Monday, August 8, 2022

The Way Out Book Review & Book Tour Giveaway

This morning, I have an adult fiction novel with a science fiction style theme in our book review spotlight!  Check out The Way Out from the Be Careful What you Wish For series, learn about the book & authors Gordon Jensen with  Cara Highsmith & Gordon Thomas, read my thoughts on the book & be sure to enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post!  Also, check back tomorrow for a review of the second book in the series, Two Roads to Paradise!



​Book TitleThe Way Out (Book 1: Be Careful What You Wish for Series) by Gordon Jensen with Cara Highsmith and Gordon Thomas
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  240 pages
GenreSci-Fi
Publisher:  Highsmith Creative Services
Release date:  September 2020
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M. The language is pretty tame, but there are a few swear words. The bigger issue is some of the topics addressed in it. 
 

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About the Book


When the Alpha Centauri crew returns to earth after a failed mission to explore a distant planet, they quickly learn the world is not how they left it.

Under new global leadership, the planet has managed to go decades without conflict, except for one major problem. Thanks to a pandemic caused by a mutation in a new strain of GMO corn, the world’s population plummeted to 2.6 billion, wiping out a disproportionate amount of men and leaving the globe run almost entirely by women. The mutation altered the human DNA, making it impossible to produce male babies and increasing Y-chromosome related diseases.

Because of their lack of exposure, the Alpha Centauri crew, especially the men on board, now find themselves in high demand. The Powers that Be think they are the solution, but with that solution comes the inevitable hunger for power and control. As greed, self-interest, and corruption rear their ugly heads, a planet that had found its way to peace is thrust into turmoil once again.

So, the question becomes: Are they really the answer to a seemingly unsolvable problem? The world may soon come to understand that sometimes getting what you wish for isn't the gift you think it will be.

The Way Out is at once a brilliant and relatable work of post-apocalyptic fiction. Think The Handmaid’s Tale mixed with Netflix’s The Wilds, and a touch of Interstellar, the movie. It’s a uniquely told story that will have you waiting as impatiently as the crew to understand the New World Order of the near future.

 

My Review

 

Readers will find a Unique Format in The Way Out. The novel is written in almost an interview/ question & answer format at times with a diary log entry feel at others. It took a bit for me to settle into the storytelling style. Generally, I prefer written books to audiobooks. However, I think I may have eased into this novel's format better with the audio version. While it did take a bit for me to get into the flow of the story--the structure did allow better delivery of many insights and details as the novel played out. 

 

The Way Out is Less Science Fiction Than Expected. As with many science fiction / save the world style novels--the authors created an oddly realistic, relevant glimpse of the world as it could reasonably become. The Way Out feels more of a political/social look at the authors' fictional world--that (unfortunately) too much mirrors issues and realities of our real world.  

 

Would I Recommend The Way Out?   If you enjoy a novel that takes a science fiction premise and creates something a little more philosophical and political--this novel may suit you well. I did enjoy reading the views and angles that the story took as the situation for the human race was revealed and evolved. It is undoubtedly politically/socially charged--and the political aspects far outweigh the science fiction fantasy aspects of the novel. While this is the first book in the series, it gives readers some resolution, leaving some pieces to pull readers into the second novel.  


 
Buy the Book
 
 

 Check out the Series

​Book TitleTwo Roads to Paradise (Book 2: Be Careful What You Wish for Series) by Gordon Jensen with Cara Highsmith and Gordon Thomas
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  324 pages
GenreSci-Fi
Publisher:  Highsmith Creative Services
Release date:  May 2022
Content Rating:  PG-13 +M. The language is pretty tame, but there are a few swear words. The bigger issue is some of the topics addressed in it. 
 

About the Book


Although the reappearance of the Alpha Centauri I crew was miraculous, it was not the celebratory homecoming they expected. Their return to a world reeling from a pandemic that wiped out more than half the population thrust them right into the center of controversy and conflict. Now, three years later, though the tide has turned and the survival of the human race seems to be secure, the survival of human relations is far less certain. The cure should have been the injection of hope the world needed to restore balance and end the chaos of the last four decades. Instead, the complex implications for personal rights and freedom have fractured the North American territory in such a way that the division may never be repaired. As the crew dispersed to find their place in this new landscape, Hunter Young found himself embedded in the Marshall administration as an agent for the mysterious K Group. What had been a relatively uneventful assignment suddenly becomes a whirlwind of adventure as he is called to a rendezvous that requires a long and circuitous journey.

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Meet the Authors
 

Gordon Jensen holds an MBA from University of Rochester, New York, Simon School of Business and a bachelor's degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. After working in finance In New York for several years, Jensen went back to Minnesota to run the family business. He retired after selling the the business and is now fulfilling a number of life-long dreams, including writing a novel series.
 

Cara Highsmith has always been drawn to the world of books and has found herself working in this industry in one capacity or another for the majority of her adult life. She holds a Master of Arts in English from Belmont University and did work toward a PhD at Middle Tennessee State University. Cara was on the editorial team at Hachette Book Group USA, working with several New York Times bestselling authors, for nearly four years. After leaving Hachette in 2008, she began freelancing, developing proposals and manuscripts for agents, editing and ghostwriting for authors, and assisting clients in preparing projects for self-publishing. Cara is a master of being a jack of all trades, but currently spends her free time working on several personal writing projects and enjoying life on a beautiful northern California mountain.

connect with authors: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads
 

Enter the Giveaway

 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISHED FOR Book Tour Giveaway

 


 

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