Regina Shen: Defiance (Regina Shen #3)
by Lance Erlick
Genre: Science Fiction
Age category: Young Adult
Anticipated Release Date: July 1, 2015

About the Book

(from Goodreads)

Abrupt climate change melted ice caps, flooded coasts, and expanded deserts. Outcast Regina Shen is a fugitive the World Federation believes has DNA that can stop human extinction. Rival Federation agents fight over capturing Regina to gain power amidst turmoil over who will become the new World Premier. Regina has to flee from Virginia through desert and wilderness to Alaska to hunt a treasure big enough to barter for her freedom and that of her sister. Can she find allies and tools to remain free long enough to find something to trade?

You can find Regina Shen: Defiance on Goodreads

 

My Review

I received a free ecopy of this book for an honest review.

Defiance is the third book in the Regina Shen series. I had read the first 2 books, Resilience and Vigilance, and had stated in my review that I was looking forward to reading the next book in the series (I didn’t know it was finished!) and Lance Erlick was kind enough to send me a copy.

I like Lance Erlick’s writing style. It’s descriptive enough that I can picture what’s going on but not so detailed that I skip over paragraphs, which I tend to do if I get bogged down in descriptions.

Regina Shen only has one goal: to save her sister from the Department of Antiquities; however, she has a big heart and a brilliant mind so she tends to make a mark wherever she goes. She’s also the first person to stand up to the Department of Antiquities in many years so she has a lot of admirers among the people in the lower classes.

Regina’s companion adores her and will follow her to the ends of the Earth but she’s also pretty annoying. She’s constantly talking about settling down even though she knows Regina has to find her sister. She’s also so emotionally needy.

Chief Inspector Demarco continues to be a wild card. It is difficult to figure out what she might do next. She is obviously interested in what is best for her, not what is best for civilization, but once in a while, she shows that she might just have a heart somewhere way down deep.

The rest of the many characters are also complicated. Regina has to keep her guard up at all times because there is no way to know who might betray her to the Department of Antiquities. It seems that everyone works for someone in the Federation or is willing to give them information, even Regina’s own mother.

I really like this series. It is full of action and suspense and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Defiance really shouldn’t be read as a stand-alone because so much happened in the first 2 books and it’s obvious that there’s more to come.

About the series

World: This takes place 400 years in the future after abrupt climate change has melted ice caps and flooded the coasts. Civilization collapsed and was replaced by a World Federation that suppresses knowledge from the past. Three-hundred-plus-year-old Grand Old Dames rule using a caste system.

Regina Shen is an outcast condemned by the World Federation to live on the seaward side of Barrier Walls built to hold back rising seas. She is Chinese-Hispanic, tough, lives by her wits, and thrives on salvage from sunken cities, including illegal print books from before the Great Collapse. She also has unique DNA the Federation believes can reverse a worldwide fertility collapse. Regina doesn’t trust the Federation.

Chief Inspector Joanne Demarco of the notorious Department of Antiquities polices Barrier Walls and destroys evidence from the past, including print books. Ambitious, she sees Regina as the key to securing her future.

Inspector Vikki Volpe is a ruthless hard-core Antiquities agent who believes Demarco has gone soft and wants the chief inspector’s job.

 

About the Author

Lance Erlick likes to explore the mysteries of intriguing worlds with interesting, often strong female guides facing and overcoming adversity as they try to change their world. He hopes readers will enjoy his writing as they discover different worlds, going places they may never have been.
He writes science fiction thrillers, appealing to young adults and adult readers. He is the author of The Rebel Within, The Rebel Trap, and Rebels Divided, three books in the Rebel series. In those stories, he explores the consequences of following conscience for those coming of age. He authored the Regina Shen series—Regina Shen: Resilience and Regina Shen: Vigilance. This series takes place after abrupt climate change leads to the Great Collapse and a new society under the World Federation. A related short story is: Regina Shen: Into the Storm. Lance is also the author of unrelated short stories: Maiden Voyage and Watching You.

You can find and contact Lance here:
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