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A review by the_cover_contessa
The Earth Dwellers by David Estes
5.0
So, I'm finally getting around to writing my review of this. I never know how to put into words how David's books make me feel. I get all warm and fuzzy and teary eyed while I also get angry and outraged and want to tear out pages (which I would never do because, well, this was an ebook first of all and second of all that would just be blaphemy!).
I want to thank David for 1) allowing me to beta read this book and being part of a family of people who truly care what he writes, and 2) for then sending me an ARC so I could have the pretty cover on my Kindle Fire to look at and adore! Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review (only David's writing did that!).
If you have not read the previous books in this series, then there may be spoilers for your from those books so don't read on. But I promise not to give away any of the really big secrets this book has!
Blurb from Goodreads:
The Earth Dwellers is the 4th book in BOTH The Dwellers Saga and The Country Saga. The author recommends that BOTH series are read in their entirety before reading this book (The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, The Sun Dwellers, Fire Country, Ice Country, Water & Storm Country).
Your favorite Dwellers and Country Saga characters come together in this epic seventh book!
As President Borg Lecter threatens to annihilate the Country tribes in order to expand his glass-domed empire, Adele ventures into the belly of the beast. Her only hope of survival is the consolidation of Dwellers and Country power before it’s too late.
Former demagogue President Nailin is eliminated, yet civil unrest infects every alliance. To save Adele, President Tristan faces his greatest challenge yet: unifying unfriendly Dwellers in the Tri-Realms to raise an army against Lecter. Meanwhile, Dazz must convince the Ice Country leaders to march with Siena and the Tri-Tribes on the gates of the Glass City.
The world sits on the edge of a knife. Will Adele, Tristan, Dazz, and Siena defeat Lecter and his army of killers before the Glassies wipe them off the face of the Earth?
So, there I went again jumping into another David Estes book and coming out on the other side still intact even after having been put through the ringer. And, as usual, the book took me barely any time to finish (two days for me with a job and three rug rats to attend to is NOTHING in the world of the working mother!). I can't say enough about this entire series. About how David's mind must just work in overload to be able to have a vision that worked itself into not just one or three book, but SEVEN! Seven books make up this most fabulous series and I can tell you now that they come together with such cohesiveness at the end, you are jumping for joy and ripping your hair out of your head and you spin in circles and sing la la songs!
When I first started the Dwellers series, I was amazed at how easily David's words just flowed off the pages of the book. It was no effort to pick it up and read it and get completely and totally sucked into the story line. And then Sun Dwellers ended in this sort of cliffy and I was like, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? And then, well, then David said he was writing a companion series, ok, so I picked that up. And WOW, just WOW. He had me at hello! And I flew through the books and got sucked in by more of his characters.
And then he sprung this book on me and my mind was totally blow. Not only does he pull characters from all the books into this one, but he seamlessly navigates their passage along side each other and finally to each other. I could never think that these two worlds colliding would work, but oh my hot tamales does it work.
We watch as Adele and Tristan are introduced to a brand new world, one they never thought could possibly exist. And we watch as their romance waivers, but still survives through the thick of it all. We see Sienna (who I just cannot get enough of with her snarky attitude and totally sarcastic ways) still joined with Circ and fighting for what she believes is right. And we see Dazz and he continues to try and convince his community to rise up and fight for justice. Each character coming to us through their own chapters and voices. Each character lending to the total emotional roller coaster that this series has become. You will laugh, and cringe, and cry for them as you watch them make their stand.
And David's writing, ugh, it's so seamless. I have to say that even my beta read barely had any errors in it. It's like it comes so totally naturally to him, it's an extension of who he is. That right there is the mark of an amazing writer. His prose are never boring, always keeping you on edge. You feel the need to turn every page and follow along as the story unfolds. David isn't edgy with is words, nor does he make you feel like he's trying to tell this elaborate story that you have to tie together at the end. Sure, he leaves you with mysteries along the way, but it's nothing your brain can't handle. And I think that's why I really love his story so much.
And the plot, well, as I said, it's amazing how he draws it all together and makes it fit. You see the Dweller world, as well as the worlds above the ground. And, while this book does not take place in all the different "countries" portrayed throughout the series, you get the feel of each country, nonetheless. And there is stil a ton of world building as we learn about the King's palace and where it's located. It's like the books are each part of this puzzle that you have to put together and then you see the most awesomely beautiful picture. And it's a picture that needs to be framed and hung on a wall for everyone to see. I wish I had the talent to paint it and show it to you, but I only have my words. So here's what I was feeling throughout these books: anger, love, surprise, angst, sorrow, happiness, rage, compassion, amusement, pleasure, contempt, horror, alarm, trepidation, elation, longing, exhilaration, hope and oh so many more words that I would bore you if I went on and on and on (I may have already done so). But most of all, above all else, I felt TRIUMPH. Triumph in a world created to bring down those of lesser fortune. Triumph in a time when others surely felt fear and distance. That is how David's book made me feel.
And there are some totally sad parts to this book, that I will let you know made me cry. David is not afraid to have his characters fight and lose, or fight and win. And the anger that is expressed followed by the strength and shear hope the characters possess once again amazes me. The characters achieve such clarity through the actions of others in this book that it still amazes me they could have anything to learn. But they learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others and it makes them stronger and more unified. It gives them courage and confidence and demonstrates the faith they have in one another.
So, are you not yet convinced that perhaps you should pick up this series? If you're at the end of this review, then I would say that you either have read it already, or your gonna be upset because I've kind of spoiled a few things for you! Either way, there is no doubt in my mind that this series rivals if not far surpasses The Hunger Games in it's entirety.
Kudos to you David. While I am VERY sad that this series has come to an end, I am elated that I was able to take the journey and enjoy it as I went. Thanks so much for writing such wonderful stories. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!
I want to thank David for 1) allowing me to beta read this book and being part of a family of people who truly care what he writes, and 2) for then sending me an ARC so I could have the pretty cover on my Kindle Fire to look at and adore! Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review (only David's writing did that!).
If you have not read the previous books in this series, then there may be spoilers for your from those books so don't read on. But I promise not to give away any of the really big secrets this book has!
Blurb from Goodreads:
The Earth Dwellers is the 4th book in BOTH The Dwellers Saga and The Country Saga. The author recommends that BOTH series are read in their entirety before reading this book (The Moon Dwellers, The Star Dwellers, The Sun Dwellers, Fire Country, Ice Country, Water & Storm Country).
Your favorite Dwellers and Country Saga characters come together in this epic seventh book!
As President Borg Lecter threatens to annihilate the Country tribes in order to expand his glass-domed empire, Adele ventures into the belly of the beast. Her only hope of survival is the consolidation of Dwellers and Country power before it’s too late.
Former demagogue President Nailin is eliminated, yet civil unrest infects every alliance. To save Adele, President Tristan faces his greatest challenge yet: unifying unfriendly Dwellers in the Tri-Realms to raise an army against Lecter. Meanwhile, Dazz must convince the Ice Country leaders to march with Siena and the Tri-Tribes on the gates of the Glass City.
The world sits on the edge of a knife. Will Adele, Tristan, Dazz, and Siena defeat Lecter and his army of killers before the Glassies wipe them off the face of the Earth?
So, there I went again jumping into another David Estes book and coming out on the other side still intact even after having been put through the ringer. And, as usual, the book took me barely any time to finish (two days for me with a job and three rug rats to attend to is NOTHING in the world of the working mother!). I can't say enough about this entire series. About how David's mind must just work in overload to be able to have a vision that worked itself into not just one or three book, but SEVEN! Seven books make up this most fabulous series and I can tell you now that they come together with such cohesiveness at the end, you are jumping for joy and ripping your hair out of your head and you spin in circles and sing la la songs!
When I first started the Dwellers series, I was amazed at how easily David's words just flowed off the pages of the book. It was no effort to pick it up and read it and get completely and totally sucked into the story line. And then Sun Dwellers ended in this sort of cliffy and I was like, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? And then, well, then David said he was writing a companion series, ok, so I picked that up. And WOW, just WOW. He had me at hello! And I flew through the books and got sucked in by more of his characters.
And then he sprung this book on me and my mind was totally blow. Not only does he pull characters from all the books into this one, but he seamlessly navigates their passage along side each other and finally to each other. I could never think that these two worlds colliding would work, but oh my hot tamales does it work.
We watch as Adele and Tristan are introduced to a brand new world, one they never thought could possibly exist. And we watch as their romance waivers, but still survives through the thick of it all. We see Sienna (who I just cannot get enough of with her snarky attitude and totally sarcastic ways) still joined with Circ and fighting for what she believes is right. And we see Dazz and he continues to try and convince his community to rise up and fight for justice. Each character coming to us through their own chapters and voices. Each character lending to the total emotional roller coaster that this series has become. You will laugh, and cringe, and cry for them as you watch them make their stand.
And David's writing, ugh, it's so seamless. I have to say that even my beta read barely had any errors in it. It's like it comes so totally naturally to him, it's an extension of who he is. That right there is the mark of an amazing writer. His prose are never boring, always keeping you on edge. You feel the need to turn every page and follow along as the story unfolds. David isn't edgy with is words, nor does he make you feel like he's trying to tell this elaborate story that you have to tie together at the end. Sure, he leaves you with mysteries along the way, but it's nothing your brain can't handle. And I think that's why I really love his story so much.
And the plot, well, as I said, it's amazing how he draws it all together and makes it fit. You see the Dweller world, as well as the worlds above the ground. And, while this book does not take place in all the different "countries" portrayed throughout the series, you get the feel of each country, nonetheless. And there is stil a ton of world building as we learn about the King's palace and where it's located. It's like the books are each part of this puzzle that you have to put together and then you see the most awesomely beautiful picture. And it's a picture that needs to be framed and hung on a wall for everyone to see. I wish I had the talent to paint it and show it to you, but I only have my words. So here's what I was feeling throughout these books: anger, love, surprise, angst, sorrow, happiness, rage, compassion, amusement, pleasure, contempt, horror, alarm, trepidation, elation, longing, exhilaration, hope and oh so many more words that I would bore you if I went on and on and on (I may have already done so). But most of all, above all else, I felt TRIUMPH. Triumph in a world created to bring down those of lesser fortune. Triumph in a time when others surely felt fear and distance. That is how David's book made me feel.
And there are some totally sad parts to this book, that I will let you know made me cry. David is not afraid to have his characters fight and lose, or fight and win. And the anger that is expressed followed by the strength and shear hope the characters possess once again amazes me. The characters achieve such clarity through the actions of others in this book that it still amazes me they could have anything to learn. But they learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others and it makes them stronger and more unified. It gives them courage and confidence and demonstrates the faith they have in one another.
So, are you not yet convinced that perhaps you should pick up this series? If you're at the end of this review, then I would say that you either have read it already, or your gonna be upset because I've kind of spoiled a few things for you! Either way, there is no doubt in my mind that this series rivals if not far surpasses The Hunger Games in it's entirety.
Kudos to you David. While I am VERY sad that this series has come to an end, I am elated that I was able to take the journey and enjoy it as I went. Thanks so much for writing such wonderful stories. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!