{"id":11982,"date":"2022-01-06T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2022-01-06T17:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/?p=11982"},"modified":"2022-01-06T10:42:09","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T17:42:09","slug":"0w1believe-1-by-geoff-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/?p=11982","title":{"rendered":"0w1:believe (1) by Geoff Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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An intriguing tale in which nothing can be taken at face value<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gritty futuristic setting of Bristol, UK, provides an evocative backdrop for this unsettling dystopian tale, Hall\u2019s debut installment in the World of Owl trilogy. Trying to put the trauma of his parents\u2019 tragic fate aside, Strix is content to begin his work as a librarian, a job that is assigned to him because of his specific \u2018thought-patterning\u2019 during his time at the school. But living in a world where the state controls everything\u2014from people\u2019s careers to individual choices\u2014begins to take a toll on the young man\u2019s psyche. Meeting like-minded teenagers fuels Strix\u2019s desire to change the world he lives in. As Strix and his friends begin to gain insight into the State machine, they are shocked to see a different reality open up before them; the vision space. Confronted by the vicious demons at the Gates of Hell and a colony of Vampire Priests who are part of the Cult of the Blood in Bristol Cathedral, the group must brace themselves for a dangerous face-off. And with the State Security Services watching their every move, their mission becomes more than dangerous. Hall has a knack for both plot and character, and readers will easily immerse themselves in Strix, Calvin, Falco, Izzy, Jess, and Kristina\u2019s world. Under Hall\u2019s expert depiction, these characters come alive, revealing their inner turmoil, insecurities, apprehensions, hopes, and desires. Strix with his sensitivity and integrity and his kindness even when the personal cost is high remains an endearing protagonist. Calvin is equally compelling. Hall combines elements of hard SF, dystopian, and conspiracy thriller against a darkly intriguing backdrop, and his evocative worldbuilding is created with precision and vivid details. The gritty, unfriendly authoritarian world of the futuristic Bristol in which intelligence, education, caliber, and family history determine a person\u2019s fate hums with frostiness, evoking a sense of grim desolation. The descriptions of the government\u2019s brutal suppression of small-scale protests and revolts are graphic, and Hall enhances the action with moments of deep poignant observations, creating a story filled with a rich understanding of human darkness and light. The narrative gets choppy at times, hindering the flow of the story, but memorable protagonists and intriguing storyline delivers on most levels. Along the way, Halls delves into themes of oppression, freedom of thought and expression, slavery, courage, duty, sacrifice, friendship, love, adolescent drama, and family ties. An absorbing story about faith, courage, and resistance<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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0w1: believe (1) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Geoff Hall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uppt\u00e4cka Press<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pub date June 20, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASIN B097CGR4RT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price $7.71 (USD) Kindle edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An intriguing tale in which nothing can be taken at face value\u2026 The gritty futuristic setting of Bristol, UK, provides an evocative backdrop for this unsettling dystopian tale, Hall\u2019s debut installment in the World of Owl trilogy. Trying to put the trauma of his parents\u2019 tragic fate aside, Strix is content to begin his work as a librarian, a job that is assigned to him because of his specific \u2018thought-patterning\u2019 during his time at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145610851,"featured_media":11983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[7223,91,3328,178,1136176,1473,1008073,856121,309,10615,349],"class_list":["post-11982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-author","tag-blogging","tag-book-reviews","tag-books","tag-indie-books","tag-reading","tag-review-blog","tag-review-website","tag-reviews","tag-science-fiction","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pajKJn-37g","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/41t3el0qpms.jpg?fit=375%2C500&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/145610851"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11982"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11988,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11982\/revisions\/11988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprairiesbookreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}