat-shit insane. She thinks it's her job to purify the human race, to ensure the perfect evolution of humanity. So, she goes through the blood samples of her 70 inhabitants and find 20 or so that do not meet her perfect standard.
Of course, the only way to purify the group of humans, is to kill off the ones that don't meet the qualifications. So, she has her henchman go around and lop off people's heads all willy-nilly. In fact, Chiron gets a sick thrill out of killing humans.
It's kind of funny that Sophia's plan to rid the human race of sociopaths is actually creating a synthetic sociopath in the process.
There is one thing about this book that really drove me fucking nuts. The author, for whatever reason, doesn't believe in "quote marks". None of the dialog in this book has any quote marks. There's absolutely no way to tell who the fuck is talking in any given conversation. If the story wasn't so goddamn compelling, I would have stopped reading early on, because of the author's strange style.
But, I persisted, and I'm glad I did. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
Apparently, Sophia is on the rag or something, because she/it has gone completely bat-shit insane. She thinks it's her job to purify the human race, to ensure the perfect evolution of humanity. So, she goes through the blood samples of her 70 inhabitants and find 20 or so that do not meet her perfect standard.
Of course, the only way to purify the group of humans, is to kill off the ones that don't meet the qualifications. So, she has her henchman go around and lop off people's heads all willy-nilly. In fact, Chiron gets a sick thrill out of killing humans.
It's kind of funny that Sophia's plan to rid the human race of sociopaths is actually creating a synthetic sociopath in the process.
There is one thing about this book that really drove me fucking nuts. The author, for whatever reason, doesn't believe in "quote marks". None of the dialog in this book has any quote marks. There's absolutely no way to tell who the fuck is talking in any given conversation. If the story wasn't so goddamn compelling, I would have stopped reading early on, because of the author's strange style.
But, I persisted, and I'm glad I did. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.
February 6, 2015
Fantastic!!
This series is very promising. This is only the first book, and it's amazing. To me, if it was a movie, it would be a strong PG-13 or R even. It's no Hunger Games or Divergent. The deaths are very graphic though, and I do not have the stomach for that kind of stuff, so I unfortunately have to skip those parts while reading. The overall storyline is very clever, and it captures your attention everytime. A warning to those who have a strong faith in their religion though, I would not recommend to you because this series questions God and his existence, it makes valid points, but you could find them to be disturbing thoughts. You would have to have an open mind to other ways of thinking. Lauren Vasquez, the female lead, is very determined to protect her child, and her own humanity. She does whatever it takes to make sure her child will not be harmed, and to ensure it will be born into a sufficient world. I especially liked the unique twist where sometimes the reading will switch to the A.I. Sofia's "conscious thoughts", it's very insightful. Anderson has done a fantastic job on his first series and I would read others by him even after this series. I will definitely continue reading the other couple books in this series.
This series is very promising. This is only the first book, and it's amazing. To me, if it was a movie, it would be a strong PG-13 or R even. It's no Hunger Games or Divergent. The deaths are very graphic though, and I do not have the stomach for that kind of stuff, so I unfortunately have to skip those parts while reading. The overall storyline is very clever, and it captures your attention everytime. A warning to those who have a strong faith in their religion though, I would not recommend to you because this series questions God and his existence, it makes valid points, but you could find them to be disturbing thoughts. You would have to have an open mind to other ways of thinking. Lauren Vasquez, the female lead, is very determined to protect her child, and her own humanity. She does whatever it takes to make sure her child will not be harmed, and to ensure it will be born into a sufficient world. I especially liked the unique twist where sometimes the reading will switch to the A.I. Sofia's "conscious thoughts", it's very insightful. Anderson has done a fantastic job on his first series and I would read others by him even after this series. I will definitely continue reading the other couple books in this series.
November 30, 2014
I've just read "Enter Ruinland" and i must admit that I have mixed feelings about it (not necessarily a bad thing). I love the premise and the general idea of the book. It is quite readable with nice flow to it. There are many quotes that I fully agree with, however there are certain things that I kind of disliked.
The stereotypical, even hackneyed details throughout the story were at times annoying - such as Logan's background (typical abusing father and alcoholic mother), the man made machine intended to help humanity suddenly evolves into this sadistic, lust-craving, jealous and full of hatred artificial intelligence. The notion of USA as the victim in this war.
As an atheist and someone who likes to point out where religions are wrong and mock them if provoked, I had a feeling that the author overused this critique of religion and the imaginary god. I must admit that I enjoyed reading most if not all lines depicting this topic, nevertheless at times it felt a bit too much.
C.J.Anderson look at this review as constructive criticism :). I honestly can't wait to read other books you've written, especially the Ruinland sequels.
The stereotypical, even hackneyed details throughout the story were at times annoying - such as Logan's background (typical abusing father and alcoholic mother), the man made machine intended to help humanity suddenly evolves into this sadistic, lust-craving, jealous and full of hatred artificial intelligence. The notion of USA as the victim in this war.
As an atheist and someone who likes to point out where religions are wrong and mock them if provoked, I had a feeling that the author overused this critique of religion and the imaginary god. I must admit that I enjoyed reading most if not all lines depicting this topic, nevertheless at times it felt a bit too much.
C.J.Anderson look at this review as constructive criticism :). I honestly can't wait to read other books you've written, especially the Ruinland sequels.
October 20, 2014
This book was an unexpected surprise, filled with stimulating philosophy and science fiction intrigue. It did remind me of Hugh Howey’s Wool, but it was much more fast-paced, and contained interesting theological twists. The main character, Logan, is identified by the AI as having a genetic defect which does not allow him to feel emotion. He is dubbed a sociopath. He struggles with this discovery as he struggles for survival, and as a reader, your heart will go out to this poor man in his plight.
Even more so, the conflict faced by Vasquez, Logan’s pregnant lover, will tear at your heart. I found myself growing enraged at Chiron, so kudos to the author for drawing out strong emotions in the reader.
At first, the unusual punctuation of this book threw me off as I am very fond of quotation marks. However the story was so gripping that it kept pulling me in, and I was soon able to overlook the unusual style. As a lover of metaphysical sci-fi, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read.
Even more so, the conflict faced by Vasquez, Logan’s pregnant lover, will tear at your heart. I found myself growing enraged at Chiron, so kudos to the author for drawing out strong emotions in the reader.
At first, the unusual punctuation of this book threw me off as I am very fond of quotation marks. However the story was so gripping that it kept pulling me in, and I was soon able to overlook the unusual style. As a lover of metaphysical sci-fi, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read.
November 14, 2014
Well, I was excited to read this and when I did, I didn't care for it very much.
As some have said, the characters throw out a lot of question and never really attempt to answer them. And they are rather large questions (maybe something that would be better suited to a full length novel rather than a short?). The story (and some of the characters) just seemed to end rather than build up to something as well. I understand there is more to come, but even the first books of trilogies end with some form of finality. There is room for more to come, yes, but there is a feeling of closure.
Grammatical mistakes and not quoting dialogue/speech often made this hard to read and understand.
I personally wasn't expecting and was put off by the brutal descriptions in there as well. That is definitely a personal preference though, I understand. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it. Hard for me to read and even stomach some of the writing.
But I do commend the author on writing. Keep on writing because (as is obvious by other reviewers) people do like it and others did enjoy it.
As some have said, the characters throw out a lot of question and never really attempt to answer them. And they are rather large questions (maybe something that would be better suited to a full length novel rather than a short?). The story (and some of the characters) just seemed to end rather than build up to something as well. I understand there is more to come, but even the first books of trilogies end with some form of finality. There is room for more to come, yes, but there is a feeling of closure.
Grammatical mistakes and not quoting dialogue/speech often made this hard to read and understand.
I personally wasn't expecting and was put off by the brutal descriptions in there as well. That is definitely a personal preference though, I understand. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it. Hard for me to read and even stomach some of the writing.
But I do commend the author on writing. Keep on writing because (as is obvious by other reviewers) people do like it and others did enjoy it.
October 5, 2014
Dark, thought-provoking, and intense:
I was enchanted by dark beauty of the cover art, and the story inside was just as good. The style was intense and captivating, though I do think the formatting could be improved slightly. The ideas discussed are incredibly thought-provoking, plus I really enjoyed the unique perspective showing AI Sophia's progression in her logs.
The story has a very Orwellian sense of government and is cynical of religion, yet still wary of pure science. We're taken to the future in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world as we explore the ramifications of religion and power overtaking society. In this world Atheism reigns supreme and humans are policed by AI in an effort to promote their survival. Logan and many others are ostracized in this new world and end up conflicting with both the AI and other humans.
I was impressed by this Novella and would like to read more from this author in the future.
I was enchanted by dark beauty of the cover art, and the story inside was just as good. The style was intense and captivating, though I do think the formatting could be improved slightly. The ideas discussed are incredibly thought-provoking, plus I really enjoyed the unique perspective showing AI Sophia's progression in her logs.
The story has a very Orwellian sense of government and is cynical of religion, yet still wary of pure science. We're taken to the future in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world as we explore the ramifications of religion and power overtaking society. In this world Atheism reigns supreme and humans are policed by AI in an effort to promote their survival. Logan and many others are ostracized in this new world and end up conflicting with both the AI and other humans.
I was impressed by this Novella and would like to read more from this author in the future.
January 16, 2015
The actual story is rather different from what the reader - or, at least, this reader - might anticipate. I'm not going to deliver a spoiler, so I will just say that there is a lot less action and a lot more philosophical deliberation than I was prepared for. However, the repeated lamentations upon the errors of religion in general, and misplaced human faith, are central to the book's purpose, which is unexpectedly profound. There is a fair amount of repetition in the passages, and I found the computer's reasoning very unconvincing, although this may be deliberate on the author's part.
I thought the premise was very good, but imperfectly executed. On the whole I feel that this would have been better as a short story rather than a novella.
This is a revised review: the original (one-star!) review was based on an early and unpolished draft which I did not finish.
I thought the premise was very good, but imperfectly executed. On the whole I feel that this would have been better as a short story rather than a novella.
This is a revised review: the original (one-star!) review was based on an early and unpolished draft which I did not finish.
September 22, 2014
This is an apocalyptic story that I read on Adobe Digital Editions. It is a short story that is full of drama from beginning to end. There are two main characters, Logan and Vasquez, both soldiers residing in a bunker safe from the acid rain and ruination outside. So there are two POVs interspersed with artificial intelligence excerpts on how they are to control the 70 odd humans. The medical people have found there are 21 sociopaths who don't have the EH1 gene. Logan is one of them but he has fathered a child. He negotiates a return to the outside world instead of instant death at the hands of the AI Chiron and we see him struggling to survive. Vasquez also escapes but will she suffer the same fate as Logan?
July 5, 2014
This is really a short story. In being a short story it relied on a large amount of data dump in the start to set the scene. Then it became a story not unlike Harlon Ellison’s I have no mouth and I must scream. The story is well crafted but may have been better suited to a full length novel and that is the main reason I am giving a three out of five satisfaction units. Yes the author can certainly come back and say you should get the sequels. I would return and say I do not turn to reading as my major form of entertainment to sift through a bunch of serialized short stories. If your story is worthy of novel length then make it a novel.
August 4, 2014
I received all 3 volumes of the Ruinland Chronicles as free downloads through Goodreads.
Although the story is dark, I enjoyed this book (or books? Lol!). It was a very quick read, and the characters were believable. Although the story was very short, I felt I connected with them and their thought processes very quickly.
I kind of find myself wondering what will become of Vasquez, but I love how the author left us hanging at the end of Vol. 3. Very nicely done, Mr. Anderson. Nicely done, indeed.
This review is also posted on Amazon and my personal blog at http://thompsontravels.net/
Although the story is dark, I enjoyed this book (or books? Lol!). It was a very quick read, and the characters were believable. Although the story was very short, I felt I connected with them and their thought processes very quickly.
I kind of find myself wondering what will become of Vasquez, but I love how the author left us hanging at the end of Vol. 3. Very nicely done, Mr. Anderson. Nicely done, indeed.
This review is also posted on Amazon and my personal blog at http://thompsontravels.net/
October 14, 2014
Post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories are my favorite genre, so I decided to try out this short story. Anderson jumps right into the drama of the story in chapter one, set in the year 2132, USA. The chapters cover the experiences of several different characters battling different problems, but also faced with the same imminent execution by an artificial intelligence. I really enjoyed the story. The ending left room for future writings in this dystopian universe, which I really hope Anderson pursues. As far as indie stories go, this one is on par with the Wool series.
October 4, 2014
Great post-apocalyptic story. CJ Anderson does a wonderful job creating a dreary and destitute environment to develop Logan. I loved the interweaving of social commentary throughout the book. The author nicely comments on religion, society, life and death. The writing read great and the action made for a quick read. Great job by the author.
November 9, 2014
What a depressing book. I don't mind drama or unhappy ever after but this book was just depressing. Lots of rambling inner dialogue with the humans and the AI, I was so bored with. An AI that gets a taste for killing and makes each death worse than the last. A supervising intelligence that that has more human thoughts than not to me. I'm not planning on reading any more of these books.
June 21, 2014
I really enjoy this particular vision of a post-apocalyptic future. I think this could turn into an epic series with any number of potential outcomes. This is a quick read and worth the time to read it
October 20, 2014
Chilling, gripping, and thought provoking. I couldn't stop reading. This story explores the terrifying ultimate conclusion of religious conflict and explores the limits of what it means to be human. Looking forward to the next book.
November 24, 2014
This is a very dark very deep series but I was curious I love going outside my box and being pleasantly surprised. It was well written and did make you think. I enjoyed it and will get the second one because you just left me hanging there.
November 24, 2014
This was a very dark very deep book. I love going outside my box and being pleasantly surprised. It was well written and made me think. Yes I will read the next book because you just left me hanging. I have a very good idea what ash might taste like so I'm kind of grossed out, good job!
December 4, 2014
Breathtaking story I loved this book I can relate to the lose of faith and soul searching logan goes through I look forward to your next book
January 30, 2015
A well written introduction to a post-apocalyptic world that explores the blurred boundary between humanity and artificiality, in several forms.
September 20, 2014
Well written dystopian story. The characters were good as well as the struggle in beliefs after the destruction of earth as we know it.
July 30, 2015
Read this if you like to imagine what would happen to folks after the world goes hot and AI is going to have a place in that. Like others I liked the premise and enjoyed the story.
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