Survival Colony Nine by Joshua David Bellin

Synopsis:
In a future world of dust and ruin, fourteen-year-old Querry Genn struggles to recover the lost memory that might save the human race.

Querry is a member of Survival Colony Nine, one of the small, roving groups of people who outlived the wars and environmental catastrophes that destroyed the old world. The commander of Survival Colony Nine is his father, Laman Genn, who runs the camp with an iron will. He has to--because heat, dust, and starvation aren't the only threats in this ruined world.

There are also the Skaldi.

Monsters with the ability to infect and mimic human hosts, the Skaldi appeared on the planet shortly after the wars of destruction. No one knows where they came from or what they are. But if they're not stopped, it might mean the end of humanity.

Six months ago, Querry had an encounter with the Skaldi--and now he can't remember anything that happened before then. If he can recall his past, he might be able to find the key to defeat the Skaldi.

If he can't, he's their next victim.

My Thoughts:
It had been a very long time since I had picked up a sci-fi novel, specifically a YA dystopian, post apocalyptic one. A few years ago, it was my favorite genre. Now my tastes are more adult romance than anything. Survival Colony Nine reminded me of everything I had missed about YA dystopians. I loved it. It encouraged me to pick up more of them in the future.

Survival Colony Nine was an interesting take on the post apocalyptic genre. Due to how the plot was set up, none of the characters could be trusted. I was suspicious of all of them. At times, the author even had me doubting the main character, Querry. It was a fantastic way to read. I don't think I've gotten that emotionally involved in trying to figure out what's going to happen in a book in a long time. There were quite a few plot twists and turns in the book. I was only able to predict two of them. Most of them shocked me, which is hard to do.

Only one thing bothered me about this book. The characters made quite a few pop culture references to things that they couldn't have known about. I noticed it throughout the book when I was reading it, and it drove me bonkers. For example, one of the characters references boy scouts a few times. Even the main character admits that he has no idea what it means, but he can only remember six months in the past. The old lady is the only one that remembers the before times. However, being older, her memory would start to fade. I doubt she would remember something as trivial as boy scouts. There were a few other things like that. It bothered quite a bit.

All in all, I really enjoyed Survival Colony Nine. I'm hoping that the author writes a sequel. Where the book left off, it could be wrapped up, or have a sequel. I want to know if the colony does survive, or if they end up perishing. I also have quite a few unanswered questions that I won't go into here because they contain spoilers. If you've read the book and want to know my questions, feel free to send me a message and ask. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an action packed dystopian.

I give Survival Colony Nine: 4/5.

Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://joshuadavidbellin.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshuadavidbellin
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheYAGuy
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7393959.Joshua_David_Bellin

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.