Down and Out

Undercity #1

by Kris Moger

One hundred years after a meteor struck the earth, the remaining humans have carved out a meagre existence in underground tunnels and sealed buildings. Unable to venture outside due to extreme heat and radiation, pockets of survivors have built Undercity, home to just over five hundred people. This is Teddy's world, his home. Here in the depths of crumbled buildings, he and his family make their way as scroungers, digging up useable items to sell to vendors in Undercity's markets. As their food begins to run out and their world crumbles around them, they make a discovery, which could lead them out from under the rule of the Upperlords and save their family.

186 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2015

Reviews

[tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the experience!

I enjoyed the book from the first page to the last! A well written book with heroes and compassion. I can't wait to continue the story and cheer on the underworld. Great job and thanks for sharing.

[Chessy The Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teddy Peterson is an Underling. He lives under the Uppercity with his adopted family working as a scrounger. They dig through the tunnels that caved in as a result of the meteor strikes to Earth several generations before in search of goods to sell. Teddy is not content living the rest of his life at the whim of the Uppercity lords.

Moger’s first book in the The Undercity Series, Down and Out, chronicles Teddy’s struggle to discover a way out of the gloom and despair that he and his fellow Underlings live in day in and day out. This is a young adult dystopian adventure novel. Its plot is slow to develop, even though it is a relatively short book, making it not a very exciting read. Things start to get interesting as the book ends.

While this is not a bad book, per se, it did not grab me enough to want to read the remainder of the series.

3 out of 5 stars.

[Melody Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, love the story of dystopian future for young adults. Very engaging.

[Sally Mander · Rating 5 out of 5]

After seeing the cover, I was hesitant to read, but the book turned out to be a good adventure in a dystopian sort of way.

[Danica Pea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is fascinating, well thought out and enchanting. I wish the writing matched: there are noticeable and frequent grammatical errors, and syntactic errors. The characters are very well written and profoundly captivating.

[Lazette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teddy likes to write and to tell his adopted siblings stories, but finding paper isn't easy in the Undercity where he and all the Underlings live, digging through the debris of a civilization brought down by a meteorite-induced catastrophe long before he was born.

This isn't an easy life, but with his adopted pa, he helps to bring in enough salvageable goods to keep the family doing well enough by Undercity standards. Selling the better material to the Overlords, who live in the upper area and better habitations, allows them to get the things they can't find. Dealing with that segment of the population is dangerous, though.

Pa, Teddy and his siblings are about to make a discovery that may be the best thing that ever happened to them . . . or may bring down the last remnants of civilization.

Down and Out is filled with excellent world building details great characters for the younger and older people who inhabit this odd city. I look forward to seeing the next part of the adventure.

[Trihaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story and universe but very badly edited. There are missing words every 2 pages and the author mistakes the sex of one of her characters at least twice in the book. I was a bit disappointed because it could have been a really great book.