New Review! Distant Horizon by Stephanie Flint, 3 Cranky Stars

Distant Horizon by Stephanie Flint
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**** 3 Cranky Stars ****



In the distant future, civilisation as we know it doesn’t exist anymore. It’s been replaced by Community ruled by a select few and followed the mantra: safety, security and efficiency.




Everyone took a daily pill to prevent the dangerous and deadly infection called Theophrenia which had been the root cause of the fall of humanity. Security measures like a Health Scan were put in place by the rulers to ensure there wasn’t a new strain developing among the population.



Yet accidents happen as well as mitigating circumstances, one forgets to take the pill, or accidentally loses it, starts doubting its effectiveness and before you know it, it’s been months since the last pill.



That’s what happened to Jenna who oddly felt better since being off the daily medication. Somehow she felt more alive. Until her health scan schedule loomed into place.



There were those who had failed the scan and had not been heard of since. Out of fear, she tried taking the pills again but strangely they made her feel ill. She sought help from her friends, Lance and Tim and together their lives turned into a rollercoaster ride that flipped over to show them a different perspective of the life they lived.



This is a fast paced story, lots of action sequence which had been described in detail, and the fantastical world of the Community and Theoprenia had been built and woven very well indeed. Dystopian readers would definitely enjoy this yet another offering which has a similar theme to popular books-turned-into- movies genre.



However, try as I might, I found it difficult connecting with Jenna. I didn’t warm to her as I should have given that the story had been told in her POV. I felt that she kept me at an arm’s length and kept her feelings from me throughout the story.



Then the world got bigger than the Community incorporating actual countries like Russia, Mexico, India, Japan and honestly, I got lost.



Invisible cars that fly came into the scene; aircraft akin to the Helicarrier came into play. Country hopping became child’s play with no thoughts about travel time and its effect on the body. Reality became blurred or what I see as reality into a fantastical universe.



Different cultures had been added to the mix quite late in my opinion to a bunch of characters who sounded far too American only to find they weren’t supposed to be that in the first place.



The initial lack of love interest was a refreshing concept until again it was introduced seemingly from out of the blue.



Granted, I am just one reader so please don’t let my jagged opinion stop you from enjoying the book. It is well written with no noticeable errors from start to finish. The characters were well-developed in their fashion and the pace of the story didn’t falter. It’s just not my cup of tea, so to speak.


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