The Reaping Room (Botanicaust 03) by Tam Linsey

Title: The Reaping Room
Author: Tam Linsey
Series: Botanicaust book 03
Read Type: eARC
Stars:

You can purchase a copy of this book from Amazon UK and Amazon US
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Humanity is more than DNA 
A mentally challenged man discovers the dark secret that keeps his Fosselite father immortal, and must decide what being a "good boy" really means. 




You can see my reviews of the previous novels, Botanicaust and Doomseeds here

Strong language: Some derogatory
Drugs: None
Violence: Some
Sexual content: None

I received a free copy of this book from the author in return for an unbiased review

This is the third story in the Botanicaust series (a short story, Taking the Knife" is also available, placed between the two existing novels), a novella that takes a much deeper look at a scene from the first book, Botanicaust. This "retake" as it were is skilfully done, so despite already knowing how it would turn out, for at least some characters, there is constant emotional engagement.

Written through the eyes of Michael, the son of the leader of the Fosselites, and a man who has learning disabilities, it is hard not to empathise. All Michael ever wants is to be a "good boy" and make his father happy, which in their world means he does whatever his father tells him without question. As he starts to question what is really happening around him and why he must keep their work secret he begins to battle with his conscience and what he should really do.

When I read this as a scene in Botanicaust I was drawn to Michael, but here, having a lot more time to really get to know him and the other "adult children" as they are know, the emotional aspect really blew the roof. I thought this was also a great novel to show learning disabilities is a different light, one where people can have morals, think for themselves and ultimately overcome a lifetime of conditioning to understand what is truly right.

As Michael is largely mute, but seems to think clearly, it is difficult to judge the dialogue handled by him. He is given lots of instructions, often by people who treat him and the others as drones, in uncaring tones, but until Tula comes along you see very little in the way of actual conversation. Tula is the light in their dark world, a sub-species of human who usually works with people who do not speak her language, she is not phased by Michael's inability to say words to her, and quickly used her environment and drawing tools to get answers of him. It was a poignant reminder that we shouldn't judge by what we see on the outside.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, just like the rest of the series. I would have liked a few more pages at the end to cover what happened to Michael, but I think even if they had been there I'd be pushing the author for "just a few more pages" forever!. I feel you need to have read at least Botanicaust to understand this, but it can be read before Doomseeds.

For the all round handling of difficult situations I give this a 4.5, reduced to a 4 for reviewing sites

Doomseeds by Tam Linsey

Title: Doomseeds
Author: Tam Linsey
Series: The Botanicaust series - Book 2
Type of read: eARC
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How could a rescue mission go so wrong?

A photosynthetic woman ventures into cannibal territory to find her lost sister, but her trader guide has his own goal; he needs to sell her to ransom his father from a cannibal king. Neither rescue mission will go as planned…


I received a free copy of this book in return for an unbiased review. A copy of the review for the previous novel, Botanicaust, can be found here

Set several years after the first book in the Botanicaust series, this was a wonderful re-entry to the world and expanded greatly on it. At first the novel felt a little fragmented as it switched rapidly between several points of view while the reader was still trying to get to grips with the changes that had taken place. However, many of these characters soon came together, or their plans linked in, making it seem whole again.


This novel felt like it had depth. I particularly liked the look we got into the different cultures, and how each of them responded to the others.  It felt as if the author had a tighter hold on cultures and religions, especially when mixing them. This particularly showed when meeting cannibals who were also traders who had to "keep the peace" and not follow the instincts they were brought up on.


The plot twisted back and forth, sometimes to the point of confusion, but any knots were soon unraveled. In the first novel one of the things that got my attention was the way some of the characters were torn between different communities and ways of life, never being accepted, and never feeling they fitted in. In this novel that is ramped even higher, really pulling at the heartstrings.


I felt the ending wrapped up nicely, but I hope for a third novel so can enjoy these characters again.

Botanicaust by Tam Linsey

Title: Botanicaust
Author: Tam Linsey
Series: The Botanicaust series - Book 1
Type of read: eARC
Star rating:

Available from Amazon US Amazon UK
You can follow Tam Linsey on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website


The only crop left ... is human.

In an all-too-plausible future where Earth has been overrun by invasive, genetically modified weeds, a doctor with photosynthetic skin risks everything to save a man who refuses to be genetically modified. Together, can they find sanctuary in a cannibal wasteland?

I was lucky enough to be offered an eARC of the second novel in the Botanicaust series, called Doomseeds. The author, Tam Linsey, also gave me a copy of the first novel so I could better judge the series. The review of that novel is to come shortly, however I wanted to give a review to this promising novel in its own right.

The first thing that hit me with this novel was the extensive world building right from the first page. A world barren of life as we know it with humans split off into almost separate species, all trying to keep away from the others and live their way of life. The introduction was quick, making clever use of actions to do this, thus avoiding an infodump.

The protagonist was easy to identify with, a single father desperately trying to find a cure for his terminal son from fabled beings living in their world. He drew the story forth, drawing emotions clearly on the page. Almost all of his interaction with other people were written very skillfully, especially when there was no common language and they had to resort to rudimentary sign language.

My only issue was the lack of sexual tension between him and another character, where I believe it was intended. They'd have sex then carry on as if nothing ever happened. Some of this was explained away later in the book as you came to understand the species better, but I still feel it could have been handled better.

I was very impressed with this novel, it ticked all the boxes, and shows an extremely promising writer.