This is my stop during the blog tour for Regina Shen by . This blog tour is organized by Lola’s Blog Tours and runs from 18 till 31 May. You can view the complete tour schedule on the website of Lola’s Blog Tours.
So far this series contains 2 books: Regina Shen: Resilience (Regina Shen #1) and Regina Shen: Vigilance (Regina Shen #2).

 

Regina Shen: Resilience (Regina Shen #1)
by Lance Erlick
Genre: Science Fiction
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: May 15, 2015

Blurb:
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.

You can find Regina Shen: Resilience on Goodreads

You can buy Regina Shen: Resilience here:
– Amazon

My Review

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

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 Regina or hiding in a cellar with rats and bugs (it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it).

I definitely recommend Resilience.

 

 

Regina Shen: Vigilance (Regina Shen #2)
By Lance Erlick
Genre: Science Fiction
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: May 15, 2015

Blurb:
Regina Shen is pursued by the notorious Department of Antiquities for her unique DNA. She jumps the Barrier Wall into the Federation to find her kidnapped sister. Stuck on a heavily-guarded closed university campus, she must use her wits to escape and rescue her sister without letting either of two rival Antiquities inspectors capture her.

You can find Regina Shen: Vigilance on Goodreads

 

My Review

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

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.

 

About the first two books/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.

Book 1 (Regina Shen: Resilience): A hurricane threatens to destroy what’s left of Regina’s world. Separated from her sister, her mom, and her home, with Demarco in pursuit, Regina fights to stay alive and avoid capture while hunting for family.

Book 2 (Regina Shen: Vigilance): Pursued by the Department of Antiquities, Regina jumps the Barrier Wall into the Federation to find her kidnapped sister, and winds up on a closed-university campus with heavy surveillance. Regina must use her wits to escape and rescue her sister without letting either of two rival inspectors capture her.

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:
– Website
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads
– Newsletter

 

 

Giveaway

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Regina Shen.

Prizes:
– a 25$ amazon gift card
– signed copy of Regina Shen: Vigilance by Lance Erlick(US Only)

For a chance to win, click on the rafflecopter link:

Rafflecopter giveaway