Far beneath the city’s depths burns far more than the fuel that feeds it.What happens when equilibrium unbalances?Will the people be ready for it? Would they recognise it, even when it happened?When Rylan finds new friends in old places, his passion for fairness and order is reignited. And when those new friends themselves become a target, he must make a decision: his mission or their lives?Set … must make a decision: his mission or their lives?
Set within the bowels of Neon City, incessant rain shrouding an entire population with their hoods drawn up, book three of the Neon Sands trilogy burns as bright as the forges beneath the city – a ferocious final act.
more
Flames of Apathy: The Neon Sands Trilogy, Book 3, my fourth read from author Adam J. Smith. December seemed to be my month for new authors and January looks to continue the trend. I was given an Audible copy and I’m voluntarily reviewing it because every good books need reviews. 6-hours 23-minutes/306-pages. Steven Miller’s narration adds to a good book’s excellence. I look forward to more from this author and in this series, Up next is Neon City: A Cyberpunk Trilogy (Neon, Book 4). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 – July 24, 2018).
This third episode take the reader/listener on an action-packed journey as Calix continues his search for Annora in Neon City. A few new characters are introduced along with the truth of Neon City being exposed. It’s easy to say this episode is the best of the three since the reader/listener now has the full picture of Neon City and how it survives. I received a review copy of the audiobook through Story Origin and chose to provide this review.
Degeneration in the domed city.
Flames of Apathy opens with Rylan, a tech living in one of the lowest underground levels of Neon City. His ex and her new dissident lover tell him they’ve found the remains of a submersible next to a subterranean waterway down in the pits and want him to help them stir a revolution. Caia, one of the antagonists from book one, re-emerges, hunting the depths of the city for Calix in order to keep him away from Annora, now the prized property of Kirillion and the city’s elites.
This last chapter in Calix’s journey sees him struggle to rise unnoticed through the levels of a city full of vapid, complacent people and unyielding, immoral, lethal authority. Accompanied by Elissa, he searches for Annora and ultimately finds unexpected allies and less-than-ideal answers to his dilemma.
Personally I was quite saddened by the ending. While many threads are resolved with a satisfying flair, I would have liked to see a healthier solution for the protagonists. The nightmare of the domed city lives on and since this trilogy is the first of three in the Neon saga, it is clear that that the author has much more planned for this seemingly stagnant world.
I’m usually not a fan of anything dystopia. The longer I live, the more it seems we’re already living in it, which is probably why we have an entire genre full of it. In this series, the people aren’t any more evolved than current humans. The level of technology is pretty much on par with our current state of development. No real human development or new abilities, and nary a psychic ripple. So why did I like these books? Frankly, they’re quite an accurate reflection of the depravity of our global elite and the apathetic, electronics/web-addicted masses of our world today. They paint a shockingly vivid picture of a society cut off from its roots and true history, rudderless and wholly content to live in servitude under the tyrannical rule of a few, never standing up to the horror and crimes of the upper crust. After experiencing such a dismal world through the eyes of Calix and the other characters, there is a strong urge to see things set right and, in my opinion, therein lies the real gold of the series: the element of the steadfast heart. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of solutions unfold for the people of Neon, the plains, and the sands.