Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on December 4, 2015 by flwq1578

By Dawn

Vigilance is a good read but there’s not near as much as action in it as there was in Resilience. Instead, it has a lot of suspense, and the action is at the end.

It is 2 years after book #1. Regina and Wendy have learned enough that their teacher, Mo-Mere, thinks they’re ready to go to University on the other side of the wall. Regina makes new friends and new enemies in the Federation. She also finds out that life in the Federation isn’t any better than life in the swamp, at least not for those who are Working Stiffs. She feels all alone at first but eventually finds allies.

The characters continue to grow. Regina is driven to find her sister, Colleen, but in the back of her mind she begins to wonder what her destiny is. Mo-Mere always told her she is special. Maybe she is…

Chief Inspector DeMarco, whose primary objective is supposed to be to find Regina and hand her over to the governor, continues to be full of surprises.

I liked Vigilance and anyone who likes science fiction and/or young adult books will enjoy it. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on November 27, 2015 by flwq1578

By Majanka

I previously read and reviewed the first book in the series, Regina Shen: Resilience, and after reading it, I looked forward to starting the second book in the series. Regina Shen: Vigilance takes place two years after the events of the first book.

Mo-Mere believes Regina is ready to jump the Barrier Wall, and start looking for her sister. After two years of training, studying and honing her survival skills, now is the time for Regina and Colleen to be reunited and to find some answers. Except, well, what did you expect, things don’t go as planned. For Regina, she’ll have to remain vigilant and find out who she can trust and who she can’t – but the same counts for the other characters too. DeMarco is still after her, and will do whatever it takes to capture her. Regina’s quest to find her sister brings her to university, close to where they’re holding her sister – but will she able to find her and save her?

I thought this book was more thrilling even than the first, and I already enjoyed that one a lot. The ending was very surprising, and I actually had to re-read it; I hadn’t expected some of the plot twists.

I loved Regina in the first book, but I liked her even more in this one. She’s grown as a person, she’s more determined than ever, and she knows how to keep her head cool in dangerous situations.

The new characters were an excellent addition too, especially Ester. A solid sequel to the first book, and a great addition to the series. Can’t wait to read the final part.

New Regina Shen Review

Posted on November 6, 2015 by flwq1578

By Mira

Outcast Regina Shen is forced by the World Federation to live on the seaward side of barrier walls built to hold back rising seas from abrupt climate change. A hurricane threatens to destroy what’s left of her world, tearing Regina from her family. Global fertility has collapsed. Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco of the notorious Department of Antiquities believes Regina holds the key to avoid extinction. Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for her family.

Review: Amazing world-building meets an intelligent, clever, resourceful heroine in “Regina Shen: Resilience”. The World Federation forces Regina to live on the seaward side of the wall built to hold back the rising seas. Books are forbidden, but she does manage to find a few that teach her more about the world and everything wrong with it. The inspector of the Department of Antiquities believes Regina holds the key that’ll help the world avoid extinction. Meanwhile, Regina struggles to stay alive and find her family back. An action-packed read focusing on climate change, bravery, and with great writing.

Regina Shen Review

Posted on October 30, 2015 by flwq1578

By Majanka

Regina Shen: Resilience is the first book in a trilogy focusing on Regina Shen, a young girl who is forced by the World Federation to live on the outside of the Wall. Aforementioned walls were built to hold back rising seas due to climate change and to protect the world behind the walls. Like that wasn’t bad enough, a hurricane raging overhead separated Regina from her family, and she’s now completely run out of luck. Meanwhile, the Federation agents claim she has unique DNA that could save mankind – except that Regina doesn’t trust the Department of Antiquities at all, especially not after what she’s read in the forbidden books she gathered from sunken cities. So now Regina must fight to stay alive while looking for her family.

The best thing about this book, hands down, is the world building. I liked the idea of barrier walls, of how the world is dangling on the brink of extinction, the climate changes that happened, and so on. The world Regina Shen lives in is anything but friendly for the people inhabiting it (which gets kind of scary if you think of it as a futuristic version of our planet). Add in the bonus of no books existing in this dystopian world (oh no, no books!) and you get an intriguing setting for this first book.

Regina Shen is tough. Tougher than most main characters, especially teens. She’s a survivor through and through, and no matter what life throws at her, she manages to get through it. As the title says, she’s resilient, our Regina, resourceful, clever and determined. She’s complex and feels like a real person, and I couldn’t help but cheer her on.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it definitely made me curious for the next book.

Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on October 12, 2015 by flwq1578

by Tori Shultz (Litpick Reviewer)

Regina Shen is back in this thrilling new sequel! On the run from Antiquities Agents, Regina is still searching for her sister. In order to find her, she will have to brave the wall separating the higher-ups and the lower class. If she can make it past the wall, she will be able to blend in and find her sister. Will she be able to succeed?

Opinion:

This sequel to Regina Shen: Resilience is just as good as the first, if not better. The book gripped me in the beginning and I never got bored. I was excited to see what would happen to Regina throughout the book.

The cover art, like the last book’s, is amazing. It is simple, yet gripping. The symbol they use on the front cover is also very well-made.

The author does an excellent job at telling this adventurous story, and their description of the post-apocalyptic world that Regina lives in is beautifully executed.

With a great plot that’s sure to keep you entertained, Regina Shen: Vigilance is sure to blow your mind.

5* Regina Shen: Resilience Review

Posted on September 25, 2015 by flwq1578

by D. Donovan (Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review)

Regina Shen and her family are outcasts in a world being deluged by rising waters from climate change – but a hurricane is proving to be the least of her problems as The World Federation which has condemned her family discovers that her unique DNA may prove the salvation of humanity itself; and so she goes from an unwanted outcast to a wanted outcast.

Only Regina’s knowledge of the swamps and wetlands created by climate change can keep her from the clutches of a savvy and sly Federation: but, for how long? She now has two problems: locating the family lost to her in the storm, and avoiding the bounty hunters and clutches of the Federation that rules her world.

Under a different hand, Regina Shen: Resilience (the first book in a projected series) could have been more one-dimensional (so many young adult dystopian stories are). Using a different approach, it could have focused on the physical challenges of disaster, on a teen girl’s coming of age, or on a family’s obstacles to survival. But any who expect Regina Shen to be your typical teen disaster story are in for a surprise: it tackles issues of freedom, domination, change in the face of challenge, and a feisty girl whose flexibility and love of learning prove her keys to success.

Regina’s acceptance of her world creates a story that is believable and involving on both a political and a personal level – and that’s a fine line indeed, incorporating elements of past and present events to create an atmosphere of future reality firmly cemented in present-day fact: “…life outside the Richmond Swamps seemed unimaginable. This was the only world I knew, unless you counted the literary world of banned books by ancients such as Charles Dickens, Isaac Asimov, and David Brin.”

In such a future, the fine lines between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are blurred – but Regina stands out firmly as ‘good’, even to strangers who encounter her. In such a world, the elements of survival are intrinsically linked to an ability to present a refreshingly honest face to strangers: “Therese couldn’t help wondering why the injured girl so interested Antiquities, the Federation, and her. Regina was a tough girl, a survivor, not unpleasant in the way other desperate souls became during and after storms. It had been the lack of guile that convinced Therese to help her…”

It’s Regina’s perceptions of the wants, needs, and efforts of those around her (strangers she encounters, who become ‘family’) that drives a story line that is personal as well as political (“Guilt. I’d added burdens on her while she tried to help me stay safe. Already, I thought of the twins as my sisters, though they couldn’t replace Colleen. But more bodies meant more heat signatures for patrols and bounty hunters to find.“). These elements, together, create a story line that is compelling, vivid, realistic, and with far more psychological depth than the usual young adult dystopian read.

In Regina’s world, there’s a lot to gain and a lot to lose. Resilience‘s satisfying conclusion leaves the door open for more Regina stories but provides a logical ending for this particular saga, which makes for both a powerful predecessor to a series and a rewarding stand-alone read.

5* Regina Shen: Vigilance Review

Posted on August 21, 2015 by flwq1578

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

The second installment was just as good as the first. Regina is on the run to find her sister. Mo-mere prepared her for life across the wall at university, but things don’t go as planned. Demarco, to save her own career, tries to barter with Regina, saying that if they go with her, she can do more for them than Volpe, and I think Regina was right not to trust her. I know that includes being on the run for the rest of her life, but at least she has Ester by her side. I hope that there’s another installment or so, because I want to know what happens next. If she is able to change the laws of the world and bring these fictional men back, or if she runs into Annabelle (The Rebel Trap Series) on her journey.

5* for Regina Shen: Resilience

Posted on July 24, 2015 by flwq1578

by Moniqua (Goodreads reviewer)

I must say that Lance Erlick is a mastermind. Regina is a survivor. The copious amounts of misfortune she goes through in this book to evade the bounty killers and Antiquities, while trying to find her sister and mom, is admirable. Although, I had to gasp at the fact that this takes place in a time where books don’t exist. I can’t fathom not reading my favorite authors, let alone my new favorite author, Mr, Erlick.

Regina grows so much in this first installment and she is so brilliant and resilient, which makes for the perfect title. She will stop at nothing to know and learn all she can about why things are the way they are. She’s only 15 and I envy her strength and courage.

She is on the run from being captured to be tested on because her DNA is different from everyone else’s, probably because she doesn’t have a donor mother and actually has a…sorry, can’t spoil it for you. You have to read it yourself. Did I mention, there are absolutely no men in this book? Hmmm…Stayed tuned for my take on the next installment.

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Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 3

Posted on July 14, 2015 by flwq1578

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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Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 2

Posted on July 13, 2015 by flwq1578

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.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Things You’d Like To Ask Regina Shen 1

Posted on July 12, 2015 by flwq1578

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.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.

Yet Another 5* Regina Shen Review

Posted on July 11, 2015 by flwq1578

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.

Buy Regina Shen: Resilience on Amazon.