Published by Atmosphere PressSeries: Orange City #1
Date Published: 16 March, 2021
Pages: 308
Genres: Dystopian, Sci Fi
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Purchase: Amazon
Add To Goodreads
Rating:
Imagine a secret, hidden city that gives a second chance at life for those selected to come: felons, deformed outcasts, those on the fringe of the Outside World. Everyone gets a job, a place to live; but you are bound to the city forever. You can never leave.
Its citizens are ruled by a monstrous figure called the "Man" who resembles a giant demented spider from the lifelike robotic limbs attached to his body. Everyone follows the man blindly, working hard to make their Promised Land stronger, too scared to defy him and be discarded to the Empty Zones.
After ten years as an advertising executive, Graham Weatherend receives an order to test a new client, Pow! Sodas. After one sip of the orange flavor, he becomes addicted, the sodas causing wild mood swings that finally wake him up to the prison he calls reality.
A dynamic mash-up of 1984 meets LOST, ORANGE CITY is a lurid, dystopian first book in a series that will continue with the explosive sequel LEMONWORLD.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.
My Thoughts
When I give a review, I like to be open and honest about it. So, that’s what this review will be. Honest. Open. When I sat down to read this, I was honestly not sure I would enjoy this read. I’m not big on the dystopian, sci fi reads. However, from time to time, I branch out of my comfort zone and find ones that I can thoroughly enjoy, that really grip me and make me glad that I sat down to read it. Orange City was that novel. I sat down, gave it a chance and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the story!
Goldberg created an interesting plot line and filled it with unique and captivating characters. There are twists and turns, ups and downs, and by the end of the book, if you weren’t a dystopian fan before, you certainly will be after reading Goldberg’s masterpiece. His characters are as unique as the story itself, making you feel a part of their lives, learning their ways in their new lives in this city the can never leave, seeing their second chances come to life.
Orange City is definitely different but one I’m glad I gave a try. It’s a 4 star read, and will keep you guessing through out. The first in it’s series, I am highly looking forward to reading more like it from this truly talented author. He has definitely made a fan out of me and I look forward to sharing about it with others. If you are a fan of out of this world strangeness, mixed with thought provoking scenes and uniquely chiseled characters, Orange City is the one you need to read.
About Lee Matthew Goldberg
Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, SLOW DOWN, THE MENTOR from St. Martin’s Press, and THE DESIRE CARD.
He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. His Sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY will be published in 2021 along with RUNAWAY TRAIN, the first book in a YA series . He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box.
After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Hypertext, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others.
His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com
Glad you enjoyed it – love a book that keeps me on the edge of my seat wanting to find out what happens!
This might not be one for me!
No I don’t think you would like this one.