The Sundered [Kindle Edition]

Ruthanne Reid (Author)

Book Description

Don't touch the water, or it will pull you under. Conserve food, because there's no arable land. Use Sundered slaves gently, or they die too quickly to be worthwhile. With extinction on the horizon and a world lost to deadly flood, Harry searches for a cure: the Hope of Humanity, the mysterious artifact that gave humans control over the Sundered centuries ago.

Unfortunately, in his broken, flooded world, Hope comes with a price.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you like your books entertaining, if you like your books to keep you guessing, if you like a unique, fresh story, then Sundered is the book for you. This is a great debut novel and Ms. Reid's book will surely become one of your favorites and she will certainly become one of your favorite authors."
- Anita, the Kindle Book Review

About the Author

Ruthanne Reid was raised in the woods, but fortunately her isolation was offset by regular visits to New York City. She pursued music for years before realizing she wanted to tell stories, rather than sing them.

Ruthanne has lived on both US coasts (she prefers the West one), is distantly related to royalty, and has sung in a thousand-year-old cathedral. Her favorite authors tend to be dramatic (J. R. R. Tolkien, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss), but she doesn't see this as a bad thing. She writes in and around Seattle, owns dust-covered degrees in music and religion, and is generally considered dangerous around household electronics.

She belongs to a husband, a housemate, and a cat, respectively. The Sundered is her first novel.

Twitter: @ruthannereid
Facebook: ThisReidWrites
Website: ruthannereid.com

Product Details

• File Size: 472 KB
• Print Length: 318 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: 4th Floor Publication (June 29, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0082D9D3M
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,443 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating world, challenging look at humanity July 5, 2012

By David J. Robison

Format:Kindle Edition

After reading the first chapter of the Sundered I was hooked by the fascinating world created by the author. I proceeded to tear through the book over the course of the weekend, constantly driven by a desire to learn what had led to such a terrible state of events in this broken world. I couldn't put it down until the chilling, yet satisfying conclusion.

The book encourages a lot of philosophical introspection. In almost every sci-fi I've read it's assumed that there is always some goodness in humanity; maybe evil humans are in control, but there's a plucky band of good guys out there that redeem the human race. But in the Sundered, things aren't so cut and dry, thus making the premise of the book all that much more interesting. The book is written from the perspective of it's protagonist, and throughout I found myself wondering who I would trust or how I would act in a given situation.

The only thing that didn't quite work for me was being in the mind of a 19 year old boy, Harry, and having him serve as my narrator for the duration. Harry, like most 19 year olds, is not all that eloquent and I found his view of the world and his thoughts often a bit childish. ("Yeah, he's a douche." etc.) It was like I was in the head of a 19 year old kid, which was the point, but I did find it mildly grating after awhile.

However that minor distraction didn't take away from the well constructed world, and the satisfying way in which the story unfolded and led us deeper and deeper into said world. At the Kindle price, it's a steal.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Something Altogether Different! June 29, 2012

By BG in NH

Format:Paperback

In a world muddied by sameness, this one stands in stark contrast. Captivating, thought-provoking, breathlessly sweeping you along. Ruthanne Reid is most certainly onto something here!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it! November 19, 2012

By CastleLyons

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I loved this story right from the start! Not very many novels grab me like this one did, nor keep me intrigued throughout, always wanting to pick it up again and find out what's going to happen next.

Despite what a few other reviewers have said, I LOVED the main character's internal dialog, every bit of it! I didn't find it too childish at all. I mean, have you talked to a 19-year-old lately? The author did a great job of showing both his maturity at trying to be a leader and his insecurity at being so young--a well rounded character! Thank you, RuthAnne, for providing me with some real enjoyment. Oh, and I loved the ending.

The only thing I would have changed is removing all the "adult" material. I would have loved sharing this story with my pre-teens, but because of that, I can't. Everything else about it would have made it a great read for them, and I know they would have loved it.

P.S. I'm a professional editor by trade, and I've done a lot of book reviews and previews. Yes, this book had quite a few typos, especially near the end, but the overall story more than made up for that. RuthAnne, don't let anyone belittle you for self-publishing. I'm glad you did.

More About the Author

Ruthanne Reid was raised in the woods, but fortunately her isolation was offset by regular visits to New York City.

Writing in and around Seattle, she owns dust-covered degrees in music and religion, and is generally considered dangerous around household electronics. She belongs to a husband, a housemate, and a cat, respectively.

The Sundered is her first novel.

Twitter: @ruthannereid || Facebook: ThisReidWrites || http://ruthannereid.com