Book Review #36: The Neophyte’s Tale: A Dystopian Novel by A.R. Alexander

Hello Dear Reader!

I’m finally back after weeks of not posting a book review, because I’ve been in a pretty deep reading slump for the past two weeks or so. I’m happy to say that I’m finally out of it, and that I have a fascinating indie book for you!

But before I start, I do want to let you know my rating scale has changed! It’s gone from a scale of 10 to a scale of 5, just so I can match the star ratings on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, etc.

Now let’s get into it!

This book review is on the first book of Tales from the Great Island, titled The Neophyte’s Tale, which takes place in a really well-developed dystopian world. It is told in the first-person point of view of main character Raindalynn, a 16-year-old girl who’s raised in a colony on the Great Island, formerly known as Australia. But before I get into this world and its story, here’s the back-cover summary (from Amazon):

The mighty eruption changed everything....

Earth's survivors now live in safety and harmony on the Great Island--or so they think. Ruled by the powerful women of the Disciple Council, the Great Island's colonies mirror the beauty and inspiration of the Seven Wonders of the World. But the feminine, tyrannical leadership of the island is too suffocating to bear. And now, sixteen-year-old Raindalynn Noic is dreading her testing for her "chosen" career. All females must be tested for the memory gene. Carrying the memory gene will doom Raindalynn to a life of alienation and solitude. After all, she is just now exploring her feelings for her childhood friend. But the test reveals what Raindalynn feared all along: she has the dreaded gene.

As the new Neophyte, is Raindalynn different from any Memory Keeper before her?

When her abilities exceed their greatest expectations, Raindalynn must rise to the challenge of saving her people from a dictator who threatens to destroy them all. With a plan to overthrow the Disciple Council, Raindalynn is their only chance at freedom. The secrets she now possesses might be the weapon needed for the Insurrection to succeed. Will the Neophyte's Tale be the last story she's ever permitted to tell?

Time for the review!

Sixteen-year-old Raindalynn is probably one of the most realistically written teenagers I’ve personally encountered in a book. Strong-willed and compassionate, she’s intelligent and observant of the world around her, and even though she’s the main character of the book, the author doesn’t fail to give her weaknesses. Throughout the book, her confidence in her role of facilitating the Insurrection grows only to crumble every so often during major points of the book, which I believe is normal for a sixteen-year-old girl with such a critical role. What I love about her character is that she realizes she can’t do as much as she’d like to because of her youth, and seeing her come to terms with that is satisfying to me.

Surrounding Raindalynn is a cast of characters with different personalities, backgrounds and backstories. My personal favorite is Carthel, the young Dux, or head of military forces, in a place known as Central City. Though stoic and cold at first meet, he’s got a heart of gold, and their growing sibling relationship was so sweet to witness.

And honestly, I’m pretty convinced we all need a Carthel in life.

And Carthel isn’t the only character participating in the found family trope, as there are at least three characters Raindalynn comes to see as family members of some sort throughout the book, all of which was very wholesome to read.

Though the characters were lovable, the absolute best thing about this book is the world-building. I feel like this book has only scratched the surface of what this world has to offer, and it already feels massive! From the history of how the Great Island came to be to the dystopian world those in power created, I was fascinated and reeled in by all of it. Truly, it was the world-building that really sucked me into this book.

Even though there are a lot of things I love about this book, there were a few things that stuck out to me while I was reading it. The first is that I noticed I was beginning to enjoy it less after a certain point. After about a third of the book, the writing became a bit one-noted to me, even during tense scenes. Certain emotional scenes didn’t hit me nearly as much as I would’ve liked, and a few of the fight scenes didn’t make me feel any tension or sense of urgency. The writing was also a bit choppy for me in places, and there were a few conversations that didn’t feel natural. Still, despite these things, I really loved the developing character relationships, plot twists, and fantastic world-building this book had to offer!

So, The Neophyte’s Tale rating:

3.5/5 and highly recommend if you love some intense world-building and wholesome character relationships!

Thanks for reading!