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Idyllic Avenue: 1.0
Stranded on a planet with two dying suns, humanity faces extinction.
Stanford Samuels hopes to be inside the massive bio-dome that will offer protection from the permanent night. But the dome is for the genetically perfect, and Stanford, like many others, is a mutant.
In an effort to increase the Perfect population, mutants are paired with Perfects capable of eradicating the defective genes and producing flawless children.
But when androids are designed to produce Perfect human offspring, the need for the mutants dwindles. And their chances of making it into the dome are greatly reduced.
As unending night approaches, a terrorist group of mutants wages war against the Perfects for their right to survive.
With his own life in the balance, Stanford is caught between the two sides and must choose one or be left alone in the dark.
Stanford Samuels hopes to be inside the massive bio-dome that will offer protection from the permanent night. But the dome is for the genetically perfect, and Stanford, like many others, is a mutant.
In an effort to increase the Perfect population, mutants are paired with Perfects capable of eradicating the defective genes and producing flawless children.
But when androids are designed to produce Perfect human offspring, the need for the mutants dwindles. And their chances of making it into the dome are greatly reduced.
As unending night approaches, a terrorist group of mutants wages war against the Perfects for their right to survive.
With his own life in the balance, Stanford is caught between the two sides and must choose one or be left alone in the dark.
- GenresScience Fiction
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 7, 2015
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Chad Ganske
5 books10 followersChad Ganske is the author of two dystopian novels, Idyllic Avenue (2014) and its sequel, Salus (2016). His short story, Touching the Sky, about a contagion that sends a family into an underground bunker, is set to release in January of 2020. He lives on Vancouver Island, and is at the beck and call of two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2015
Chad Gansky has hit a home run with Idyllic Avenue. I downloaded Kindle for Android and took Idyllic Avenue with me everywhere I went. From Home Depot to Target to JC Penny, I couldn't put my phone down. My husband got a little cranky because he did all the driving.
On a more serious note, I love Ganske's writing. He is a young man with a lot of talent and I expect great things from him in the future. His writing style is fluid, the characters are fascinating, and he weaves a tale of sci-fi any hard core science fiction fan is going to love.
The imagery Ganske uses draws you in and won't let go. You can see his imagination fired this novel and he peoples his world with souls undergoing the search for life and for an idyllic world. It is the cost for that state of perfectionism that makes his novel so compelling. It is a peek into human nature, love, and loss with opinions and ideas that differ from one person to the other keeping you riveted throughout the entire novel.
Ganske should be proud of Idyllic Avenue. This novel comes highly recommended and I am sure (I hope) another is just around the corner.
On a more serious note, I love Ganske's writing. He is a young man with a lot of talent and I expect great things from him in the future. His writing style is fluid, the characters are fascinating, and he weaves a tale of sci-fi any hard core science fiction fan is going to love.
The imagery Ganske uses draws you in and won't let go. You can see his imagination fired this novel and he peoples his world with souls undergoing the search for life and for an idyllic world. It is the cost for that state of perfectionism that makes his novel so compelling. It is a peek into human nature, love, and loss with opinions and ideas that differ from one person to the other keeping you riveted throughout the entire novel.
Ganske should be proud of Idyllic Avenue. This novel comes highly recommended and I am sure (I hope) another is just around the corner.
March 10, 2017
There's a lot to like about Idyllic Avenue, it deals with a lot of very interesting concepts such as genetic engineering, androids, dying planets and desperate measures. Chad does a great job of introducing these concepts gradually without a lot of exposition or 'info dumping' to the point that as a reader I never felt overwhelmed by how alien the world was, it always felt relatable. In fact, it sometimes made these amazing things seem positively normal and mundane. Robotic butlers? Sure why not, everyone has one of those! This cleverly mirrors our own world and how quickly we adapt to new technology that once felt amazing and is now just another appliance. It made the amazing world Chad has created feel like a more believable place.
There were occasions where I would be trying to figure out what was going on, only to read a few sentences more to find more detail that filled in the gaps. This kept the whole book interesting and enjoyable. Chad expertly leaves some threads dangling throughout the book so that you always want to keep reading to find out more. The pacing is solid too, with everything moving along quickly.
So far so good, but there was one part of the book that I did get hung up on. I don't want to go into too much detail as it wouldn't be fair to spoil the plot, but in my opinion the characters don't always act in a believable manner. For example at a point in the story the main character finds himself in perilous danger that he can't escape, but instead of trying to resolve the issue he just continues about his life as usual without mentioning it to anyone around him. There are several other instances like this where a character would do something and I found myself thinking 'why would they do that?' It sometimes felt like the plot was driving the characters, rather than the other way around. This wasn't a deal breaker as I really enjoyed the plot, but it did break my connection with the characters.
I'm certainly intrigued as to what is going to happen next and I will be adding Salus to my 'to-read' pile so I can found out!
There were occasions where I would be trying to figure out what was going on, only to read a few sentences more to find more detail that filled in the gaps. This kept the whole book interesting and enjoyable. Chad expertly leaves some threads dangling throughout the book so that you always want to keep reading to find out more. The pacing is solid too, with everything moving along quickly.
So far so good, but there was one part of the book that I did get hung up on. I don't want to go into too much detail as it wouldn't be fair to spoil the plot, but in my opinion the characters don't always act in a believable manner. For example at a point in the story the main character finds himself in perilous danger that he can't escape, but instead of trying to resolve the issue he just continues about his life as usual without mentioning it to anyone around him. There are several other instances like this where a character would do something and I found myself thinking 'why would they do that?' It sometimes felt like the plot was driving the characters, rather than the other way around. This wasn't a deal breaker as I really enjoyed the plot, but it did break my connection with the characters.
I'm certainly intrigued as to what is going to happen next and I will be adding Salus to my 'to-read' pile so I can found out!
February 26, 2024
Not what I would usually pick up to read, but I throughly enjoyed this book.
May 28, 2015
Chad Ganske delivers a haunting, intensely personal tale of a dystopian society stratified along harsh, inescapable lines, and the determination of a people facing extinction to change their fate.
As Ultim's binary stars threaten to become pulsars, the Patron promises salvation under the dome of Salus--but only to people who are genetically "perfect," free of sicknesses or diseases which might threaten humanity's continued existence within Salus' controlled environment.
Stanford Samuels is a mutant who, like all mutants denied entry to Salus, is facing his last days. His one chance at survival is to father a perfect child with his wife, one which will buy them a spot in the last colony of humans when the suns go dark. But when a seemingly freak accident turns his life upside down, Stanford discovers nothing is what it seems, and if he wants a future, he'll have to take it for himself.
Idyllic Avenue asks not only the question "What does it mean to be human?" but "What does it mean to be alive?" It asks these questions through the eyes of Stanford as he's thrown into a world of conspiracies, terrorism and murder, one where perfects, mutants and androids alike fight for their right to live, even if it's at the expense of the others.
Ganske brings a personal, compelling voice to what is at its core a dark sci-fi thriller by painting one man's deeply emotional, heartbreaking struggle for survival onto the canvas of a broken society teetering on the brink.
As Ultim's binary stars threaten to become pulsars, the Patron promises salvation under the dome of Salus--but only to people who are genetically "perfect," free of sicknesses or diseases which might threaten humanity's continued existence within Salus' controlled environment.
Stanford Samuels is a mutant who, like all mutants denied entry to Salus, is facing his last days. His one chance at survival is to father a perfect child with his wife, one which will buy them a spot in the last colony of humans when the suns go dark. But when a seemingly freak accident turns his life upside down, Stanford discovers nothing is what it seems, and if he wants a future, he'll have to take it for himself.
Idyllic Avenue asks not only the question "What does it mean to be human?" but "What does it mean to be alive?" It asks these questions through the eyes of Stanford as he's thrown into a world of conspiracies, terrorism and murder, one where perfects, mutants and androids alike fight for their right to live, even if it's at the expense of the others.
Ganske brings a personal, compelling voice to what is at its core a dark sci-fi thriller by painting one man's deeply emotional, heartbreaking struggle for survival onto the canvas of a broken society teetering on the brink.
May 21, 2015
Finished Idyllic Avenue by Chad Ganske today. It left me wanting more, I really couldn't put it down... Unless one of my kids needed me of course then I had to suffer through the wait until my next chance became available to continue on lol. I really hope there is a sequel. I have to admit I am not a huge Sci Fi fan but I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. :)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews