Regina Shen: Resilience by Lance Erlick
Published by: Finlee Augare Books
Review by: Dani Hoots
REGINA SHEN SERIES DESCRIPTION
This series takes place 400 years in the future after abrupt climate change has melted the ice caps, flooded the coasts, and expanded deserts. Civilization collapsed and was replaced by a World Federation with its notorious Department of Antiquities that suppresses any knowledge from before the Great Collapse. Three-hundred-plus-year-old Grand Old Dames rule using a caste system with them and Elites on top. Professionals serve the ruling class while Working Stiffs do all manual labor.
Regina Shen is an outcast condemned by the Federation to live on the seaward side of barrier walls built to hold back rising seas from abrupt climate change. She survives by her wits on swampy islands and thrives on salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Federation. With her photographic (eidetic) memory, she defies Antiquities by reading books not available in the Federation. The Federation discovers she has unique DNA that could prevent the extinction of humankind. It’s too bad she doesn’t trust them enough to barter fairly, let alone with her life.
Regina Shen: Resilience – A hurricane threatens to destroy Regina’s world. Separated from sister, mom, and home, with Antiquities in pursuit, Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family. Does she have the resilience to survive both the storm and Antiquities?
Set in the future, Erlick does a great job showing us a world that has been destroyed by climate change and greedy people. It was definitely not a place that I wanted to visit, but I was still intrigued by the world nevertheless. The only thing that I was confused about was how they reproduced, since it sounded like there weren’t many men or they were held captive. I didn’t quite follow and wished that was a little clearer, or I could have simply missed that explanation.
Our heroine, Regina Shen, is a very strong character that you want to root for throughout the entire story. The only problem I had was how much crap she took and didn’t really stand up for herself. I understand because of the world, but on the other hand I wished she didn’t just take it. But I’m a really sarcastic person who talks back a lot so that could be why it bothered me.
The plot flowed nicely and I read it all in one sitting as it kept me enthralled. I really enjoyed it and will definitely check out the rest of the series. There was a lot of tense areas in the book that left me gripping my kindle tightly.
Overall I give the novel a 4/5, as some of the back story wasn’t too clear and wished she didn’t just take everything as it was. I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes near-future dystopian novels.
Fourth book in the series release date: July 1, 2016
Book 2: Regina Shen: Vigilance – Pursued by Antiquities, Regina jumps the wall into the Federation to find her kidnapped sister and winds up on a closed-university campus with heavy security. Regina must use her wits to escape and rescue her sister without letting either of two rival inspectors capture her. Can she free her sister from an obvious trap?
Book 3: Regina Shen: Defiance – Rival Antiquities inspectors fight over capturing Regina to gain power. Regina has to flee from Virginia through desert and wilderness to Alaska to hunt a treasure big enough to barter for her freedom and that of her sister. Can she find allies and tools to remain free long enough to find something to trade?
Book 4: Regina Shen: Endurance – Outcast Regina Shen is caught between rival agents vying for power amidst a struggle for succession and who will become the new World Premier. Used for her ability to find hidden ancient treasures, Regina hunts rich enough barter to free her sister. Stretched to her limits, her new journey tests her endurance and her ability to recognize opportunities and avoid getting captured. She will also face a tragedy and a strange twist of destiny that will shake her to her core and get her to question everything. Will she be able to overcome adversity or will she descend down an even more dangerous path?
LONGER DESCRIPTION OF REGINA SHEN: ENDURANCE
Betrayed by her own mother, outcast Regina Shen has been trying to free her sister. Instead, she becomes a pawn in the World Federation’s struggle for power and succession.
Worldwide fertility has collapsed and the World Premier is dying, leading to a crisis of leadership. Battle lines are forming and Regina holds the keys to resolving the fertility crisis with her genome and elevating whoever can capture and control her into positions of power. Using her photographic (eidetic) memory of illegal books, she also holds the key to locating ancient artifacts that could save or destroy the Federation. In holding these keys, Regina should be treated as a queen, but outcasts aren’t even allowed to become citizens.
Having survived the swamps, deserts, and wilderness, Regina continues to try to barter for freedom for her and her sister, but the stakes are too high. Federation agents hound Regina to uncover ancient artifacts and serve herself up as a lab specimen to prevent human extinction. The disgraced Inspector Joanne Demarco pretends to be Regina’s ally to get her to deliver the location of ancient DNA vaults that could change the balance of power. Meanwhile, ruthless rivals are willing to do anything to destroy Demarco and control Regina.
Regina’s new journey will test her endurance, her ability to recognize opportunities, and her knack for avoiding capture. She will also face a tragedy and a strange twist of destiny that will shake her to her core and get her to question everything. Will she be able to overcome adversity or will she descend down an even more dangerous path?
A Bibliophile's Reverie 