The Cause [Kindle Edition]

Clint Stoker (Author)

Book Description

The only way to fix the system is to break it.

Long after the government falls, one city is founded in it’s place. Residents of the city are granted bodies that never age or grow tired. During the day, residents work to reach new potentials and, since sleep isn’t needed, celebrate all night. But living in Utopia does have a catch.

Guilt is a crime punishable by death.

Air Dressler’s new job description lands him on the city’s firing squad. He finds it impossible to enforce the law without breaking it himself. Through long-forgotten memories and a group of reluctant rebels, Air learns how to break the city. But if he is really going to carry it out, he will have to choose between friends and ideals all the while fighting his own guilt.

Product Details

• File Size: 318 KB
• Print Length: 262 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1463746970
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005I7GQUS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,738 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs an editor, but is a fascinating read! January 11, 2012

By StrayCat

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The premise is absolutely fascinating, however, I feel it could have been much better with a good editor or three. Most of the continuity errors occurred during the establishment of characters towards the beginning of the book (I caught three of them), but the grammatical and spelling mistakes continue throughout.

With that said, once I was mentally able to get past the mistakes, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The plot is well thought out and brilliantly executed. Air (the protagonist) is a very well developed character. The author keeps the reader guessing both about what we will find out about his past and about what is soon to happen to him. A sense of suspense is developed early on and sustained throughout the duration of this novel.

This is, overall, great work. I would recommend this book for the most part, and would purchase another by the same author if I had the chance.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique Twist to a Well Used Genre December 31, 2011

By Bonnie

Format:Paperback

You can also find this review on Bookish Ardour.

While The Cause was reminiscent to me of other dystopias, there's definitely a unique factor to it. One of the unique factors, a crucial part to the set up of the city, actually made me uncomfortable. This is one of the main pieces from the story I've taken away with me. It's enough to make you cringe when reading it. And not thanks to graphic description, but the insidious nature you know the particular scene is referring to. It makes you question how far humanity, and yourself, would go for what these people are trying to achieve.

The ability to raise questions is only one element of what I feel makes a great story, a story everyone should try reading at least once. It doesn't matter if you're blown away by the plot or not, there are those narratives, which will make you think and make you question during and after you've finished. They make the reading all the more enjoyable because of that and I think they're very important stories. The Cause, for me, was one of those stories.

The similarities between The Cause and other dystopias, something that is hard to avoid when you read enough of the genre, is basically setting. If you've read a fair amount of dystopia before, how many of them have been set in a city? Plenty have city settings and most of those city based ones have a totalitarian aspect as well.

There are clear signs of control beneath the deluded sense of utopia, but I didn't get a totalitarian government presence as much as a master of puppets keeping out of the limelight. I wonder if that was more due to the fact of the cause itself, and the main character's memory recall, being such a large focus of the tale. Whether it was or not, I found it refreshing in a sense.... I find manufactured societies are usually heavy on the government, or founding circle, side of things and the conspiracy they create. Granted there is conspiracy in The Cause, and it wouldn't be dystopia without some degree of it, but I think there's a nice balance between character discovery and heavy-handed machinations.

I love when a narrative delves into the human make-up, what makes us tick, and how we work when certain traits are repressed. How can it be possible to live in peace when you're not accepting something for what it is, especially when it's psychological? You can't, and this is what the protagonist, Air, discovers when he takes up his job at the firing range.

What I found interesting was how certain actions and events are masked with different names. The firing squad for instance is given the title purging and from there I think the unique genius of The Cause slowly reveals itself to the reader. Everything has a subtle touch to it, but it's not subtle to the point of missing it if you're not paying attention. At first so much can be taken at face value with a level of innocence to it that can allow the reader, and the citizens, to gloss over and avoid the nefarious acts beneath if they choose. As you follow Air's story, the option to avoid what's going on becomes impossible, and I really enjoyed how the writing gave me the opportunity to have a better understanding of what Air is going through as he is going through it.

When Air began to dream, I was somewhat dubious. Sometimes I think it should be a rule to not have dreams present in stories. Sometimes. There's always a chance, a huge chance, of messing up the story because dreams don't usually make sense. Do they? Unless they're like my weird ones involving shopping for groceries... The point is, most of the time dreams are pointless in stories. If they make sense, how can they be a dream? If a scene doesn't make sense and is blamed on a dream it's lame and you've probably lost your reader in the process.

So when Air begins to dream, I questioned it at first thanks to those reasonings. The questioning didn't last long because of what the dreams represented. They not only made sense, but there was a reason for them. I actually appreciated them and the way his lost memories were discovered.

The only problem I had with The Cause is one I'm disappointed with. I found myself not being able to be swept away by it. As badly as I wanted to, and no matter how much I loved aspects of it and it's creation, I couldn't get into it. Believe it or not, I'm jealous of those readers who have enjoyed it as much as they have, and I will be reading it again in future because of that. I also think lovers of dystopia should definitely give The Cause a chance regardless of my immersion problems. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cause September 22, 2012

By Videogamer

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

An excellent read. A few minor grammatical errors but during a great, immersive read you will not notice. Highly recommended and I am hoping for a sequel!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great May 1, 2012

By A Cat and a Book

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Cause is a very good book. So good, in fact, that it has earned itself a spot on my top ten book list! It caught my attention from the first page and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. Air, the main character, finds himself in an odd situation after being transferred to his city's firing squad. He gets involved with a small group of people who are intent on changing things, and through them he learns more about the city and how it came to be the way that it is. He also discovers some pretty important things about himself and his past. I thought Air was a great main character; he was easy to relate to and grew a lot during the course of the story. I really hope there will be a sequel to this book, because there was one big discussion/scene that I spent a good portion of the book hoping to see, but it never took place. It won't be the end of the world if there isn't going to be a sequel, but I've definitely got my fingers crossed. Either way, I'll most likely be buying any more books that Clint Stoker comes out with in the future.

There is only one bad thing that I can say about The Cause--it has many punctuation and spelling/word confusion problems throughout, including a rather glaring one on the front cover. Fortunately, the errors do not detract from the story in any way and are usually easy enough to overlook (though I did run into at least one that had me rereading the sentence to figure out what it meant). The story is so good that I can't make myself take away any stars because of the errors, but they are there.

I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian fiction. Actually, I'd recommend it to everyone, but I'm sure fans of the genre would especially appreciate it (considering they can overlook the grammatical issues).... The Cause is an excellent book that shouldn't be missed. Read more ›

3.0 out of 5 stars Sci-Fi Fantasy Marred by Lack of Editting June 19, 2012

By DaveReadsALot

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This was a quick read about a future we hope never comes about. The main character has to reconcile memories of his past and his role in the new society (the city). He works within and against the powers in the city to forge a rebellion.

There are many grammatical errors that will get back an automated spell checker and many word used incorrectly. Force your brain to read what should be the word(s) and you can enjoy the story.

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent Read From An Amateur Author June 14, 2012

By G. Dill

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Good and decent read, but nothing spectacular. Lots of adventure and mystery that takes place in a post-apocalyptic time. Caught in a labryinth of a utopian but totalitarian society, a group of revolutionary rebels try to escape and save lives in the meantime. Nice twist of events toward the end of the story. Yes, there were a lot of glaring grammatical and editorial errors throughout the book, but it was still very readable. Not a bad story from an amateur author.

More About the Author

Dystopia has always appealed to me. If I had to shoehorn my writing into one category, Dystopia would fit best. Even since I read "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson, I fell in love with the the question -- what if? Dystopia is all about answering that question.

Some people fantasize about magic and mythical creatures. I dream about strange politics and extraordinary people. I write fiction about the science of human nature, and of power, and of kindness. I write about new places, and old problems.

I'm a history nut, and a comic book connoisseur. I love listening to music and creating my own. I'm a University of Utah graduate of Mass Communication. I'm a clumsy gardener, a starving artist, a proud husband and father.

And I am story teller.