Customer Reviews

Countdown (SHOMI)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Forty percent of human life was wiped out by the Great Plague. Kira Jordan was born three years afterward. Those born with psi-abilities were sent to Offworld and taught. (Yes, that is the name of the planet.) Those without abilities or only testing as low-level were left on Earth with the others who cannot afford to leave the planet. If Kira touches someone's skin and "flexes her mind" in a certain direction, she can get a decent "read" on the person. She can see into their soul to tell whether they are honest or not. Seven years ago, as a teen, Kira's family had been murdered. She was the only survivor. Because of this Kira has a fear of the dark. So when Kira wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a wall, she is terrified. She has sixty seconds to escape or die.

Rogan Ellis is also handcuffed in the room. Rogan and Kira must work as a team if they have any chance of surviving what is happening to them. Rogan explains to Kira that they had been recruited to play in a secret game. Rich and bored people "subscribers" around the globe have had special implants placed in their heads so they may watch couples try to live through six levels of a game called The Countdown. Rogan and Kira have implants in their heads as well. If they get more than ninety feet from each other, their heads will explode. Each level is a different task. Each level has a time limit. Each level must be won or they die. If they try to get help or tell others what is happening, they and the people they spoke with will die.

Kira has never counted on anyone besides herself. She does not totally trust anyone, not even her friends. Rogan would be especially hard to trust. The man has spent the last few years in prison, convicted of nine counts of murder. Even though Kira's "flex" says he is innocent of the crimes, it also tells her that he is hiding something.

**** The story is written in the First Person. Readers follow Kira the entire time. The author did a good job of slowly informing me, as the reader, about Kira's background and later about Rogan's. I found some parts very predictable and others had unexpected twists. The story has a light flavor of the science fiction movie "The Running Man". But do not worry, the resemblance is minor. I only mention it because if you have seen the old movie, chances are it will keep popping into your head. Best of all, in my opinion, is that this is a stand alone book. So many books today are part of a series or a trilogy. It is so nice to pick up a book and not worry that I would find myself lost due to not having read the previous novels. Author Michelle Maddox has a new fan in me. BRAVA! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

The Great Plague destroyed over forty percent of the human population. Besides the death toll, the consequential economic disaster wiped out more people as poverty became the norm. Finally, the pandemic changed life in other ways as some individuals born after the global calamity contained psi skills. Those who tested with strong levels were quickly taken from the dying planet to Offworld where they learned to use their gifts.

Kira Jordan was born after the plague with strong psi ability; she was transferred to Offworld and taught to use her skills. Kira can read people's thoughts and see their souls if she touches them while flexing her mind. Seven years ago, someone murdered the then teen's entire family; so when she awakens handcuffed in the dark she panics as she fears the darkness. Also locked up in the room is Rogan Ellis, who calmly explains they have been abducted to participate in The Countdown, a game of survival established to entertain wealthy subscribers who enjoy watching others die. If the pair separate by ninety feet, implants in their brains will explode. There are six levels of teaming or dying; Kira knows by flexing that her partner is a convicted serial killer who spent time in jail for crimes he did not commit, but he hides something from her that makes the already wary psychic distrust him.

This is an exciting science fiction thriller with obvious connections to the Richard Bachman novel and Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man in terms of the decadent affluent spectators cheering for death in a deadly game show. Michelle Maddox refreshes the concept through her key cast members as they are radically different from those in the movie. Kira is a terrific lead character whose thoughts especially fears enable the reader to understand her distrust of her game partner; whereas Rogan pretends to trust, but readers know better. Fans will wonder whether the team of Kira and Rogan will make it through the six levels and then what awaits them for we too do not trust the game master either.

Harriet Klausner

I loved the hook to Countdown. Two strangers are dropped into the middle of a deadly game - they must work as partners in order to make it to the next level, each level is timed, the Countdown begins now, and only the winners survive. Kira, a thief, has used her latent psychic talent to survive on the streets after her family was brutally murdered and she'll need the edge that talent gives her to survive the game, where emotions are manipulated to up the viewer ratings. She is partnered with Rogan, a dangerous and deadly convict, the facts tell Kira one thing about Rogan and her instincts another, how can she trust a murderer?

Countdown is one of the newest additions to the multi-author Shomi collection. All are standalone action packed futuristic romances, some with touches of the paranormal or time travel. I truly enjoyed this one. I loved the narrator Kira, even though her smarts were of the street variety she's the one that gives the pair a chance, and she has a good 'voice' for a 1st person heroine. Rogan is a perfectly decent romantic lead with a bad boy edge and hidden vulnerability. The action is pretty much non-stop and entertaining while the game is in progress, and the story only takes a minor hit in the wrap up - it's hard to tie up a romance like this one in a way that's as unique as the rest of the story.

Still, I definitely recommend this one from author Maddox (who also writes vamps as Michelle Rowen) and I will be on the look out for more Futuristics from her and more of the Shomi's too.

Only 40% of earth's population remains after a mysterious plague of unknown origins wiped everything out. Too bad the lead character doesn't know much or care about what happened to explain it better, because she's got bigger problems to worry about. Like where her next meal is going to come from. Put out on the streets at the age of 15 after her entire family was murdered. Unfortunately with most of the world dead there aren't enough social programs remaining that would have taken care of a girl who's entire family was just murdered. Just the cops showing up to clean up the mess was about as far as it went. So girl lives on the streets for 7 years, picking pockets and shoplifting to make ends meet. Till one day she picks the wrong pocket and finds herself waking up in a dark room...not by herself. Lights come up and it's revealed that sharing her confines is a 29 year old dark, mysterious, injured male with piercing blue eyes. He ends up not being so mysterious later since she has psychic abilities and eventually learns all his secrets. However they spend a lot of time getting to know each other since they discover they have implants in their heads that are set to explode should they separate more than 90 feet. Does this sound like the basic ground rules of some gritty, morbid, post-apocalyptic reality game show? Why of course it is! Think Cube but with less players. And way more sex! Eventually the lead characters do win, without dying, and they do manage to have some fun along the way. Game on!

COUNTDOWN is that very rare kind of book: a thriller that is genuinely thrilling. This is action-packed, non-stop adventure, combining the physiological, psychological and technological in a story that grabbed me immediately and didn't let go.

The Great Plague twenty-five years ago caused havoc, and Earth hasn't been the same since. It's no wonder that everyone who survived is itching to catch a shuttle Offworld. Like Agent Orange, the Great Plague led to birth abnormalities: including Kira Jordan being born with psi abilities. But they're only low-level...or are they?

Since her family's murder when she was fifteen, Kira's been doing whatever she can to survive, including thievery. But never have the consequences of pick-pocketing been so dangerous. Against her will, she's a contestant in a twisted game where to lose is to die, and even if she passes the first level there'll still be more danger to come.

Convicted of rape and nine counts of murder, Rogan Ellis is assigned as Kira's partner. If they go more than ninety feet away from each other, their cranium implants will kill them both. Not so much dog-eat-dog as kill-or-be-killed, Kira and Rogan must team together to fight civilians, other competitors and the head honcho of this horrendous game. The very fate of humanity is at stake, and technology has life itself in a death grip.

Captivating from the get-go, COUNTDOWN will lure in much more readers than just the romance audience it's targeting. The futuristic genre is producing some of the best fiction around, and Michelle Maddox has a big hand in it. For those of you who haven't connected with alter-ego Michelle Rowen's humorous paranormals, COUNTDOWN will reel you in. I'm desperately hoping there'll be more Maddox novels in store - set on Earth, Offworld or otherwise. This is fascinating stuff.

I love a story that you read quickly because the plot is so good but at the same time you are sad to see it end. COUNTDOWN is like this.

The distant future.....Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room and is hand-cuffed to a metal wall. She is partnered with a man, Rogan, who may be a mass murderer. And the race is on!

The game: they have to beat the clock and physically complete tasks in a certain amount of time or die. They can't be separated beyond so many feet or they die. They have to learn to depend on each other...trust each other...or they die.

Twists and turns keep you going and the storyline is refreshing. Remember, this is sometime in the future when the earth as we know it no longer exists. I could tell you more but I don't want to give away too much. Save this book for that special moment when it is quiet and you'll have plenty of time to read it to the end. If you enjoy this type of genre try DRIVEN by Eve Silver; it is another great SHOMI book. COUNTDOWN is a keeper and I am looking forward to new stories from Michelle Maddox aka Michelle Rowen. Enjoy!

I find it hard to get excited over a book but I have to gush about this one. The story of it has been told here so I'll just get to why I loved this book. First, both Kira and Rogan are believable with their emotions and their personalities; I could relate to them even when I've never been in their adventure. Second, their chemistry for each other just sizzles. There is a scene when they think they are going to escape on a shuttle when he pushes her against the wall...Wow-zer!! Third, the story was really original, even if it was "The Running Man" meets "Saw", and by this I mean original as a romance. I am a huge fan of futuristic and urban fantasy and this book was high quality.

I rented this book from the library but now I'm going to buy it for my own private library. I will definitely go back and reread this one!!!

Countdown is non-stop action and it's a really great read. As the story begins we meet Kira Jordan, a young woman who's lived as a pickpocket for many years following the brutal murder of her parents. She awakes to find herself in the dark, chained to the wall, with a strange man in the room. That man turns out to be a convicted rapist and multiple murderer, Rogan Ellis, whose actions might be more significant to her than she initially realises.

Kira and Rogan are thrust into a series of challenges as part of a giant pay-per-view game where failure means death. The challenges get progressively harder and more bloodthirsty and there's no escape from the game, called Countdown. But as Kira and Rogan work their way through the challenges they learn more about each other and Kira has to begin to learn to trust, despite appearances. But is Countdown more than just a game, might it be even darker than it appears - and can Kira and Rogan escape and prevent something even worse happening?

I really enjoyed this book, finding it gripping from start to finish and very much enjoying the characters and their personalities. The setting is a post-plague future world in which people work to try to escape Offworld to a new colony and the bleak and often dangerous surroundings in which our hero and heroine find themselves add to the story. There were one or two points within the plot that were just a little too easy or coincidental but overall it was a great read.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

I discovered this book while doing a search on homeless. You got to love the stuff you discover while websurfing on Amazon and I absolutely loved this story. Good character development, good romance without being overboard. And of course, a good ending. Can't beat it since it was in the 4/3 promotion along with other books in the book line. Check it out.

Kira Jordan had been born three years after a great plague that had wiped out forty percent of Earth's population. Following the plague many of the survivors had begun to develop psi-abilities. Earth was dying. Those who were determined to have strong psi powers got a free ticket to Offworld, a new start in a better place. Though Kira could sense a person's true nature through touch and the "flexing" of her mind, hers were considered to be lesser abilities. Only if she had great wealth would she now be able to attain her dream to go Offworld. As things stood that was not very likely.

Kira had not felt the need to go when her family had been alive but her father, mother and sister had all been murdered one night seven years ago while she'd hidden under her bed in a dark locked room. She alone had been spared but her life had changed forever. She'd done what she had to in order to survive, picking pockets, shoplifting, she'd even once thought to sell her body, but had thought better of it after one dangerous encounter. She also had a debilitating fear of the dark.

Imagine her shock when one minute she is breathing hard in a nearly abandoned mall after lifting a pair of sneakers and the next finding herself chained to the wall in pitch blackness beside a convicted mass murder!

Rogan Ellis had been falsely convicted nine counts of first-degree murder, but claimed to be a bad man nonetheless. The two find themselves to be partnered in a sick top secret reality game called the Countdown where the players either survived the challenges or faced a sudden and brutal death. Subscribers had special implants imbedding in their skulls in order to watch these live events. Kira and Rogan had implants in their heads as well which stipulated that must stay within ninety feet of each other at all times or die. The were stuck with each other for the duration.

Kira has no idea why she has been recruited for the game other than the fact that she's alone in the world. She had no sympathy for murders after what had happened to her family but she isn't read to die yet either. Three, two, one go! The countdown begins and the pair has only so much time to complete each of six levels. The odds of survival are slim, only one had ever succeeded to win all levels.

Kira's survival skills made her scrappier than one might expect. The pair survives several levels due to Kira's quick thinking and deductive reasoning. It becomes increasingly obvious that Rogan knows more about what is happening to them than he is willing to tell her. When she finds out who owns the company that produces the Countdown she knows why. But why had Kira been chosen for the game? She was little more than a petty thief.

Kira's psi skills reveal that Rogan is innocent of the murders and there's nothing like a life or death to situation to accelerate a relationship between two people. Before long the two are deeply attracted to each other by more than just their implants. But will they survive? If they find a way to escape certain death will they find a way to end the game or just go their separate ways?

This story was perfect for a first person point of view. The reader actually lives the game, with all of its tension through Kira herself. I found myself out of breath more than once. For an exciting and suspenseful romantic futuristic thriller, I highly recommend COUNTDOWN. ~ reviewed for PNR Reviews