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Rise #2
Salvation
THE PEACE DOESN'T LAST LONG. . .
With the newly received schematics of the Gateway from Detroit, Tom and Alec head to the west coast to recruit more manpower, but find that not everyone is willing to rise agains the Overseers.
On Tom's orders, Cole travels to Chicago to uncover a hidden enclave of Roamers. Meanwhile, Lina must convince pockets of Freeborn to join the Reclaimer's cause.
Dex is forced to return to the Occupation and lie about his recent whereabouts. He sets off on a covert task that's pertinent to the Reclaimer's success.
'SALVATION' is the second book in the sweeping post-invasion series, 'Rise', by Devon C. Ford, the author of 'After It Happened', and Nathan Hystad, the author of 'The Survivors'.
With the newly received schematics of the Gateway from Detroit, Tom and Alec head to the west coast to recruit more manpower, but find that not everyone is willing to rise agains the Overseers.
On Tom's orders, Cole travels to Chicago to uncover a hidden enclave of Roamers. Meanwhile, Lina must convince pockets of Freeborn to join the Reclaimer's cause.
Dex is forced to return to the Occupation and lie about his recent whereabouts. He sets off on a covert task that's pertinent to the Reclaimer's success.
'SALVATION' is the second book in the sweeping post-invasion series, 'Rise', by Devon C. Ford, the author of 'After It Happened', and Nathan Hystad, the author of 'The Survivors'.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2020
135 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Devon C. Ford
80 books430 followersDevon is from the UK, having lived in many places until finally settling in the Midlands. His career in public services started in his teens and has provided a wealth of experiences, both good and some very bad, which form the basis of the book ideas that cause regular insomnia.
He first started reading for fun as an adult, having tried his hardest to avoid anything resembling academia growing up, and at that point the world became a far bigger place. He has been reading, at least one book at a time, ever since.
His debut works, the After It Happened series, (Survival, Humanity, Society) were published in April 2016 followed by Hope (July 2016) and Sanctuary (December 2016). The first part of the series concluded with the release of Rebellion which was published in June 2017.
Storming high into the charts with the first books of the After It Happened series, Devon launched into the top 10 sellers listings in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US, and he made the decision to write full time shortly after the launch of Hope.
Devon’s self-published beginnings caused a stir in the publishing world, and resulted in contracts with Podium Publishing for Audible, narrated by R.C. Bray (The Martian, Expeditionary Force, Arisen), before a publishing deal for kindle and paperbacks with Vulpine Press.
Further works have seen the start of a multi-author series, sci-fi/post-apocalyptic cross genre, futuristic dystopian and alternative history zombie apocalypse. Spin-off books from the After It Happened world have been announced for 2018.
He first started reading for fun as an adult, having tried his hardest to avoid anything resembling academia growing up, and at that point the world became a far bigger place. He has been reading, at least one book at a time, ever since.
His debut works, the After It Happened series, (Survival, Humanity, Society) were published in April 2016 followed by Hope (July 2016) and Sanctuary (December 2016). The first part of the series concluded with the release of Rebellion which was published in June 2017.
Storming high into the charts with the first books of the After It Happened series, Devon launched into the top 10 sellers listings in the UK, Australia, Canada and the US, and he made the decision to write full time shortly after the launch of Hope.
Devon’s self-published beginnings caused a stir in the publishing world, and resulted in contracts with Podium Publishing for Audible, narrated by R.C. Bray (The Martian, Expeditionary Force, Arisen), before a publishing deal for kindle and paperbacks with Vulpine Press.
Further works have seen the start of a multi-author series, sci-fi/post-apocalyptic cross genre, futuristic dystopian and alternative history zombie apocalypse. Spin-off books from the After It Happened world have been announced for 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 20, 2020
I think one of the things that really makes this book great is its ending. It's not what you'd expect - but it sets up the conclusion to the series nicely. The journey to get there was great - lots of new situations, survivors that run the gamut from those who suffered the most from the occupation to those who fared the best. I think it was a nice touch that so many leaders held to their beliefs; there was a lot of conflict in this book that didn't have much to do with the overall plot but rather were supports for it.
Great characters, too. I appreciate their growth in this second book and of course Ray Porter is unequalled on audio. Nobody could do justice to this story like he can.
Great characters, too. I appreciate their growth in this second book and of course Ray Porter is unequalled on audio. Nobody could do justice to this story like he can.
September 15, 2021
This is part of an on-going review for the ENTIRE trilogy as I purchased - well, downloaded via Kindle Unlimited - the books as part of the box set (and as such, my review on Amazon will need to be put under that heading). For goodreads, naturally I want to register each under the individual books along with their own ratings because (a) I hope this helps potential readers make a decision as to whether or not they would enjoy this and (b) I take my yearly reading target way too seriously for my own good.
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Book 1 "Occupation (Rise #1)" (see previous review)
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Book 2 "Salvation (Rise #2)" rating 3 generous stars
(let's say this rating is shakier than the 3 given to Book 1)
I could essentially use the same review from Book 1 here even though I was definitely disappointed overall in this chapter. I just felt like the first book set up so much more than what we got. Again, the writing is "safe" (definitely keeping things in the realm of PG-13, prime-time suitability) and the editing professional, but the pacing is slow in this cookie cutter scifi tale. I found this was made even moreso by the short and choppy chapters which really began to aggravate me after a while. The constant movement between the "rearranged" character team-ups was also quite dizzying, where we get only a few pages of detail around each scenario before we head back to another locale and/or grouping. This also prevented us from exploring any of the relationships that had already been formed in much depth, only skimming across the dynamics of the those that find themselves together this time.
Overall, the new players and/or collectives thereof that are introduced are for the most part interesting but also quite bland. Again, I found far too many characterizations forced or even uncomfortably clichéd. Even though we seem to be building to some kind of crescendo - with tiny teaser phrases, for example, like "Prince of the Revolution" scattered throughout - I found this second installment really trudged along, like marching through thick mud in the rain (hey, I can fling out clichés, too, you know!). Even the few "big" action sequences which could have helped immensely - e.g. the battle near the caves or at Nats' park or even the climatic ending (avoiding spoilers) - are over too quick, happening largely "off camera" or without sufficient direction or detail.
Needless to say (but I will anyway) I had a lot more trouble getting through this volume than I did with the first where certainly the newness of what's happening has long since worn off. I find myself struggling to maintain any real interest in or connection with the cast and feel like stretching this out as a trilogy was perhaps forced. Again, the plotting reminds of some of the mid-level TV series we've seen over the past years on such cable channels as ScyFy or even AMC (think the drudgery of "The Walking Dead" after too many seasons of doing pretty much the same thing [nope, not a fan]). There are also too many instances that seem to make the aliens far too easy to beat back to really add credence to the overall invasion, especially considering how ammosexual-ized the world and particularly the United States has become.
Oh well. Again, among all the other issues, I still wish we were getting a bit more technology or insight to the aliens. There's a little, yes, in the latter case (again, in the form of teasers) but not enough to satisfy fans of harder scifi. Despite the overall tone (of the books and also my reviews), I'll keep reading until the end, despite my motivation for same taking a serious nosedive.
-----
Book 3 "Reclamation (Rise #3)" rating: again, 3 stars
which would also be my rating for the entire trilogy
Immediately, Book 3 starts out much more diverse and interesting than the previous installment as we're taken on a tour albeit a QUICK one of various facilities and gatherings of survivors scattered around the world. This would have helped Chapter 2 so much if it had been introduced even in parts earlier but that's where we are. At very least there is more action to partially compensate for another round of rapid-fire chapter bursts.
There's not really that much "new" here in the third chapter, even though we're treated to some bigger and even more severe battle scenes than before, which was appreciated (and long overdue). Again, though, as I mentioned before, the way these played out - quickly finished and often with just the most basic of strategies involved - made me very skeptical about how the aliens established their dominance so thoroughly in the first place. Still, there are some brief moments of heightened tension and suspense, particularly looking at the scenes in both Norway and even Shanghai. I was disappointed though that a lot of what we were going to be treated to was given away far too early in the story (especially the "Stargate" kaboom strategy) and that ultimately there were no real surprises when all was said and done.
Unfortunately as well, as the book draws to a close - and the conclusion really in my eyes happens several chapters before the actual ending - the plotting and even editing takes a bit of a tumble. After spending only the briefest of moments on the alien homeworld, it would have been nice to have built things up stronger - including through action, real human emotional release (positive and negative) and a vision for the future. Instead, I felt what we're left with is a bit, well, hokey and again, it strayed far too much into the Young Adult tone that earlier chapters with our younger cast established. There is very little hardcore "action/adventure" as I call it as part of my bookshelves beyond some repetitive blasting from ships or reliance on left-behind alien technology to close things up. And no, concerning the aliens themselves, I was never satisfied with what we learned about them at all. Sure, we see their homeworld through a small window, yes, we see that Earth is most likely not the only world they've pillaged, but we never learn why or anything about these creatures as a "people". Oh well, missed opportunity in my eyes but that's the way the strange alien bounces.
CONCLUSION: Overall, a readable trilogy for scifi fans that don't like their stories too complicated. And at the special Kindle Unlimited price, I don't regret having tried these books out. However, I prefer to be challenged when I read such a seemingly "epic" tale and this is what I found so lacking here. C'est la vie.
-----
Book 1 "Occupation (Rise #1)" (see previous review)
-----
Book 2 "Salvation (Rise #2)" rating 3 generous stars
(let's say this rating is shakier than the 3 given to Book 1)
I could essentially use the same review from Book 1 here even though I was definitely disappointed overall in this chapter. I just felt like the first book set up so much more than what we got. Again, the writing is "safe" (definitely keeping things in the realm of PG-13, prime-time suitability) and the editing professional, but the pacing is slow in this cookie cutter scifi tale. I found this was made even moreso by the short and choppy chapters which really began to aggravate me after a while. The constant movement between the "rearranged" character team-ups was also quite dizzying, where we get only a few pages of detail around each scenario before we head back to another locale and/or grouping. This also prevented us from exploring any of the relationships that had already been formed in much depth, only skimming across the dynamics of the those that find themselves together this time.
Overall, the new players and/or collectives thereof that are introduced are for the most part interesting but also quite bland. Again, I found far too many characterizations forced or even uncomfortably clichéd. Even though we seem to be building to some kind of crescendo - with tiny teaser phrases, for example, like "Prince of the Revolution" scattered throughout - I found this second installment really trudged along, like marching through thick mud in the rain (hey, I can fling out clichés, too, you know!). Even the few "big" action sequences which could have helped immensely - e.g. the battle near the caves or at Nats' park or even the climatic ending (avoiding spoilers) - are over too quick, happening largely "off camera" or without sufficient direction or detail.
Needless to say (but I will anyway) I had a lot more trouble getting through this volume than I did with the first where certainly the newness of what's happening has long since worn off. I find myself struggling to maintain any real interest in or connection with the cast and feel like stretching this out as a trilogy was perhaps forced. Again, the plotting reminds of some of the mid-level TV series we've seen over the past years on such cable channels as ScyFy or even AMC (think the drudgery of "The Walking Dead" after too many seasons of doing pretty much the same thing [nope, not a fan]). There are also too many instances that seem to make the aliens far too easy to beat back to really add credence to the overall invasion, especially considering how ammosexual-ized the world and particularly the United States has become.
Oh well. Again, among all the other issues, I still wish we were getting a bit more technology or insight to the aliens. There's a little, yes, in the latter case (again, in the form of teasers) but not enough to satisfy fans of harder scifi. Despite the overall tone (of the books and also my reviews), I'll keep reading until the end, despite my motivation for same taking a serious nosedive.
-----
Book 3 "Reclamation (Rise #3)" rating: again, 3 stars
which would also be my rating for the entire trilogy
Immediately, Book 3 starts out much more diverse and interesting than the previous installment as we're taken on a tour albeit a QUICK one of various facilities and gatherings of survivors scattered around the world. This would have helped Chapter 2 so much if it had been introduced even in parts earlier but that's where we are. At very least there is more action to partially compensate for another round of rapid-fire chapter bursts.
There's not really that much "new" here in the third chapter, even though we're treated to some bigger and even more severe battle scenes than before, which was appreciated (and long overdue). Again, though, as I mentioned before, the way these played out - quickly finished and often with just the most basic of strategies involved - made me very skeptical about how the aliens established their dominance so thoroughly in the first place. Still, there are some brief moments of heightened tension and suspense, particularly looking at the scenes in both Norway and even Shanghai. I was disappointed though that a lot of what we were going to be treated to was given away far too early in the story (especially the "Stargate" kaboom strategy) and that ultimately there were no real surprises when all was said and done.
Unfortunately as well, as the book draws to a close - and the conclusion really in my eyes happens several chapters before the actual ending - the plotting and even editing takes a bit of a tumble. After spending only the briefest of moments on the alien homeworld, it would have been nice to have built things up stronger - including through action, real human emotional release (positive and negative) and a vision for the future. Instead, I felt what we're left with is a bit, well, hokey and again, it strayed far too much into the Young Adult tone that earlier chapters with our younger cast established. There is very little hardcore "action/adventure" as I call it as part of my bookshelves beyond some repetitive blasting from ships or reliance on left-behind alien technology to close things up. And no, concerning the aliens themselves, I was never satisfied with what we learned about them at all. Sure, we see their homeworld through a small window, yes, we see that Earth is most likely not the only world they've pillaged, but we never learn why or anything about these creatures as a "people". Oh well, missed opportunity in my eyes but that's the way the strange alien bounces.
CONCLUSION: Overall, a readable trilogy for scifi fans that don't like their stories too complicated. And at the special Kindle Unlimited price, I don't regret having tried these books out. However, I prefer to be challenged when I read such a seemingly "epic" tale and this is what I found so lacking here. C'est la vie.
August 6, 2024
Not gonna read book three…
The first of the Rise series wasn’t bad, but Salvation really dragged for me. It isn’t a BAD book, but it isn’t super exciting either.
I liked some of the characters, and Dexter is probably the most interesting one of all.
What I disliked the most was the author’s abuse of making up excuses to tell us that some important part of the plot was there, but we couldn’t be told about it yet.
Whether it was someone’s true identity, or knowledge of a secret asset, the constant drag of not being told what was happening leaves the reader feeling like they aren’t a part of the inside group.
Even worse, Tom’s constant holding back of information to the people who he is working with is even more annoying.
I found myself speed reading because the grind of how they were getting things done wasn’t interesting. You are basically told over and over what needs to be done and then you read about how they get it done (or don’t) and that leads me to another failure.
This is the second book that ends with a cliffhanger. Even worse, we are led to believe that if they do not resolve things in this book, that it is the end of humanity. But when it comes time to save the day, he just moves the goalposts so the book can be left in a cliffhanger ending.
Like I said, it’s not a bad book, but it is kind of a grind. I just don’t care enough about any of the characters to wade through the next book. It’s fine to have an unlikeable character or two, but honestly, NONE of the characters in the series are so likable that I am willing to do the work necessary to crawl through another book to find out what happens.
I give it three stars. A few Kindle Unlimited style typos and grammar errors, but not terrible. The writing is competent, but slow. One last issue is that I never got a good picture of where they were at or going. It felt like they were crossing huge parts of the USA, but very quickly. I could not believe some of the things that were being claimed and that made it harder for me to care about the story too.
Maybe you will fare better. I’m going to look for something more exciting.
The first of the Rise series wasn’t bad, but Salvation really dragged for me. It isn’t a BAD book, but it isn’t super exciting either.
I liked some of the characters, and Dexter is probably the most interesting one of all.
What I disliked the most was the author’s abuse of making up excuses to tell us that some important part of the plot was there, but we couldn’t be told about it yet.
Whether it was someone’s true identity, or knowledge of a secret asset, the constant drag of not being told what was happening leaves the reader feeling like they aren’t a part of the inside group.
Even worse, Tom’s constant holding back of information to the people who he is working with is even more annoying.
I found myself speed reading because the grind of how they were getting things done wasn’t interesting. You are basically told over and over what needs to be done and then you read about how they get it done (or don’t) and that leads me to another failure.
This is the second book that ends with a cliffhanger. Even worse, we are led to believe that if they do not resolve things in this book, that it is the end of humanity. But when it comes time to save the day, he just moves the goalposts so the book can be left in a cliffhanger ending.
Like I said, it’s not a bad book, but it is kind of a grind. I just don’t care enough about any of the characters to wade through the next book. It’s fine to have an unlikeable character or two, but honestly, NONE of the characters in the series are so likable that I am willing to do the work necessary to crawl through another book to find out what happens.
I give it three stars. A few Kindle Unlimited style typos and grammar errors, but not terrible. The writing is competent, but slow. One last issue is that I never got a good picture of where they were at or going. It felt like they were crossing huge parts of the USA, but very quickly. I could not believe some of the things that were being claimed and that made it harder for me to care about the story too.
Maybe you will fare better. I’m going to look for something more exciting.
November 21, 2021
Wow, wow, wow! What a great second book. The characters: Alec, Cole, Tom, Soares, Monet, Dex and Lina are all wonderful. You can't help but like all of them; even if the one reviewer, who is full of shit, said they were unrelatable and unlikable.
They all tried so hard to win against the aliens, and failed. BUT I think they're going to know how to do it in the next book. Which I can't wait to start.
No romance and no swearing to speak of, which is bullshit! As much as I enjoyed this series I would not read anything else by Devon C. Ford. NOT swearing a mouthful in a book like this is totally ridiculous. The language is not believable. Especially not by the bad guys.
As for the narration: Ray Porter is simple fantastic!!
They all tried so hard to win against the aliens, and failed. BUT I think they're going to know how to do it in the next book. Which I can't wait to start.
No romance and no swearing to speak of, which is bullshit! As much as I enjoyed this series I would not read anything else by Devon C. Ford. NOT swearing a mouthful in a book like this is totally ridiculous. The language is not believable. Especially not by the bad guys.
As for the narration: Ray Porter is simple fantastic!!
April 17, 2020
A strong second book in the saga of recapturing Earth from the alien occupation. The time has come to try to defeat the overlords or be alienated, as a bridge to the home planet is about to be opened. The story focuses on 25 years of planning, not only by Tom's group, but others that have been working all these years for this final battle. Each of our focus survivors, has a separate agenda to bring together a massive attack on the occupiers' bridge. The outcome or who will survive is not obvious, making a perfect setup for book 3.
As always Ray Porter pulls it off perfectly.
As always Ray Porter pulls it off perfectly.
May 1, 2020
This was a good book. The storyline focuses on a multi-prong effort to destroy the gate that the overseers had created to link their homeworld to Earth with the intention to wipe out the remaining human slaves. I would have given the book 4 stars but I was disappointed by the ending. I am undecided if I will read the 3rd book.
June 20, 2020
The humans have figured out that the aliens are constructing a gate and once they bring the rest of their people through, the surviving humans are history. Just like the first book, I like how it switches from character to character. Dex became one of my favorites even though he was so mercenary at the beginning.
Everyone has their own mission to complete to stop the aliens and they run into more colorful characters on the way.
I loved the ending and definitely moving on to book 3
Everyone has their own mission to complete to stop the aliens and they run into more colorful characters on the way.
I loved the ending and definitely moving on to book 3
February 28, 2023
Wow! What an adventure. Reading how the Reclaimers are growing was fantastic. But is it going to be enough to win against the Invaders, who are quite entrenched on earth after 25 years of ruling over the people. My heart was beating over-time with this fast tempo of writing. Great work was done yet again by Nathan Hystad and Devon C Ford. Definitely love the series and can't wait to start book three.
September 7, 2020
Loved the second book in the series!
As with the first book, each chapter seems to be about one of the characters and what is going on around them. I loved how the characters are all brought together with the ending of the book and I am now heading for the third and last book in this series.
As with the first book, each chapter seems to be about one of the characters and what is going on around them. I loved how the characters are all brought together with the ending of the book and I am now heading for the third and last book in this series.
January 23, 2022
This is a really good series. (Audible review)
Great story, character development, lots of dialogue, and the descriptions are excellent.
Definitely a great SiFi book.
As for the narration, it’s amazing. I absolutely love Ray Porter. He does such a great job of giving everyone their own voice, the women sound like women. He reads with emotion and he has a very nice reading voice. A++++
Great story, character development, lots of dialogue, and the descriptions are excellent.
Definitely a great SiFi book.
As for the narration, it’s amazing. I absolutely love Ray Porter. He does such a great job of giving everyone their own voice, the women sound like women. He reads with emotion and he has a very nice reading voice. A++++
May 10, 2020
Very intense, captivating book
I am enjoying this series, definitely not like anything else I have read in sci fi. Just the fact that Nathan is involved in writing this book was enough for me to want to read it.
I am enjoying this series, definitely not like anything else I have read in sci fi. Just the fact that Nathan is involved in writing this book was enough for me to want to read it.
August 8, 2020
Couldn't put it down!!
Ooh, cracking read! Fast paced, story and characters literally flying everywhere and so much going on! I am loving these books!!! Another belter, 5* recommendation from me!
I'm going to get stuck straight into book 3 now!
Ooh, cracking read! Fast paced, story and characters literally flying everywhere and so much going on! I am loving these books!!! Another belter, 5* recommendation from me!
I'm going to get stuck straight into book 3 now!
December 13, 2020
Like the first book, there isn't any one thing that makes this one stand out but the sum of the different characters and their contribution to the plot make for a very enjoyable reading experience. Having read two I am no thoroughly invested enough to want to read the next one.
April 15, 2020
4.5, It has almost everything I enjoy about syfy.
July 2, 2020
Confusing
I finished book two and was more confused than after book one. I'm not sure I been want to attack book three.
I finished book two and was more confused than after book one. I'm not sure I been want to attack book three.
July 22, 2020
Brilliant
Absolutely love this series. It's a true must read. I can not recommend it enough!!!!!!!
Aliens, guns and battles what else do you need.
Absolutely love this series. It's a true must read. I can not recommend it enough!!!!!!!
Aliens, guns and battles what else do you need.
August 10, 2020
good and fast
August 16, 2020
Good continuation of the story. I've been listening to this series non-stop since I started. Hoping book 3 isn't open ended as the first two!
October 27, 2020
Good continuation of story in the first book.
It's annoying when you don't get the whole story without buying the trilogy, but oh well!
It's annoying when you don't get the whole story without buying the trilogy, but oh well!
April 16, 2021
Excellent series
Really enjoying this series. Great characters and story, it makes me look forward to each new book in the series!
Really enjoying this series. Great characters and story, it makes me look forward to each new book in the series!
June 29, 2021
Excellent read. Loved the first book and this one is also great. Continued character development along with some surprises in the plot that I enjoyed. What a setup for the final book. Can't wait.
July 16, 2021
Sem surpresas, muito foco nas ações militares, pouca ficção (cientifica ou não)
October 31, 2021
Divinely uninspired. None of the characters are likable or relatable, and the focus shifts between people too often to get acquainted with any person.
January 2, 2023
I mean, the only thing it’s missing is a Wookie and a Jedi knight… Still entertaining enough though.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews