Eden Rising

The Dark Sanctuary, Book 1

By: Shade Owens

Narrated by: Katrina Medina

After men declared war on women, the world fell apart.

In a not-so-distant future, women outnumber men 7 to 1, and no one can explain it.

Threatened by this mysterious phenomenon, the government impulsively passes new abortion laws and strips women of their rights.

Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old Eve Malum watches the riots and protests through her television screen, terrified of the America she no longer recognizes. Unlike her mother and sister, however, she doesn’t have the courage to go out there and demand freedom for all women.

She isn’t like them. She isn’t a fighter.

But when something tragic happens, Eve becomes someone else… someone who will stop at nothing until justice is served, even if that means getting blood on her hands.

Chilling, twisted, and frighteningly vivid, Eden Rising will draw listeners into a dark dystopian world like no other.
*PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS EDEN

©2022 Shade Owens (P)2024 Shade Owens

Decent but not compelling

Not a lot of action but maybe this book is mostly character creation and the real story comes later.

Not what I expected

Interesting take on dystopian world. I went into this not knowing what to expect and was not disappointed. The story is told from 3 view points and justo from current to past in each chapter. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like the story. Women are fighting for their rights while men want to control, and both side hating and blaming the other for the current state of the country. It is a wild ride. Looking for way to the next book and hopefully it’ll be released in audio. The narrator did a great job with each character and the voices. Before you dive into this you’ll want to check out the trigger warnings as there are a few. Would highly recommend this book to others.

Man Equals Bad

I saw an ad for this on Facebook and thought would be a perfect fit for me. I like distopias and the concept seemed to similar to Children of Men and the Unnamed Midwife, both of which I enjoyed. Instead, this book portrayed all male characters as sex hungry rapists and all women as either victims of male oppression or heroes for their willingness to stand up to evil men. really? the male population starts to decline and all men decide to pick up guns and rape then kill women? Makes no sense. Populations must continue. if you kill off all men or all women that's it for the human race. The book felt like a really long rant against men and included a lack of research into how societies function. Like, even if you eliminate money from a society that won't make people less greedy, populations will naturally gravitate towards inequality. there will always be something that is prized above all else and whoever has that will be in charge. Not all men are power hungry. not all women are caring and nurturing. instead it felt like all characters were created as binaries, except for the one male main character Gabriel who actually ends up being set up as the savior. So in a world ruled by women it is a man who has to save everyone? isn't that a bit contradictory? Also, production on keyholes you can see through stopped in the 1700's. Yet they somehow people decided to reinstate them 40 years in the future...in the White House...Oh and the White House has a secret tunnel under it. Apparently this is also National Treasure.
The narrative voice was very good, particularly Gabe's mom's voice. the child voice for Lucy was hard to listen to. But I enjoyed the sound of the narrator's voice. The audio quality could be touched up a bit. there were lots of mouth noises and clicks, plus at one point I think I heard a bird. A better mic is needed as every plosive could be heard, creating that harsh sound.
Overall this book would be perfectly suited for those who hate men. if that's you, you will enjoy it.