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The Queens of Lower Earth #3
Subversive
Blood is stronger than alliances. Truth hides behind lies.
Every woman must protect herself or die for Queen and country.
Daphna is desperate. To save countless lives, the leader of the Sisters must convince the Queen and Central Tower to find a cure for the Elgin disease or watch in horror as her people writhe in agony to their death.
Queen Ariane’s obsession with perfecting women’s genetic code defies logic to anyone who doesn’t know the history that runs in the blood of queens.
The fear of betrayal is powerful.
And Ariane has tasted the shame of being left behind. First by her mother, and then by her closest aide, Gale.
Gale saw what was in Ariane’s heart and abandoned her because of it. There was nowhere else for her to go but to the Sisters. And Ariane knew it.
Fearful now that the Sisters in the Outer Counties will rise against her, Ariane cannot let the Sisters advance on the capital.
But both Ariane and Daphna are determined to succeed. Ariane directs her Guard to control the masses, but Daphna won’t be subdued.
As a former researcher in the capital, she holds a secret that could stop Queen Ariane in her tracks…
At the heart of the Queen’s weakness is Gale.
Will Ariane endure the taste of failure or will she allow the illness to decimate everyone and everything in Lower Earth?
Every woman must protect herself or die for Queen and country.
Daphna is desperate. To save countless lives, the leader of the Sisters must convince the Queen and Central Tower to find a cure for the Elgin disease or watch in horror as her people writhe in agony to their death.
Queen Ariane’s obsession with perfecting women’s genetic code defies logic to anyone who doesn’t know the history that runs in the blood of queens.
The fear of betrayal is powerful.
And Ariane has tasted the shame of being left behind. First by her mother, and then by her closest aide, Gale.
Gale saw what was in Ariane’s heart and abandoned her because of it. There was nowhere else for her to go but to the Sisters. And Ariane knew it.
Fearful now that the Sisters in the Outer Counties will rise against her, Ariane cannot let the Sisters advance on the capital.
But both Ariane and Daphna are determined to succeed. Ariane directs her Guard to control the masses, but Daphna won’t be subdued.
As a former researcher in the capital, she holds a secret that could stop Queen Ariane in her tracks…
At the heart of the Queen’s weakness is Gale.
Will Ariane endure the taste of failure or will she allow the illness to decimate everyone and everything in Lower Earth?
356 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2020
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 1, 2020
“Subversive” the third full-length installment in the “Lower Earth Rising” Series by Eden Wolfe is a wonderful story, that rises the bar of an already amazing series by a couple of levels. The story manages to offer a look behind Queen Ariane’s character and to bring the story forward at the very same time. This is the more complex story up-to-date, but nevertheless, undoubtedly due to Eden Wolfe’s gift for storytelling, very easy to follow, captivating the reader from the very first page until the end of the last chapter, without lost of pace or interest. While this series builds on each of the previous books and should be read in order to understand every nuance in the tale, this third book gives us a better understanding of the Queen’s in general and Ariane in particular.
Queen Ariane is obsessed with perfecting the genetic code and repopulate Lower Earth with perfecting genetic women, an obsession that does not any sense to those unknowingly of the Queens’ history. Ariane’s abandon issue, after all her mother leave her behind, and now her closest ally Gale is slowly moving away from her, due to Ariane own erratic behaviour. As Gale’s own vision for the future and Ariane’s plans crash, forcing Gale to find sanctuary by the Sisters. The situation develops and reach its peak as Ariane finds herself on the edge between acknowledge defeat or go ahead and annihilate Lower Earth’s population to reach her goals.
Eden Wolfe writing style is as always, both crisp and very elaborate, which works surprisingly well within the scope of the series, while remaining easy to follow at all times, the plot develops organically and offers a brand-new approach to dystopian tropes, presenting a horrifying version of our own future, in which humanity keeps on fighting to remain human against all odds and rules. ‘Lower Earth Rising’ presents an original, knowledgeable, intelligent, brilliant narrative, that blends action, background knowledge and character development into a single threat, easy to follow and highly enjoyable that leaves a lasting impression.
An amazing dystopian fantasy series, that works as a somehow distorted, but by not means less efficient mirror of our own society.
Queen Ariane is obsessed with perfecting the genetic code and repopulate Lower Earth with perfecting genetic women, an obsession that does not any sense to those unknowingly of the Queens’ history. Ariane’s abandon issue, after all her mother leave her behind, and now her closest ally Gale is slowly moving away from her, due to Ariane own erratic behaviour. As Gale’s own vision for the future and Ariane’s plans crash, forcing Gale to find sanctuary by the Sisters. The situation develops and reach its peak as Ariane finds herself on the edge between acknowledge defeat or go ahead and annihilate Lower Earth’s population to reach her goals.
Eden Wolfe writing style is as always, both crisp and very elaborate, which works surprisingly well within the scope of the series, while remaining easy to follow at all times, the plot develops organically and offers a brand-new approach to dystopian tropes, presenting a horrifying version of our own future, in which humanity keeps on fighting to remain human against all odds and rules. ‘Lower Earth Rising’ presents an original, knowledgeable, intelligent, brilliant narrative, that blends action, background knowledge and character development into a single threat, easy to follow and highly enjoyable that leaves a lasting impression.
An amazing dystopian fantasy series, that works as a somehow distorted, but by not means less efficient mirror of our own society.
December 10, 2020
As always I recommend that you start on Deviants, the introductory novelette and follow the series to get the full picture.
What we basically have is a population pretty heavily brainwashed and led by a Queen Ariane whose motivations are somewhat dubious to say the least. She, of course, has her sycophantic followers who are keen to rise up in the pecking order. However Ariane seems to have made a few mistakes firstly with a poison attempt gone wrong via an ex waiting woman Gale, and secondly becoming severely paranoid about the citizens of the land. Basically she feels plots everywhere to bring her, and her rule down. This is not strictly true, however Ariane fells that it is true, and this makes her more dangerous than ever. To add to this there is a virus called Elgin which is wreaking havoc with the water supply.
Gale in the meanwhile has unintentionally spread the “poison” that was administered to her unknowingly, by Ariane, to many other regions. The Sisterhood in particular have been hard hit by this and their leader Daphna, also a geneticist, has concluded that this was intentionally started somehow by Ariane. A plan is formed whereby Daphna will approach the main city with a cure for Elgin, in return for a cure for the “Gale poison” for want of a better word.
Ariane sees the approach of the Sisters as a threat, and does all in her power to stop them. However other things are brewing as well. The birth of a boy child, Ariane’s Comandante Irene, defects from her seeing her for what she really is, Roman an ex Great Geneticist (latterly involved with the boy child) also defects, the Sister’s escape and now the odds seem to turning in favour of the supposed outcasts. And finally contact with Upper Earth.
Really gripping and enthralling! I can’t wait for the next episode!
What we basically have is a population pretty heavily brainwashed and led by a Queen Ariane whose motivations are somewhat dubious to say the least. She, of course, has her sycophantic followers who are keen to rise up in the pecking order. However Ariane seems to have made a few mistakes firstly with a poison attempt gone wrong via an ex waiting woman Gale, and secondly becoming severely paranoid about the citizens of the land. Basically she feels plots everywhere to bring her, and her rule down. This is not strictly true, however Ariane fells that it is true, and this makes her more dangerous than ever. To add to this there is a virus called Elgin which is wreaking havoc with the water supply.
Gale in the meanwhile has unintentionally spread the “poison” that was administered to her unknowingly, by Ariane, to many other regions. The Sisterhood in particular have been hard hit by this and their leader Daphna, also a geneticist, has concluded that this was intentionally started somehow by Ariane. A plan is formed whereby Daphna will approach the main city with a cure for Elgin, in return for a cure for the “Gale poison” for want of a better word.
Ariane sees the approach of the Sisters as a threat, and does all in her power to stop them. However other things are brewing as well. The birth of a boy child, Ariane’s Comandante Irene, defects from her seeing her for what she really is, Roman an ex Great Geneticist (latterly involved with the boy child) also defects, the Sister’s escape and now the odds seem to turning in favour of the supposed outcasts. And finally contact with Upper Earth.
Really gripping and enthralling! I can’t wait for the next episode!
December 28, 2020
Where do your loyalties lie?
Everything comes to a satisfying conclusion in Subversive, the final book in Eden Wolfe’s Lower Earth Rising series, whilst also allowing for future books to be set in this world. The book is fast paced, and the sub-plots are intricately woven together as desperation spawns betrayal or solidarity between the women of Lower Earth.
Overall, this series has been a fascinating yet disturbing glimpse into this post-apocalyptic world. I recommend that this series is read in order, starting with the prequel: Deviants.
I received a free copy of this book, and I'm leaving a voluntary review.
Everything comes to a satisfying conclusion in Subversive, the final book in Eden Wolfe’s Lower Earth Rising series, whilst also allowing for future books to be set in this world. The book is fast paced, and the sub-plots are intricately woven together as desperation spawns betrayal or solidarity between the women of Lower Earth.
Overall, this series has been a fascinating yet disturbing glimpse into this post-apocalyptic world. I recommend that this series is read in order, starting with the prequel: Deviants.
I received a free copy of this book, and I'm leaving a voluntary review.
July 9, 2021
I've finally been really pulled in to Lower Earth - I liked this book much better than Culling. It moves very quickly, and I think focused on fewer characters (which was a strength). I still have questions about the world itself -- for instance, Lower Earth has the technology for a (truly) incredible genetic-engineering program that would require lots of high-powered computers, but apparently no telecommunications or transport technology to match, and there hasn't been an explanation of why.
That said, I'm excited to see where the series is going next.
That said, I'm excited to see where the series is going next.
December 22, 2020
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Eden Wolfe knocked it out of the park with this one! It is my favorite of the Lower Earth Rising Series so far. I’ve been reading Christmas books during December, but I had to fit this in.
Queen Ariane, Gale, the Sisters, and a mysterious illness trickle throughout the book. So intriguing!
Read the full review at https://latishaslowkeylife.com/review...
Queen Ariane, Gale, the Sisters, and a mysterious illness trickle throughout the book. So intriguing!
Read the full review at https://latishaslowkeylife.com/review...
November 23, 2021
All I have to say is WHAT!?! I started reading this book thinking it was the last of a trilogy only to be faced with yet another cliffhanger ending! The anticipation is absolutely killing me! I want it to end so I know what happens, but at the same time I dont ever want them to end! I want the tale to keep going, to see how all the characters and their actions both change and are changed by each new chapter!
Bravo to Ms. Wolfe for yet another masterpiece! You have made a fan of this doubtful reader and hope you continue to blow my mind!!!!
Bravo to Ms. Wolfe for yet another masterpiece! You have made a fan of this doubtful reader and hope you continue to blow my mind!!!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews