Otherborn by Anna Silver: review + giveaway of a Kindle Fire HD

Otherborn by Anna Silver

Series: Otherborn #1

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Age Group: Young Adult

Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

Release Date: April 4th 2013

Synopsis: London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her.

What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.

When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?

My Thoughts: 

What a book! I have fallen in love with Otherborn. This isn’t a perfect dystopian novel. But there is just something that makes my adrenaline pump, but also makes me want to fall in a deep sleep and dream whenever I read a page of this book about a terrible world and strange dreams.

The originality that Otherborn contains quite obvious. I will bet you any amount of money that you will be amazed by the premise. The creativity that author’s have always put me in a state of awe and Anna Silver’s creativity is no different from many other great authors.

The atmosphere in Otherborn is fantastic. Sometimes I could have sworn that the smell of blood was wafting into my room. Or that tendrils of darkness were creeping under my door. If what I just described doesn’t seem like a well made atmosphere to you then I don’t know what is. Otherborn isn’t horror, but it was certainly able to send shivers down my spine.

The word prickly describes London well, I think. She was a bit hard to like at first. But prickly isn’t the only word that describes her. London is a capable, tough, hardened protagonist who will etch herself into your mind and never leave.

The side characters were also well written. They are impossible to categorize. Their personalities don’t shine as bright as London’s, but they would still be forces to be reckoned if they were to be compared to side characters in other stories.

Silver is a master story teller, I believe. And like all great story tellers she has a way with handling words. She writes a first-person narration in a way that flows wonderfully well. And the way she builds a world is skillful and fascinating.

A person who is a fan of dystopian will want to know if the dystopian world is explained in a believable way, yes? To answer that question I will say that there is a little bit of explaining, but there are a more detailed needed, I believe. I thought that the backstory was a little bit lacking. Hopefully this teensy flaw is fixed in the later installments.

The ending is the type of ending that will have you craving for more. I am in desperate want for the next book and I am sure that you will, too if you ever read this amazing book.

Otherborn is not one of the better dystopian novels I have read. It is one of the best dystopian novels I have read. Now that statement may make you raise an eyebrow, but I assure you that this really is the best kind of dystopian for me. Creepy and unsettling are my favorite kind of vibes to get from a book after all!

A free copy of this book was provided in return for a honest review for this tour.

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*This post is part of the Otherborn Blog Tour: