Review: Expense by Jason Letts

Synopsis:
Spencer Nye thought she had done something to change the world for the better, but she quickly finds out that eliminating one problem often leads to others. The only difference now is that any solution requires the cooperation of everyone on the planet, and no amount of fame will help them all overcome their fear of another looming disaster. Even though Spencer knew that she needed to change the world, in Expense she’ll find out exactly what it cost.

Review:
The second book in The Spencer Nye Trilogy does not disappoint in any way. It stays true to the same gripping and non-stop action that was in the first one. I love futuristic books that show a glimpse of how our world might look if technology continues to evolve as quickly as it currently is. But I truly hope we never have any issues with aliens . . . aliens are bad news.

Expense picks up after the events at the end of Suspense. Spencer believes she has caused an intergalactic war between Humans and the alien Orra. Killing another planet's ambassador can have that effect apparently :-) Spencer is a take-action kind of girl, and she finds herself at a loss when it comes to being a leader and spurring others to action. Especially since most people are murderously angry about losing their sources of food, clothing, etc.

As if trying to get everyone to work together to rebuild their world isn't a hard enough job, the Orra are coming for Spencer. Plus her love life gets even more complicated . . . which I would have found hard to believe until reading Expense. Spencer makes a lot of mistakes and wrong choices, but she never becomes unlikeble. It really just made her more real to me.

A great follow-up novel, it left me really excited to find out how the story will be resolved in the final book.

Publication Date: October 26, 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian
Source: Thanks to the author Jason Letts for my review copy!

Interview with Author of Suspense: Jason Letts

About the Author:
Jason Letts is an author of young-adult fiction. In addition to Suspense, the first book in The Spencer Nye Trilogy, he has written the Inevitable Trilogy and the Powerless series. Outside of writing, he cultivates diverse interests in such fields as distance running, cooking, traveling, fortune telling, hiking, kayaking, and competitive napping.

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My Tower of Books: I know that story ideas can come out of some pretty random thoughts and circumstances. What inspired the idea for your novel, Suspense?

Jason: I've been reading so many stories where there is some evil empire oppressing the characters of a book, and it got me thinking about what a story would be like where there was absolutely no pressure like that. In the future world of Suspense, people are free to do whatever they like all the time, and most of them live very peaceful lives. Spencer doesn't, and so everything you read about her in the book is something she consciously wanted to have and makes a statement about her. That it's a darker,action-packed book is all the result of her decisions, not any kind of tyrannical government begging for people to overthrow it.

MToB: The characters in your book are always in touch with Connect. How often do you check your own social networks?

Jason: Waaaay too often. Doing stuff like this is part of my job, and getting out there and talking about books is something I love doing anyway, but it was easy to imagine that part taking over to the point where people couldn't imagine living without them. I'll admit that I'm not much of a phone person though, so when I'm out and about I rarely take it with me.

MToB: If you could step into the shoes of one of your characters from Suspense, who would it be?

Jason: Good question, and a difficult one to answer, because I can relate to a lot of the struggles that the characters go through. Spencer just has a fundamental disgust with a lot of how her world works, but when she gets her chance to change it she really can't think clearly about whether or not things would be better. Jetta and her desire to overcome her body and find a way to eliminate its weakness. Cleary and the difference between acting and being real.

MToB: Most writers are also avid readers. Was there a particular book or author that inspired or influenced your writing?

Jason: I have been on a serious Dystopian jag for a while now, going back to classics like 1984 and more recent ones like Divergent and Enclave. I think it's possible to take inspiration from any kind of fiction though. Right now I'm reading George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, which is epic fantasy told from multiple viewpoints. It's very elaborate and completely compelling.

MToB: Do you listen to music while you're writing or do you prefer silence?

Jason: I'm actually someone who doesn't listen to music while writing, mostly because it would distract me from focusing on what I'm seeing in my head, but I do listen to a lot of music when I'm brainstorming either on the couch or out running. For Suspense, I got into a really good vibe with a Japanese artist named Tommy Heavenly6 and an anime (I never watched anime while I was living in Japan) called Gintama. If you are feeling a bit adventurous, you can check out this and this video. Bizarre, huh?

Thanks so much to Jackie for giving me this space! I hope your blog continues to be successful and you keep finding plenty of great books to read!

Suspense, the first book in my new YA (16+) Dystopian trilogy can be found at Amazon, BN, itunes, and Smashwords

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Thank you, Jason, for participating and for adding your own touch to things with Casting Call. I loved reading Suspense, and it was great working with you!

Casting Call with Jason Letts, Author of Suspense

Time to play Casting Call with author of Suspense, Jason Letts!

Jason came up with this Author/Blogger picture game, and I really loved this idea. We chose characters, settings and objects from the book and found pictures of what we thought they would look like. Then we compared them side by side and added our thoughts on the pictures.

Jason's pics are on the left, My Tower of Books' on the right. Ready to play?

1. Spencer NyeJason: Spencer is a short, stringy blonde with an extra dose of angst. Finding someone who's exactly eighteen would be tough, and I'll admit I'm not that familiar with a lot of the younger stars these days. I almost went with Hayden Penettiere, but she was maybe a little too cute. So I went with Kirsten Dunst, and this picture in particular makes it hard to tell whether she's about to crack into a smile or a snarl.

My Tower of Books: "Somehow he understood the most basic element of what it meant to be me, that the default feeling in my heart was the urge to scream." Spencer tells us this early on in the book and it spoke volumes to me about her. The first thing that struck me about this picture was the girl's face. It is strangely accurate to how I viewed her, and even how she's described in the book, although obviously she's not animated :-)

2. Spencer's Claw-tipped gloves

Jason: Because Spencer isn't that strong, she wears claw-tipped gloves and shreds her enemies to pieces. Most of the clothing in the story is described as "tech" clothing, with a lot of synthetic fibers, but I think the actual claws protruding from the ends of her fingers would look like these. She's able to do a pretty decent amount of damage with them, and they seem to sink into skin very easily.

MToB: This isn't exactly how I pictured her gloves, but it's close. I thought of them as being more delicate, but no less deadly.

3. The Chateaux

Jason: For their protection, all of the ultra-famous Idols live in a place where mobs of fans can't get to them. This place is called The Chateaux, and it's located by the edge of a cliff on a secret island. It's a large complex of towers, courtyards, and gardens. My idea of it is something like this, though perhaps a bit bigger.

MToB: Again, not quite how I envisioned it. This is my take on The Chateaux. I see it as being a bit more open and sprawling.

4. Jetta Renoir

Jason: Spencer's best friend, Jetta, is a cyborg with a number of unique physical characteristics. She has replaced one of her blue eyes with an artificial green one that can give her better sight, her joints have metallic bands running through them to keep her limbs together, and she has implants under her skin for various other reasons. All this together is an attempt to overcome feelings of inadequacy about her body. After some exhaustive searching, I really don't think there's a picture out there that does her justice. I chose this one because it looks kind of cool, but Jetta isn't a robot that looks like a person. She's a person who has had a lot of modifications done to herself. I guess you'll just have to read the book to see what we're talking about!

MToB: This picture was as close as i could get with Jetta. If the black lines were a bit more angular instead of flowing, and also if they were silver based and gave off an electronic glow, then that would be more like my vision of her.

Check back tomorrow for my interview with Jason Letts!

Suspense, the first book in his new YA (16+) Dystopian trilogy can be found at Amazon, BN, itunes, and Smashwords!

Review: Suspense by Jason Letts

Synopsis:
Spencer Nye can’t control the rage bubbling under her skin over the world around her. The trouble is, by the year 2102, the world has solved most of its great problems. Without hunger, war, greed, or even money, people obsess over the glamour of the Culture Industry and its mega-celebrity Idols, who vie for followers over the social networks of Connect.

But Spencer discovers there is plenty to fix within the Idols’ competition for more popularity. She becomes a diehard and promises to do anything to help her Idol, a dreamy movie star named Cleary Mintz, bring his vision of hope and purpose to the world. When she stumbles onto a threat against his life, she’ll have to fight harder than she ever thought possible or lose the man who means more to her than any other.


Review:
Books like this one are why I wanted to start a book blog in the first place! I had never heard of this author and wasn't sure what to expect. I seriously loved this book! The title, Suspense, really has a double meaning. It's the nickname of the heroine, Spencer Nye, plus the story is full of suspense from beginning to the end.

The plot is amazing. The world the characters live in is one where everyone is constantly connected to their social network by nodes implanted in their heads. It dominates most every part of how they exist. There are machines that create everything from food to clothing, money is unnecessary, everyone is equal, transportation is instantaneous (wouldn't that be nice!). With all the worries of survival taken care of, the population exists for the pursuit of happiness and following the Idol of their choice. Which as it turns out, is more cutthroat than you might think.

I always feel conflicted about technology and social networks because they make it easy to stay connected, but how does being so dependent on them really affect us? Suspense portrays a future that isn't all that unbelievable. How often do you check your social networks in a day? Have you ever been in a room full of people on their smartphones and not one person is speaking to another?

That isn't the only reason I thought it was great though. Spencer Nye is such a likeable, yet flawed, heroine. She doesn't always make the right choices but her heart is in the right place. Plus, I like a character that isn't afraid to stop asking questions and kill the bad guys already! Spencer's romantic interests seem pretty clear cut when you first start reading, but take an unexpected and awesome turn! Original and crazy!

I can't wait to read the next one!


Publication Date: September 3, 2011
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Sci-fi
Source: Thank you so much to the author, Jason Letts, for the review copy.