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FLOOR 21: Judgement
Humanity's goal of escaping the Tower is within reach. Jackie and her friends are closer to finding what's outside the Tower than anyone has been in years. However, their greatest obstacles remain before them. Separated from her friends and hallucinating in the Creep, Jackie will have to find the strength to persist against all odds. The greatest threat of all, though, is an ancient power that lies at the heart of the Tower's mysteries. Although her friends search desperately for her, it falls to Jackie alone to unravel the history of the Tower. Yet with ground floor in sight, there is a warning being whispered in the Judge is coming.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2017
12 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 4, 2017
Wow. This book is really easy to rate as five stars; and really difficult to review.
NO SPOILERS!
I finished reading it yesterday and while I normally go from one book to the next without pause, I can’t do that this time. I’m still wrapping my head around everything from this series and especially this book.
I also usually hate horror. It’s so stereotypical, and un-needfully gory. This series is very different. This is sci-fi more than anything. Take the science away and this story couldn’t happen, even tho the science isn’t in-your-face. But as it tends to do, sci-fi overlaps other genres, and in that respect (I’m still bugging out over this book!) it’s amazing how Jason Luthor captures so much of my attention and drags me by my curiosity into places I wouldn’t otherwise want to go.
This series would make some REALLY good movies. One of my favorite things is how the main characters aren’t necessarily white. The lead characters, some are black, or a variety of ancestries and others you have to make it up in your head. The descriptions are just enough to form an image, but it’s evident they’re mixed so skin tones don’t matter and it took me a while to pick up on that as it was so well done.
The society within the tower has lost its collective memory - that’s no secret. They not only aren’t all white people, it’s no big deal they aren’t white and women aren’t stuck in gender roles as they existed in the past (or here and now.) Gender is important to the characters, but they aren’t pigeonholed because of gender. Jackie’s Mom is a great cook, but, she’s also a chemist. The divisions in this society aren’t the same as ours are. More important is where you are born (which floor), and what you know, or can do, in a society where curiosity and asking questions is frowned upon. (I’m a female tech head, with strong curiosity, and I’d be up creep creek in this world!)
There were times while reading this I felt gut-kicked after reading a page. I’d have to go back and reread what I just saw. There are always questions, and sometimes I was left wondering how something could be so over the top, and yet Luthor ALWAYS has a reasonable answer for me eventually, or just enough info to give me more questions.
There are places where it seems there’s a contradiction in the story, but the author either clarified eventually or left room for another book to come. I was wondering “how can this be happening?” And he has satisfactory or amazing answers. Nothing is as seems, yet it is.
Jason Luthor doesn’t treat his audience as if we are stupid. We have to engage our brains to connect the dots he so clearly lays out, and then we get that gut kick! The “whoah! Didn’t see that coming” or “holy crap! Is he implying it’s THIS?!” Yet you aren’t thinking about the author as you race through the book. It’s so well done, there could be multiple stories spawned off at different parts of each book, and you just have no clue which story you are actually reading until you read more. There’s a little bit of predictability, but only enough to make the gut kicks that much harder on you.
Not many authors can surprise me so I cherish those who do. And I write a review, as it’s the least I can do to say thank you. Thank you.
I haven’t had this reaction to a book or series since the Mockingjay books. That series could lose the science, and remain mostly intact. And while reading about Pygmalion, I could totally see the actor who played President Snow as playing Pygmalion. (I’m horrible with names-sorry!) I also haven’t loved a series this much since Harry Potter, which I am usually reading around Halloween. This year, Potter and friends have been bumped back a bit, and Jackie and friends have taken their Halloween spot. ;)
The characters are fleshed our really well by the time this book ends. (Pun not intended). Once again, I’m left wanting more. I’m not ready to leave this world and move on to another. There’s too much to think on and wonder about. I’m still amazed at Jason Luthor’s ability to manipulate my body so physically, through mere words. He is a master wordsmith, with a hellish imagination! My son is going to have to get a bit older than I initially thought before I can let him access these recordings.
I’ve got “Down, Down to London Town” running through my head... set the creep aside, this book remains creepy. Bloody scary, too.
NO SPOILERS!
I finished reading it yesterday and while I normally go from one book to the next without pause, I can’t do that this time. I’m still wrapping my head around everything from this series and especially this book.
I also usually hate horror. It’s so stereotypical, and un-needfully gory. This series is very different. This is sci-fi more than anything. Take the science away and this story couldn’t happen, even tho the science isn’t in-your-face. But as it tends to do, sci-fi overlaps other genres, and in that respect (I’m still bugging out over this book!) it’s amazing how Jason Luthor captures so much of my attention and drags me by my curiosity into places I wouldn’t otherwise want to go.
This series would make some REALLY good movies. One of my favorite things is how the main characters aren’t necessarily white. The lead characters, some are black, or a variety of ancestries and others you have to make it up in your head. The descriptions are just enough to form an image, but it’s evident they’re mixed so skin tones don’t matter and it took me a while to pick up on that as it was so well done.
The society within the tower has lost its collective memory - that’s no secret. They not only aren’t all white people, it’s no big deal they aren’t white and women aren’t stuck in gender roles as they existed in the past (or here and now.) Gender is important to the characters, but they aren’t pigeonholed because of gender. Jackie’s Mom is a great cook, but, she’s also a chemist. The divisions in this society aren’t the same as ours are. More important is where you are born (which floor), and what you know, or can do, in a society where curiosity and asking questions is frowned upon. (I’m a female tech head, with strong curiosity, and I’d be up creep creek in this world!)
There were times while reading this I felt gut-kicked after reading a page. I’d have to go back and reread what I just saw. There are always questions, and sometimes I was left wondering how something could be so over the top, and yet Luthor ALWAYS has a reasonable answer for me eventually, or just enough info to give me more questions.
There are places where it seems there’s a contradiction in the story, but the author either clarified eventually or left room for another book to come. I was wondering “how can this be happening?” And he has satisfactory or amazing answers. Nothing is as seems, yet it is.
Jason Luthor doesn’t treat his audience as if we are stupid. We have to engage our brains to connect the dots he so clearly lays out, and then we get that gut kick! The “whoah! Didn’t see that coming” or “holy crap! Is he implying it’s THIS?!” Yet you aren’t thinking about the author as you race through the book. It’s so well done, there could be multiple stories spawned off at different parts of each book, and you just have no clue which story you are actually reading until you read more. There’s a little bit of predictability, but only enough to make the gut kicks that much harder on you.
Not many authors can surprise me so I cherish those who do. And I write a review, as it’s the least I can do to say thank you. Thank you.
I haven’t had this reaction to a book or series since the Mockingjay books. That series could lose the science, and remain mostly intact. And while reading about Pygmalion, I could totally see the actor who played President Snow as playing Pygmalion. (I’m horrible with names-sorry!) I also haven’t loved a series this much since Harry Potter, which I am usually reading around Halloween. This year, Potter and friends have been bumped back a bit, and Jackie and friends have taken their Halloween spot. ;)
The characters are fleshed our really well by the time this book ends. (Pun not intended). Once again, I’m left wanting more. I’m not ready to leave this world and move on to another. There’s too much to think on and wonder about. I’m still amazed at Jason Luthor’s ability to manipulate my body so physically, through mere words. He is a master wordsmith, with a hellish imagination! My son is going to have to get a bit older than I initially thought before I can let him access these recordings.
I’ve got “Down, Down to London Town” running through my head... set the creep aside, this book remains creepy. Bloody scary, too.
January 15, 2018
And now it's finally time that we get to learn more about the origins of the Creep and the Tower, of which we've only gotten scraps and legends before now. We also get to see more of the relationships between the various characters, especially how they are tested during the course of being so deep in the Tower.
One thing I really like is how the author handles showing and then explaining the history of the Tower and the Creep. There is always just enough information that is revealed to get the reader to figure out the some of the major pieces of the backstory on their own by connecting the dots, but there are smaller important pieces that, when revealed, make perfect sense, but aren't quite easy to piece together beforehand. It's a fine line trying to balance obviously hinted pieces that aren't at all surprising to the reader and twists that feel completely out of left field, and this book does it wonderfully.
Overall, definitely one of the favorite series I've read in a long time, I would highly suggest reading it.
One thing I really like is how the author handles showing and then explaining the history of the Tower and the Creep. There is always just enough information that is revealed to get the reader to figure out the some of the major pieces of the backstory on their own by connecting the dots, but there are smaller important pieces that, when revealed, make perfect sense, but aren't quite easy to piece together beforehand. It's a fine line trying to balance obviously hinted pieces that aren't at all surprising to the reader and twists that feel completely out of left field, and this book does it wonderfully.
Overall, definitely one of the favorite series I've read in a long time, I would highly suggest reading it.
October 27, 2018
3 and half for me. As with the other it was told on diaries but in this one pages and pages dealt with the same personal feeling over and over again. When there was action it was a bit far fetched . I know it's sci fi but still. Fortunately the last chapter tied the whole series up quite well, but it took a lot of pages to get there. 3.40
February 16, 2021
So much happens in this book. Nice to have some explanation, but still some big questions lingering (as well as new mysteries). The last 3rd of this got me thinking this would be perfect to make an anime out of. 🙂
February 22, 2018
Amazing
Follow the story all the way through. Kept me hooked on the characters and story, and I couldn't stop reading. Thanks for making this novel. It was truly intriguing.
Follow the story all the way through. Kept me hooked on the characters and story, and I couldn't stop reading. Thanks for making this novel. It was truly intriguing.
October 21, 2017
By and large, the horror genre isn't one that interests me. It's not an aversion to fear; it's the fact that almost every bit of horror I've watched or read in my lifetime just hasn't been very good. Jason Luthor's first two books, Floor 21 and Floor 21: Descent, were different. They were fantastic takes on the genre, mixed with a healthy does of sci-fi, dystopia, and a kickass female protagonist, and his latest -- Floor 21: Judgement -- is no different.
While this book takes place in the same confined, infested tower as the first two installments, Judgement is a testament to stellar character development and masterful world-building. Luthor does a great job balancing several different voices -- there are no fewer than six points of view in Judgement -- and delving further into just what made the Creep become the problem it is. A lot of writers are masters of either character development or world-building; Luthor shows a deft touch at both.
He's also a master at writing fight and action scenes. I don't think I mentioned that in reviewing the first two books, but Judgement features some of the best, most thrilling, fight sequences I've read in some time. They are almost theatrical in their presentation, and they are as hard-hitting and vicious as the blows themselves. Luthor's writing chops, already proven, are truly on full display here.
Judgement is the best of the three books in the series, which is saying something, considering how much I enjoyed the first two. This is a perfect mix of horror, science fiction, dystopia, and good old-fashioned comic book violence, and while Jackie again proves to be an amazing protagonist, her supporting cast gets its chance to shine as well. This book is a physical and emotional gut-punch -- and I mean that in the best way possible.
The simple truth is this: Floor 21: Judgement is the best book I've read so far in 2017, and if you're new to Luthor's work, then I suggest you devour all three installments. Few indie authors can weave a tale as expertly as Luthor, with a delicate balance of action, character, and heart. Judgement has all of it in spades, and while I would understand if this ends as a trilogy, I find myself hoping to visit this world time and time again going forward.
Read. This. Book.
While this book takes place in the same confined, infested tower as the first two installments, Judgement is a testament to stellar character development and masterful world-building. Luthor does a great job balancing several different voices -- there are no fewer than six points of view in Judgement -- and delving further into just what made the Creep become the problem it is. A lot of writers are masters of either character development or world-building; Luthor shows a deft touch at both.
He's also a master at writing fight and action scenes. I don't think I mentioned that in reviewing the first two books, but Judgement features some of the best, most thrilling, fight sequences I've read in some time. They are almost theatrical in their presentation, and they are as hard-hitting and vicious as the blows themselves. Luthor's writing chops, already proven, are truly on full display here.
Judgement is the best of the three books in the series, which is saying something, considering how much I enjoyed the first two. This is a perfect mix of horror, science fiction, dystopia, and good old-fashioned comic book violence, and while Jackie again proves to be an amazing protagonist, her supporting cast gets its chance to shine as well. This book is a physical and emotional gut-punch -- and I mean that in the best way possible.
The simple truth is this: Floor 21: Judgement is the best book I've read so far in 2017, and if you're new to Luthor's work, then I suggest you devour all three installments. Few indie authors can weave a tale as expertly as Luthor, with a delicate balance of action, character, and heart. Judgement has all of it in spades, and while I would understand if this ends as a trilogy, I find myself hoping to visit this world time and time again going forward.
Read. This. Book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews