The Flooding

The Flooding #1

by Sean Hancock

Death is just the beginning...

Rosa Clark was just another 18-year-old with self-esteem issues. Then she had her Flooding. A supernatural ordeal that reminded her of who she really is. An ancient soul who has lived countless lives over thousands of years. Rosa has sworn enemies. Flooders who hunt her across the ages. They claim she has broken sacred laws and have sentenced her to annihilation, from which there is no coming back. That’s why she can’t let them find her. That’s why she has to run.

Genres: Fantasy

Unknown Binding

About the author

Sean Hancock was born in1977 in Oxford, England. He lived in London and Kenya before his family settled in Devon where Sean spent his formative years. His mother is from Somalia, East Africa, and his father is English.

In 2010, after a decade working as a freelancer in television, Sean joined the BBC as a commissioning editor in entertainment. Among other notable shows, and during his four years with the corporation, Sean commissioned and executive produced The Revolution Will Be Televised, which won the BAFTA for Best Comedy Programme in 2013.

In 2011, Sean released a coming-of-age novel, Trick. The book was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award. It was also a Top-20 Kindle bestseller in the United Kingdom.

The Flooding marks a change of genre for Sean, who now resides in Los Angeles with his wife Simone.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flooding by Sean Hancock is a Kindle Scout book I won. It started out a bit confusing but then it picked up. I liked the plot and characters. It was a thrilling book after the first part and I wanted to know more. A good fantasy. I would give it a 3 1/2 stars rounding it up to 4.

[Hannah (Hannah, Fully) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.


This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure where this story was going. The beginning has a lot of flashbacks to previous lives that slowed the plot down. They are essential to the story, however, but it was a little disjointed jumping back and forth so frequently and quickly. About halfway through, the pace and storyline picked up. There are plenty of twists that keep you wondering who's "good" and who's "bad," or if there really is a good or bad side. Once I got to that point, I didn't want to put it down until I found out what was going on. The writing and character are good and engaging. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking for something different.

I received a copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.

[USOM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book when I nominated it for Kindle Scout and was so happy to find out it had been selected. However, I felt that it didn't quite deliver on a few things. To begin with what I enjoyed, the plot was great. It was twisty, there were surprises, and the way the events unfolded with the flashbacks made the whole thing more entertaining. We are not sure of how things will go, because our narrator, Sam, doesn't know as well. So in that way, the plot kept me reading and I would love to read a second, if there is one, because the ending definitely left some open questions.

But what lacked for me was the characters, especially the main one, Sam. I felt like she didn't have many personality traits, and I was missing some of her quirks. She was compassionate and motivated to fulfill her purpose, but I didn't really feel like I knew her by the end. Maybe that's a tactic of the novel because of her past lives and not knowing really who she is, but I couldn't connect with her in that way. I enjoyed Tammuz so much more than her because of his little quirks, his nervousness, his roommates.

Overall, I liked a lot of little touches in the book, for example the descriptions of the Natural History Museum. And the plot was high paced and entertaining, but I felt unable to connect with Sam, and so felt a little lost for a while in the book.

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Kindle Scout.
full review https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet again, I'm out of step with, well, everyone who loved a book that I pretty much hated. The main characters were cardboard flat, with practically no personality traits to differentiate between them. How do you connect with characters when you don't know who they are? And Ashkai constantly spouted stuff that sounded deep but didn't actually mean anything:

Ashkai: "As long as we continue to place the happiness of others before our own and strive to improve the human experience, the universe will protect and guide us. And that's the only friend we need."

Ashkai: "We fight for the truth and the light and for souls to know what we know. For what is knowledge if it cannot be shared and enriched by others?"
Samsara: Why does our own kind impede us?"
Ashkai: "Because they sleep even though they are awake."

These little pearls of wisdom spill out whenever Ashkai and Samsara have a conversation, as if Ashkai is planning to having his words embroidered on pillows by devoted followers for a fundraiser. Like a bake sale, only New Age and way cooler.

Worse yet, it was hard to follow the abrupt transitions between the present and who-knows-when. It would be the present, and suddenly she was in Rosa's body, or Elsie's, and then it jumped to a scene from two thousand years ago. Literary vertigo.

Lots of people love this based on the reviews and I'm happy for them, but I've already picked it up twice and I still can't force myself to finish it. I'll be deleting this one.

[Jim Murdoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A non-stop action adventure into past lives. Sean Hancock reveals the world of ayahuasca and altered states of consciousness when Samsara accesses the deep recesses of her memories of multiple past lives. Why are people hunting me? Can I trust my master? What do these dreams mean? Samsara/Rosa asks these questions as she emerges from her forgetfulness on her eighteenth birthday and begins to remember her lives over the past four thousand years. Her memories come in handy giving her skills she never learned as Rosa, but they also get her into trouble when she overreacts in certain situations. The author has woven an intricate tale which has its beginnings in the distant past, beyond Samsara's earliest memories. But can she trust those memories? A very fast paced action novel, the reader will find it difficult to put the book down.

[K.V. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concepts in this book - reincarnation, old souls, lovers thousands of years in the making... There was plenty of action and quite a few twists that had me hooked. Samsara is an intricate character and Ashkai is very mysterious. Eyeliner was likeable but not annoyingly so. Something that bugged me, however, was that Samsara continuously made decisions that you wouldn't expect a 4000-year-old soul to make. I understand she's in the body of a teenager and that teenage brain takes over sometimes, but it seemed when she sat still, wisdom poured out, but when faced with problems, she got carried away with risky moves that put herself and others in danger. Perhaps more explanation would help readers. All in all, very entertaining and I look forward to the next book.

[Skylar Blaue · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than just a story

A beautiful blend of spiritual truth and fiction. There are poignant life affirming moments and quotes to remind you of your power and worthiness wrapped in a story about essentially the meaning of life. The author had a pitch perfect focus on reincarnation scored with the complexities inherent in the concept. This story is a dark journey with flashes of light throughout.

If you like Hay House books - you'll love this. I did.

[Jennie Keech · Rating 3 out of 5]

I managed to finish this book so that's good, but it read like it was written by a teenage girl.

I feel the story could have been refined with some better editing and I found the main character did my head in. I didn't like her, I wasn't rooting for her and didn't really care what happened to her.

The characters were a bit lacklustre and the fact that Samsara, the main character, was getting kidnapped by everyone every five minutes really irritating.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sort of urban fantasy novel that centres around Samsara who has reincarnated many times over the millenia and the storyline flows back and forth in time from her previous incarnations to the present and spans the globe. I found it an enjoyable, fast-paced read that keeps the reader guessing. Looking forward to the next one in the series.

I won a copy of this book from the author as part of the Goodreads Giveways program.

[Sandrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, I was constantly checking the time left in the book because it was such a page turner and I didn’t want it to end but also want to desperately know how the story unfolds. I utterly enjoyed this dive and would like a sequel. I gave it 4 stars as I feel it could have done with less violence even if it plays an important role.

[Misty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't stand this book. I did enjoy some of the secondary characters and the premise of past lives but I thought it was poorly executed

[Teresa Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read by this author

This book was hard to keep up with sometimes...but also difficult to out down. Good story line with interesting twists.

[Vinay Varrier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comically caricaturized characters and concepts.

[Stephen O'curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished .....or have I ?

I've read this amazing story not through ,I'd stop to do yhings of life demands and always return making it harder to put my kindle down.
I was a fortunate reader that had a brief awakening , a teaser of sorts before a full book was given to me it made me so interested in the life of this tranferred soul body to body that I definately had to have the book and am a advocate for the continuance of Sam !
I am not a fan of fiction but somehow felt drawn asif in getting a glimpse of this talented creation I could understand the message.
Now I want more ! ....I'm waiting ......

[Susan Campbell]

As far as I was concerned this book hit all the right spots, rebirth, reincarnation and the fact that we live out many lives in order to get where we are going. It was not religious, given the topic, so there is no big preaching ideas, it is what you make of it and ties in strongly with some beliefs of my own. The characters were well presented and very real. The search for the truth with a few twists and turns along the way. I really hope there is a sequel to this as I really want to know what happens to the characters now and how they cope with the circumstances they are now in.
I would definitely recommend this book to my family and friends.
Sean has done a great job for his first book, and I for one am hoping that there are many more to follow.

[Alison]

It's actually not poorly written. The main characters I liked. I didn't like how there seemed to be no rules or limits for their powers.
Also, she's been around 4000 years and can't do the basics!?! Meh