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Alexandria
Centuries after the collapse of civilization, in a quiet village at the heart of the redwood forest, a tyrannical cult is plotting a massacre. The adults are murdered and the children are stolen away in cages while their homes burn around them. They are taken to the Nezran Temple and taught to be like their captors. The rewards, they are told, will be endless. Two childhood sweethearts, Jack and Lia, must make a vital decision...
Should they struggle to fit in -- or fight to escape?
A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger sets them on an unexpected course. What follows is a wild adventure down the ruins of the old California coast, through wasteland and woodland, as they go searching for the legendary Alexandria.
Join them in this dark, apocalyptic saga that sets the rusted gears of history turning again.
Should they struggle to fit in -- or fight to escape?
A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger sets them on an unexpected course. What follows is a wild adventure down the ruins of the old California coast, through wasteland and woodland, as they go searching for the legendary Alexandria.
Join them in this dark, apocalyptic saga that sets the rusted gears of history turning again.
ebook
First published December 12, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 30, 2021
Boring!
I really didn't see the point of the story? It didn't grab me at all, and I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book.
I really didn't see the point of the story? It didn't grab me at all, and I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book.
March 25, 2013
This post-apocalyptic novel follows Jack and Lia, two kids who were taken from their homes by a cult community and forced to assimilate. I found this book intriguing in the beginning and action-packed at the end, but the middle really dragged.
I love great world-building. The concept of this book provided the opportunity for a rich world. While Jack and Lia's home community was nicely developed, the remainder of the world was almost too developed. At times it felt as though I were being beaten over the head with so many tedious details.
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed Alexandria. The story was intriguing and the plot was satisfying.
I love great world-building. The concept of this book provided the opportunity for a rich world. While Jack and Lia's home community was nicely developed, the remainder of the world was almost too developed. At times it felt as though I were being beaten over the head with so many tedious details.
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed Alexandria. The story was intriguing and the plot was satisfying.
July 30, 2020
Post-apocalyptic fiction has become a huge genre in recent years -- probably a reflection of our times, to be honest, but that's a conversation for another time. "Alexandria" has all the hallmarks of a typical post-apocalyptic novel -- a world completely upended by a disaster that ended life as we knew it, a sinister villain, two teenagers who end up changing the world through their efforts to survive, etc. But while in many ways "Alexandria" is a fairly bog-standard post-apocalyptic novel, and while the writing has its issues, it's still an entertaining read and kept me hooked until the very end.
In a world long ago devastated by the Fires (heavily implied to be a brutal war, possibly nuclear in nature), Jack and Lia live a contended life in a village in a redwood forest. But when a band of warriors wipes out the village and kidnaps the children, they find themselves carried away to be raised by their captors at the Temple of Nezra. At first the warriors and their enigmatic but kindly leader seem benevolent... but when Jack and Lia uncover some sinister truths about their new home, they flee into the forest, seeking out the mysterious Alexandria that's supposed to hold the secrets of how the world fell... and how to rebuild it.
The writing of "Alexandria" ranges from "decent" to "trying too hard," and multiple times the author uses what feels like the wrong word in a sentence, or relies too heavily on his thesaurus to find a more exotic or eloquent word when a simpler one would do. The present-tense narration felt awkward as well, and took some getting used to. But he still manages to weave a compelling story, and though "Alexandria" is a fairly long book, it moved along at a fast clip and never felt overly bloated. And while Jack and Lia didn't get a lot of characterization, being more "reader inserts" than anything else, I couldn't help but root for them as the story progressed.
The story itself hits a lot of the usual beats of a post-apocalyptic novel, but it does do a few unique things. Its villain is actually fairly sympathetic at times instead of a two-dimensional bad guy, and the cause of the apocalypse is rarely dwelt upon, with the plot mostly focused on the story's present. Instead of a cyberpunk-ish dystopia or a Mad Max style world, the world here feels more like the frontier days, with some hints of medieval flavor. There's a fair share of cliches in here, but at the same time the author tries to make his post-apocalyptic world unique, and I appreciate this.
While the writing is occasionally clunky and the story occasionally predictable, "Alexandria" is still a well-told story, and does enough new with its premise that I wasn't bored with it. A great adventure novel for older teens and for adults.
In a world long ago devastated by the Fires (heavily implied to be a brutal war, possibly nuclear in nature), Jack and Lia live a contended life in a village in a redwood forest. But when a band of warriors wipes out the village and kidnaps the children, they find themselves carried away to be raised by their captors at the Temple of Nezra. At first the warriors and their enigmatic but kindly leader seem benevolent... but when Jack and Lia uncover some sinister truths about their new home, they flee into the forest, seeking out the mysterious Alexandria that's supposed to hold the secrets of how the world fell... and how to rebuild it.
The writing of "Alexandria" ranges from "decent" to "trying too hard," and multiple times the author uses what feels like the wrong word in a sentence, or relies too heavily on his thesaurus to find a more exotic or eloquent word when a simpler one would do. The present-tense narration felt awkward as well, and took some getting used to. But he still manages to weave a compelling story, and though "Alexandria" is a fairly long book, it moved along at a fast clip and never felt overly bloated. And while Jack and Lia didn't get a lot of characterization, being more "reader inserts" than anything else, I couldn't help but root for them as the story progressed.
The story itself hits a lot of the usual beats of a post-apocalyptic novel, but it does do a few unique things. Its villain is actually fairly sympathetic at times instead of a two-dimensional bad guy, and the cause of the apocalypse is rarely dwelt upon, with the plot mostly focused on the story's present. Instead of a cyberpunk-ish dystopia or a Mad Max style world, the world here feels more like the frontier days, with some hints of medieval flavor. There's a fair share of cliches in here, but at the same time the author tries to make his post-apocalyptic world unique, and I appreciate this.
While the writing is occasionally clunky and the story occasionally predictable, "Alexandria" is still a well-told story, and does enough new with its premise that I wasn't bored with it. A great adventure novel for older teens and for adults.
September 21, 2018
Simple review...two kids struggle to overcome some major hardships and do a dang good job of it!
February 14, 2021
Lived this novel! Great mash-up of Egyptian history and possibly a real viewpoint of time travel.
December 29, 2014
Alexandria by John Kaden is a beautifully written, enchanting, satisfying, and exceptional post-apocalyptic story. The tale revolves around Jack and Lia, two children who are kidnapped by a supposedly superior society. They are offered comfort, conveniences, and sanctuary if they will just accept the dystopian views of their kidnappers. This is a tough choice to make in a post-apocalyptic America, where most societies are tribal and primitive. Jack and Lia eventually run away in search of a mythical advanced society called Alexandria, and a big part of the story involves their road trip along the California coast in search of Alexandria. This story completely captivated me, to the point that I stayed up all night reading, and immediately looked for more books by Mr Kaden. I learned that this is his first book, which makes it that much more impressive. Jack and Lia live in a beautifully imagined and described world. It is completely authentic and fascinating. I want to read more about it. Jack and Lia carry the story; their relationship is strong and, again, beautifully described and written. Their love is woven throughout the story, but it never dominates or becomes a romantic novel...they just have a solid childhood friendship which becomes solid love and commitment over time. Their love carries them through the bleak events in their lives, and their long, arduous road trip. While the story is about Jack and Lia and the quest for Alexandria, there are many other layers -- supporting characters are vividly illustrated, complex, and interesting. The post-apocalyptic world itself is another well written layer of the story. And finally, the moral questions that are posed by the many characters and the dystopian society are also a fascinating (but never dominating or preachy) aspect to the story. All in all, an extremely satisfying, immersive, and beautifully written story set in a gorgeously conceived post-apocalyptic world. I am cheering Mr Kaden on for another book! Please keep writing. And quickly!
November 10, 2015
This honestly was an enjoyable book. Jack and Lia are kidnapped as pre-teens, along with the other children in their village, by the Nezra, a slightly more sophisticated society with a habit of this sort of conquering behavior. For years, the two are subsumed into the society and gradually brainwashed into belonging, but neither of them really buy into it. And on the eve of the bonding ceremony, in which Lia is about to become a breeder to the whacktastic king, Jack rescues her and makes a break for it. They are headed for a city called Alexandria, a place that has knowledge, to warn them that the Nezra know about them and are coming. There's a teensy bit of romance between the two - they are clearly connected, best friends and becoming lovers - but nothing in this is graphic or overly mature between them.
There were moments when I was absolutely riveted and couldn't put the book down. Like just waiting for either of the characters to do something to fight agains their circumstances and dealing with the frustration when they didn't. Or waiting for the search party to finally catch up with them. Or waiting to see if Jack and Lia will make it before the army does. The author writes suspense very well. On the other hand though, there were moments when the journey got tedious and it was the two of them trudging through yet another day. And through all this, I think the story lacked a much needed message or lesson learned. It didn't really feel like the Nezra learned much, nor did it seem that Jack and Lia did. I honestly don't know that there was a central theme and it felt like this story needed one, unless it was just meant to be a good story and nothing else. But I've always noticed that stories that depend on a quest, like this one, have some sort of message. This one didn't...at least not an obvious one.
There were moments when I was absolutely riveted and couldn't put the book down. Like just waiting for either of the characters to do something to fight agains their circumstances and dealing with the frustration when they didn't. Or waiting for the search party to finally catch up with them. Or waiting to see if Jack and Lia will make it before the army does. The author writes suspense very well. On the other hand though, there were moments when the journey got tedious and it was the two of them trudging through yet another day. And through all this, I think the story lacked a much needed message or lesson learned. It didn't really feel like the Nezra learned much, nor did it seem that Jack and Lia did. I honestly don't know that there was a central theme and it felt like this story needed one, unless it was just meant to be a good story and nothing else. But I've always noticed that stories that depend on a quest, like this one, have some sort of message. This one didn't...at least not an obvious one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2014
Centuries after the collapse of the civilised world as we know it, a peaceable forest tribe are murdered, their children and stolen and taken to what on the face of it could be a Utopian Society at the Nezran Temple.
However, all is not as it seems and their new world is built on lies, megalomania and tyranny, and is very much Dystopian.
The main protagonists, Jack and Lia, were childhood sweethearts, and many years later they manage to escape following a small raid by others. On the so called attackers gives them assistance to escape, put is horrendously tortured to find out where Jack and Lia have gone.
On the run from the young adults not only have to navigate their way through an alien and hostile environment, but have to follow the vague directions given to find the answer to all their questions. All of which has to be done whilst avoiding vicious foes and the Nezran Scouts out to kill them.
It was wonderfully paced, with nice twists, turns and glimpses of kindness and humanitarianism.
There was a downside though, and that was the cliff-hanging ending. I've just checked John Kaden's blog on GoodReads, and he announced in September 2013 that there will be a sequel eventually, so fingers crossed it won't take too long - this could definitely turn into a saga of epic proportions.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading of their travails, awarding 4 Stars. If I'd had the ability to give half star ratings, there is not doubt it would have been 4.5. Why not 5? Well, there were a few errors/bug bears that kept it off the top spot - please see the fuller Blog Post #409 in January 2014.
Can I just say that the cover artwork was stunning, and really says so much about the world that Jack and Lia inhabit. Kudos to the author for choosing it.
However, all is not as it seems and their new world is built on lies, megalomania and tyranny, and is very much Dystopian.
The main protagonists, Jack and Lia, were childhood sweethearts, and many years later they manage to escape following a small raid by others. On the so called attackers gives them assistance to escape, put is horrendously tortured to find out where Jack and Lia have gone.
On the run from the young adults not only have to navigate their way through an alien and hostile environment, but have to follow the vague directions given to find the answer to all their questions. All of which has to be done whilst avoiding vicious foes and the Nezran Scouts out to kill them.
It was wonderfully paced, with nice twists, turns and glimpses of kindness and humanitarianism.
There was a downside though, and that was the cliff-hanging ending. I've just checked John Kaden's blog on GoodReads, and he announced in September 2013 that there will be a sequel eventually, so fingers crossed it won't take too long - this could definitely turn into a saga of epic proportions.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading of their travails, awarding 4 Stars. If I'd had the ability to give half star ratings, there is not doubt it would have been 4.5. Why not 5? Well, there were a few errors/bug bears that kept it off the top spot - please see the fuller Blog Post #409 in January 2014.
Can I just say that the cover artwork was stunning, and really says so much about the world that Jack and Lia inhabit. Kudos to the author for choosing it.
June 2, 2013
I can't say I loved this book, but I didn't hate it.
It had potential but sadly it was slow until the end and then after the action took place, it was over.
Its the 24th century and the earth was destroyed 200yrs earlier by fire. The story follows jack and Lia, pre-teens and sweethearts who, along with others their age are suddenly left as orphans when a tribe kills all the teens and parents and steals the children. The Nezra, a temple of people follow a false king, who apparently has power to prevent the fires from ever reoccurring. The Nezra, a seemingly peaceful people believe outer tribes will bring the wrath of fire back upon he earth, so they steal the children and brainwash them, integrating them into their society. Years later, Jack and lia, undeceived, escape to find out what really happened to the earth and discover the truth about this king. It's a perilous and SLOW journey.
I wanted to find out what would happen to jack and lia but it was so slow I gave up caring and just read to get to the end. The writing is graphic and leaves you right inside this new and young civilisation, but little is divulged as to what causes the destruction of the former civilisation (we can assume nuclear war, followed by famine and plagues). Heroes are left wanting and the love between jack and lia is weak.
I recommend it if you like books detailing new civilisations climbing out of disaster, but not if you want an action packed read. Yawn!
It had potential but sadly it was slow until the end and then after the action took place, it was over.
Its the 24th century and the earth was destroyed 200yrs earlier by fire. The story follows jack and Lia, pre-teens and sweethearts who, along with others their age are suddenly left as orphans when a tribe kills all the teens and parents and steals the children. The Nezra, a temple of people follow a false king, who apparently has power to prevent the fires from ever reoccurring. The Nezra, a seemingly peaceful people believe outer tribes will bring the wrath of fire back upon he earth, so they steal the children and brainwash them, integrating them into their society. Years later, Jack and lia, undeceived, escape to find out what really happened to the earth and discover the truth about this king. It's a perilous and SLOW journey.
I wanted to find out what would happen to jack and lia but it was so slow I gave up caring and just read to get to the end. The writing is graphic and leaves you right inside this new and young civilisation, but little is divulged as to what causes the destruction of the former civilisation (we can assume nuclear war, followed by famine and plagues). Heroes are left wanting and the love between jack and lia is weak.
I recommend it if you like books detailing new civilisations climbing out of disaster, but not if you want an action packed read. Yawn!
May 28, 2013
What a brilliant book. Set sometime in our worlds future, a great apocalypse has befallen Earth and the remnants of the population in part, live as people once did in the New World before the conquistadores arrived or as cannibalistic savages or still have use of tech. The story starts in a forest village during a celebration of all things that came to pass. The village is attacked and the children carried off to a distant land to be broken down and reformed in the new way of life under an Aztec like King. The story follows two main characters, Jack and Lia as they grow up and try to integrate into this new society. Things come to a head and they end up on the run into the wilderness chased by the Sons of the Temple. Along the way they meet various groups of people and finally we discover the secret of 'Alexandria'.... This is a really good example of a classic PA with shades of Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes ( without the apes) and quite a few other PA books and films. This is why I love this genre, can highly recommend it !
July 26, 2016
This is a truly fantastic book. It tells the story of two children who are abducted, along with the rest of the children in their village, when their parents were all murdered. It is about their struggle to survive the ensuing years and how they eventually escape, and then make their way back again to help bring an end to the cult, and their king, who had them kidnapped in the first place.
It is not a book filled with mind numbing suspense with twists and turns on every page, but rather it is a beautifully written book with its fair share of suspense, cruelty and murder, but it is interspersed with kindness and adventure, as well as great descriptions of every-day life in a world that no longer bears any resemblance to the world we know today. The descriptions of the landscape and what it looks like hundreds of years after the fall of society is great, and it makes me wish this was a picture book, just to see it all for myself, through the eyes of the author.
It is a great book – I loved it.
It is not a book filled with mind numbing suspense with twists and turns on every page, but rather it is a beautifully written book with its fair share of suspense, cruelty and murder, but it is interspersed with kindness and adventure, as well as great descriptions of every-day life in a world that no longer bears any resemblance to the world we know today. The descriptions of the landscape and what it looks like hundreds of years after the fall of society is great, and it makes me wish this was a picture book, just to see it all for myself, through the eyes of the author.
It is a great book – I loved it.
July 9, 2013
This is a post apocalypse tale sent several centuries after the fall of our present civilization. A small settlement of hunters and small farmers is living in the redwood forest of what was California. It’s a fairly primitive village, but the inhabitants are comfortable and celebrating one of their “holidays” when they are attacked in the night by a band of marauders. The adults are all killed and the village torched. The children are placed in cages and carried by the marauders north wards to their settlement. This settlement is more advanced and presided over by a “King” whose soldiers make periodic forays to capture children and destroy their villages. The children are then put to work and integrated into the population. This is the tale of a boy and girl, best friends when they were captured, and their life and eventual escape from the “Temple” as the settlement is called. A good story, I’ll be interested to see if there is a follow up in the works.
May 26, 2013
I must say I enjoyed this book. This was a new author for me and the book was another Kindle freebie. Was a pretty good read, the characters were well developed and weren't lacking. The story was very well told and didn't lag or get lost in itself. Jack and Lia are both strong young characters that go through a lot from the start.
this is a good entertaining story, but it is not a quick read. While the story and the characters kept my attention, it seemed, heavy for lack of a better word. I never got bored with it, and never did I think come on and get to the point, but it just seemed like the more I read the further I still had to go.
Please don't pay attention to my read dates on this book, I got up to about 65 pages from the end sound April 10th and then life got in the way. I just picked the book back up today and finished it.
this is a good entertaining story, but it is not a quick read. While the story and the characters kept my attention, it seemed, heavy for lack of a better word. I never got bored with it, and never did I think come on and get to the point, but it just seemed like the more I read the further I still had to go.
Please don't pay attention to my read dates on this book, I got up to about 65 pages from the end sound April 10th and then life got in the way. I just picked the book back up today and finished it.
August 14, 2013
This is a good book if you enjoy post apocalyptic world stories. The story follows Jack and Lia, two kids who along with other children from their tribe are left as orphans when another tribe kills all the parents and takes the children to the Nezra. The Nezra is a temple of people who follow a false king. Although the people of Nezra seem like a peaceful group, they believe that tribes from outside their temple will bring the wrath of fire back upon the earth. They steal the children and brainwash them into their way of life. As the years go by, Jack and Lia escape to find out what really happened to the earth and discover the truth about the so-called King of Nezra.
The story had a lot of details and the author's writing is very descriptive, but at times I felt the story drag a little bit with to many details. Overall the story is good and I would recommend it to my friends.
The story had a lot of details and the author's writing is very descriptive, but at times I felt the story drag a little bit with to many details. Overall the story is good and I would recommend it to my friends.
January 7, 2015
The premise of this novel is good, and of the post-apocalyptic genre that I love. It relays the tale of the rise of civilization after two centuries of darkness as seen through the eyes of a young man (Jack) and young woman (Lia) - who happen to be childhood sweethearts. The story hits many high points: how men can become deluded into believing in their own power, how children can be integrated into a society that destroyed the society of their parents, and how Humanity's thirst for safety often allows room for the doing of despicable deeds. The culminating plot device - Jack and Lia's journey to find the fabled city of Alexandria - drives the second half of the book, and culminates in a satisfying conclusion. A good (apparently) stand-alone read for lovers of the post-apocalyptic genre!
January 6, 2014
An enjoyable read, if you aren't bothered by typos and strange use of some words. It was more realistic than some of the post apocalypse stuff I've read. I'm still waiting on someone to write a novel where the protagonists aren't looking to rebuild the monster that is civilization, and create something new. Maybe it's too hard to envision something new. Though this story is also realistic in that in the event that there was some kind of devastation the vast majority of survivors would be pining for the good old days when they were oppressed in ways they never even realized, and trying to rebuild it.
April 11, 2013
I liked this book. I got it as a free ebook on Amazon. The author did a nice job building this world and developing the main characters. I would have liked the middle journey developed a little more, perhaps more clues as to where they were as the story went along would have helped in the visualization. I also wanted more info about what had happened to create this world they were living in. I'll likely recommend this book to my kids when they are a bit older. It was a fairly quick read and I am placing it in the reread someday pile. I will keep an eye out for more books by this author.
April 7, 2013
Wow, I'm already eager to read more about Jack and Lia. The descriptives in this book were so well done. You could imagine the scenery and feel like you were on the battle grounds. Each word the author wrote left you eager to read the next. The book is definitely left so a sequel can be written, but no terrible cliff hanger ending that doesn't leave you satisfied. I look forward to more books from this author.
September 17, 2014
A genre that I tend to skip past, but glad I didn't miss this one. Lia and Jack, lifelong friends, ripped from their lives and forced to learn a new way of life and death. One night, a chance is taken and could cost them their lives... I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I loved the ideas, the different tribes we met who were intertwined sometimes. The writing style was good, sometimes a little too heavy going which I found unnecessary; but a book I found hard to put down.
June 16, 2013
This book would be a two if it hadn't intrigued me about halfway through. It is exposition after exposition and then finally some dialogue. I enjoyed the characters once I finally found out who they really were and enjoyed the idea that takes place throughout the book.
September 13, 2013
Post-apocalyptic story about life after a huge care strophic event. I like that try didn't try to focus or explain what happened. Rather the story is about different groups and how their cultures developed.
December 24, 2014
Beautifully written with a captivating story. I loved that the story centered on character personality and development and not pages and pages of post-apocalyptic descriptions. That was mostly left to your own imagination.
April 8, 2013
I got this free on kindle, it's a book worth buying though. A interesting story of what life may be like in the future after a apocalypse. I would buy more books from this author.
August 6, 2013
Solid and engrossing. Wonderful concept and well-written, except for a few minor errors in word selection (fair vs. fare, etc.)
August 10, 2013
I was taken by this book from the first page. It shows how terribly wrong society can become. I loved this book!
August 31, 2016
This was such a fantastic post-apocolyptical book! The story was well written and the author's imaginings of the future were very believable.
November 21, 2013
really enjoyed this book. the writing was very smooth and creative. wish there was a sequel and it would make the best film.
Read
December 7, 2013False
July 20, 2015
read!
April 12, 2015
One of the best books
When I first started reading this I almost gave up because for me it started off slow, but I'm so glad I didn't give up on it. I just couldn't put it down.
When I first started reading this I almost gave up because for me it started off slow, but I'm so glad I didn't give up on it. I just couldn't put it down.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews