Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Markram Battles: Genesis of an Uprising--A Book Review ("You can't make me.")

I got an ARC (an Advanced Reader Copy) of this book from the author via e-mail. We've talked on "The Story Cartel" and she is super nice. Her story is awesome, too! :D Check out my review below!


The Magic Violinist, book review, Markram Battles: Genesis of an Uprising, M.C. Muhlenkamp, The Story Cartel,

Description: Markram Battles is a serialized collection of short stories. Life has changed. An alien race of evolved humans with supernatural abilities has taken over our planet, as the most recent annexation of their empire. Earth is now a sector where recruiters, also known as unit leaders, come to conscript female survivors into their combatant regiments—battle divisions intended to fight and die in an arena for the entertainment of the masses. The rules of the Battles are simple. Fight. Win. Or die trying. Seven, a unit leader trained in the Imperial Army with the sole purpose of fighting in the Battles, refuses to die in his pursuit of freedom. But when Thirteen, his new female recruit, defies the rules, she threatens to destroy everything he has worked so hard to achieve. Thirteen won’t give in. Not to him. Not to the system. Not to anyone. Except in order to live, she must. These are the stories of them who fight, without any possibility of escape.

Review: I really loved these stories. Each story was told from a different perspective and they were all short, but effective. The description was beautifully told and the story was told in past tense, a nice break from the present tense we've been seeing lots of nowadays. The stories reminded me of The Hunger Games, and if you liked that, you'll like this, too. :)

5 Cookies! :D


You can buy the book HERE for just $0.99 on Amazon!

You can download the book for FREE HERE (on "The Story Cartel") in exchange for your honest review!

You can visit the author's website HERE for more about Markram Battles: Genesis of an Uprising.

The official launch is tomorrow! Help support the author and download her book onto your Kindle!

(I received an ARC of this book. My opinions are completely my own).

10 comments:

Boquinha said...

Great review! I like the sound of her format - I like multiple perspectives. A series of short stories to tell the tale - how interesting!

Christine said...

Hmm haven't heard of this before but it sounds interesting. Multiple perspectives are always a hit or miss for me but it sounds like this was done well.

Eva said...

Thank you guys! Check out the stories for Free at http://storycartel.com/books/180/markram-battles-genesis-of-an-uprising/

Anonymous said...

I thought you'd dropped off the face of the blogging earth! :O

The Magic Violinist said...

Thanks for the comments! :D

@nevillegirl Ha, I guess I sort of have. ;P I promise I'll comment on your blog very soon! I just need to find the time to read all of your posts. XD (There are fourteen unread and counting in my Feedly. Please tell me your secret for finding time to write all of your awesome and lengthy posts)!

Anonymous said...

@The Magic Violinist: I type like the wind! :D

Dr. Mark said...

Great review! I like multiple perspectives, too. Sometimes I wonder if I should trying writing a series of short stories because I always have a hard time sustaining my own books.

Eva said...

Dr. Mark, writing short stories definitely has its benefits, especially because of their brevity. The process of writing an entire book is similar because you are still developing plot and characters, but you can achieve your final goal much faster. I really do enjoy writing short stories.

Dr. Mark said...

@M.C. That's how it seems to me. My stories tend to get really difficult to write once I hit the novella point. I can think of lots of cheap ways to keep them going, but the really good ideas don't come quite as easily.

Eva said...

@Dr. Mark, absolutely. I've got two book drafts that give me an instant headache just to think of them (they need a lot of work still). Short stories have helped me understand the process of developing a plot within a short piece. Have you considered creating an outline? Even a simple one can help you gain some perspective. I did that for one of my book drafts recently and it gave me some needed insight.