By Lance Erlick

What do you do when you’re not in school? Because of “detention” it seems I’m always in school. Mom has chores for my sister and me around the house. We have a water purification system that takes contaminated channel water and makes it drinkable and so we can take quick showers. It needs constant maintenance and pumping. We have a garden, a goat to milk, and two fruit trees to tend. We also have to set and check traps to keep scavengers from taking what little we have while we’re away. When I can, I sneak off to dive salvage at sunken homes of what had been Richmond. Most times I find sites that have already been picked clean, but sometimes I uncover a real find, like finding enough stainless cooking pans to barter for a goat so we would have milk.

Who is your best friend? It’s been hard to keep friends. The girls in my class are two years older, since I’ve advanced to the highest level, grade eleven. They think I’m too smart for my own good and would rather hang around with the more mature girls. I’ve had salvage partners. We would watch each other’s backs while diving. But Antiquities agents seized them during prior storms. The ache of losing friends has been hard. Besides, I have to watch my younger sister, who is three years younger and five years behind in school. In some ways she has become my best friend, but I have to keep so many secrets, like the books I read. It makes it hard to keep friendships.

What do you want to do after you finish school? Mo-Mere has visions of giving me an Aristotelian education as Alexander the Great had so I could make something useful of my life. She has this dream that I will somehow lead people to change the world so Marginals weren’t forced to live on the sinking seaward side of the Great Barrier Wall. As for me, I imagine having more time to salvage the depths, as much in the hope of finding more print books as barter to trade for food. However, each year there is less to find and Antiquities patrols become more of a nuisance.

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By Lance Erlick

Why is your relationship with your mother so strained? Mom refuses to talk about her work or what she does when we’re away at school. Yet, she brings in enough barter to pay for our schooling. She is also only one of my parents, but she refuses to talk about my other parent. I suspect there is some dark secret. Six months ago, when I stood up to Mom and insisted she tell me, she clammed up. We haven’t spoken much since. There is a gaping hole inside me wanting to know about my past, and wanting my Mom back, but every day she grows more distant and fearful. I can’t imagine what she’s done.

How do you feel about school? School is a waste for me. Don’t get me wrong. I love learning. But in class Mo-Mere is limited to a few official electronic texts she can teach from. With a “photographic memory” that’s more a curse than a blessing, I could memorize all the Federation-approved texts in a day. There aren’t many. Mo-Mere stretches the information out over eleven years, carefully adding her own experiences. What keeps me motivated is detention, which I routinely get. That allows me private time with Mo-Mere. During detention, she shares illegal print books she’s salvaged from private collections beneath the sea in the sunken civilization of Richmond. The Federation could execute her for having these books, or even for salvaging. But I would risk everything for the opportunity to visit Victor Hugo, Isaac Asimov, and other ancient treasures.

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By Lance Erlick

What was it like growing up in the Richmond Swamps? If not for the illegal print books Mo-Mere lets me read, I would describe my life as school, salvage from the depths, and chores at home. But her books make me see my world in the context of how other people live. The Federation calls us Marginals and we live a marginal life in many ways. We live with constant dangers from storms, not enough food, contaminated water, and the Federation’s genetically-enhanced alligators. Yet we are free in ways that those living in the Federation are not. There is no one telling us what to do or how to live. Mom sacrifices so my sister and I can go to school six days a week. I don’t know how she spends her days when we’re away, except we have enough to eat and our very own island with an orange and apple tree. At times I feel like Tom Sawyer, except we have to be vigilant to dangers and work hard to find food and keep our home safe.

At the beginning of the first book, why were you afraid of Antiquities agents? Both Mom and Mo-Mere, my teacher, tell me to avoid agents at all cost. Contrary to the implication that Antiquities preserves the past, it is their job to destroy any evidence from before the Federation. Even our calendar begins three hundred years ago with the Federation as year zero. We fear the agents because during storms, their agents kidnap girls from the swamps to work on Federation farms and in factories and mines as slaves.

How do you imagine life on the other side of the Great Barrier Wall? We are told that life on the other side of the Wall is better than the swamps because they don’t have as much to worry about storms stealing their land. They have food, and they don’t have vicious gators. But I wonder since so much of what they tell us is lies, whether this also is a myth. They have a caste system. They take our girls as slaves. That doesn’t sound like a place where I would want to live.

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by Dawn (Goodreads Reviewer)

Although the future world that Lance Erlick has created is interesting, it’s a terrible world for the Marginals, or the people living in the swamp outside the wall surrounding the rest of the world. It’s survival of the fittest in the swamp.

Resilience starts with a hurricane and the action never stops. Regina Shen survives the hurricane, bounty hunters, salvagers, the Department of Antiquities, alligators, and more. She’s smart, resourceful, and lucky.

Other characters in the story are as complex as “real” people. It’s difficult to know who can be trusted. Regina feels like she can’t even trust her mother. And the Chief Inspector of Antiquities, DeMarco, has made it her mission to find Regina. But even she is full of surprises.

Lance Erlick’s writing flows well and his descriptions are great. I felt like I was there in that hurricane with Reina or hiding in a cellar with rats and bugs (it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it).

I definitely recommend Resilience.

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by Thomas Weaver

A dystopia that isn’t the result of some huge cataclysm or alien invasion… That alone would be enough to make this novel stand out from the crowd. Also, unlike the other novels by this author I’d read, this one is in past tense, which I prefer. (Present tense feels artificial to me. It’s just a matter of personal taste.)

After reading The Rebel Within, I said I wanted to know a lot more about the setting and backstory, not because the author failed to give enough information for that story but because was so interesting.

The Regina Shen novels take place in the same setting (?) as the Rebel stories, but two or three centuries later. Although it is not as prevalent, the author continues to explore the idea that, if a segment of the population is labeled “the oppressors” and removed, that doesn’t stop oppression, only who is doing it. The fact that Mr. Erlick manages to do that without ever getting preachy is impressive (and much appreciated by this reader).

Some of the themes of those other novels are in this one, too: the protagonist has a younger sister whom she tries to protect, she has a difficult relationship with her mother (and her mother keeps secrets from her)…

This is YA science fiction, but don’t let that give you the wrong impression. This is not a “It’s the end of the world, but at least the cutest kid at school thinks I’m cute” sort of story. Regina Shen and her family (and neighbors and friends) face a very realistic struggle to survive in a harsh environment and against dangerous antagonists, and Regina herself is trying to find out what her mother is hiding and why those government women are after her, and the plot is gritty without being “grimdark.”

If I had to come up with one thing from this first novel to complain about, it would be this: These characters know a lot about surviving in swamp country, so why don’t they know that cattails are edible? (That’s a very minor quibble, isn’t it? Certainly nothing that should interfere with anyone’s enjoyment of the story.)

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By Tia (Goodreads Reviewer)

Intelligent and Interesting

This is a wonderful story about survival in the most dire circumstances. A huge storm wreaks havoc on an already outcast population. The authority who rejected them to begin with then captures the young as slaves. The authority discovers that their fertility is failing and one girl possesses the key to save them. However, she fights to stay free even with so little to survive on. She’s smart, savvy, has endurance and survival skills. This is a great well written and thought out book. It’s hard to put down.

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by Floryie (Goodreads reviewer)

What a ride!

That was my first thought on finishing the book. And the second thought was that hopefully the following books in the series would be as good as this one.

The author has taken the real issue of melting of the ice caps and created a dystopian world on the What-If situation of flooding of the world. The world described in the book kind of scared me. I definitely wouldn’t want to be a swamp rat. But Regina, the protagonist rocks in her natural habitat. She is plucky and resourceful. She goes through the gritty situation of being left alone to fend for herself in a storm. The daily struggle of staying alive was described vividly and the imagery keeps us engrossed in the scenes playing out in the book. It is quite an adventure for Regina to keep afloat during the storm and to stay clear of the slave smugglers during the chaos. As far as I am concerned, there is no lows in this book and only highs exist. The books keeps us hopping with the various situations Regina keeps getting into. She never ceases to amaze me with her innovative thinking.

I know I have been singing Regina’s praises but I can’t help it. And the other characters aren’t bad either. I loved Mo-mere and I wish I had a teacher like her! Colleen was only in a few scenes and she created an impression of too much dependability. Then there are the twins, who seemed to be observing rather than taking part in the action. Same goes for Wendy too. Last but not the least is Demarco. I am not sure if she is bad or good. She is confusing but devious. I loved the cat and mouse game between Regina and Demarco.

Omg, I seriously can’t think of a world without men. There is no woman without man as far as I am concerned. That’s one point I loved and hated about the book. Now I am eagerly awaiting to see if any man crops up as a surprise twist in the future books.

I can’t say enough about the setting of the book. It was realistic and at no point did I feel it was layered on too thickly. I love books like Swiss Family Robinson and so this book falls right in that category since it is also partly about survival. The plot keeps us on our toes and the pace is fast and steady alternately. The only place I found it a bit slow was when Regina gets back to Mo-mere.

I am sure by now you would know whether I am recommending it or not! If you are an adventure loving junkie, don’t forget to read this book.

My one line review : Take an adventurous ride by Regina’s side as she battles to stay alive and safe!

My rating : 5/5

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