Smada's Book Smack : Blog Tour: The Culling (The Culling #1) by Ramona Finn

Author: Ramona Finn

Narrator: Stacey Glemboski

Length: 8 hours 39 minutes

Publisher: Relay Publishing

Released: Mar. 21, 2018

Genre: Science Fiction

In a solar system where The Authority decides who lives and who dies, only one of their own executioners can stop them.
Glade Io is a trained killer. Marked at a young age as an individual with violent tendencies, she was taken from her family and groomed to be a Datapoint—a biotech-enabled analyst who carries out the Culling. She is designed to identify and destroy any potential humans that threaten the colonies: those marked as lawbreakers, unproductive or sick. But when she’s kidnapped by rogue colonists known as the Ferrymen, everything Glade thinks she knows about the colonies, and The Authority that runs them, collapses into doubt.
Pulled between two opposing sides, and with her family’s lives hanging in the balance, Glade is unsure of who to trust—and time is running out.

My Review:

4.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Audiobook, Mystery, Space, Survival, Suspense--

" What can I say, I've got a thing for dark haired girls who try to burn me alive using only the power of their scowls."

Glade's father was Culled when she was a child and her mother made her promise to hide herself away from everyone since she was too like her father and would be a target for who she is. But it was too late, a man had seen her brain waves and knew she was different, a future Datapoint. Glade is not really interested in culling people but needs to otherwise her innocent younger sisters will be recruited into the program and she refuses to let that happen. To make matters worse, she is kidnapped by the ruthless Ferrymen, and suddenly everything is so much more complicated.

This is actually the second book I have read by Ramona and my new absolute favorite from her. Don't get me wrong, the other book I read was the first in a different series and it was good, but I just enjoyed the Culling so much more! Everything about this story was engaging for me, be it the tech and the future world, the culling process, the layered characters and the fact the story is told in multiple points of view (and I love books with multiple narrators!). There was so much conspiracy flowing through the words, I had no idea who to trust, what to believe or what would happen next. It was perfect for keeping me on my toes. Can I pretty please get the next two books in the trilogy now?? I have to know how it will all end.

The concept of Culling was terrifying and yet at the same time realistic for the future. To cull means to remove a citizen after reading their brain waves and seeing that they were prone to violence, allowing for a more peaceful community and avoid possible issues. I loved that Datapoints had to be positive for sociopathic tendencies to make them successful at their calling, the need to be self-serving and not too concerned for the well being of others allows them to "cull" aka kill/eradicate others- which really makes perfect sense, if you empathize you fail.

The narrator gave Glade so much personality I really related to her and enjoyed her inflections and attitude. She brought Glade to life right before my eyes (ears?) and I felt like I knew her through the combination of the author's words and the narrator's emotions. The voices she used for the other main characters (Dahn and Kupier) narrations were not very different from Glade or each other but she was clear and precise in her diction and gave the characters personality which made it easy for me to know who was what.

There was so much going on within the pages, be it futuristic technology, mystery, romance via a love triangle, conspiracy, action, space travel...yep, there was pretty much a little bit of everything provided here. I can't wait to get my hands on the other two books in the trilogy (yay for a trilogy that is already all out!) and I would gladly listen to them as audio versions since I enjoyed the narration.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Ramona Finn. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Ramona Finn writes about courageous characters who fight to live in broken, dystopian worlds. She believes a person's true characters is often revealed in times of crisis, and there is no greater crisis than the worlds that she drops her characters into! She grew up sitting cross-legged on her town's library floor--completely engrossed in science fiction books. It was always the futuristic world or the universe-on-the-brink-of-extinction plotlines that drew her in, but it was the brave characters who chose to fight back that kept her turning the pages.

Her books create deep, intricate worlds with bold characters determined to fight for their survival in their dystopian worlds--with a little help from their friends. And, of course, romance is never out of the question ;).

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Stacey is an accomplished audiobook narrator and voice actor who has recorded books for many best-selling authors. Many of her favorite books have been for kids and teens, but all genres of narration appeal to her. For Stacey, narration is about having fun breathing life into characters and getting as lost as possible in the story she’s telling. Outside the studio, Stacey is an avid tennis player and fitness enthusiast. She enjoys dog walks, paddle boarding, and most any outdoor activities.