Corinth 2642 AD by Bindiya Schaefer

Genre: Science Fiction

Age category: Young Adult

Release Date: September 21, 2021

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

In the year 2642, no one person is ethnically like the other. Globalization, war, and other catalysts have given birth to a diverse and multi-ethnic new world.

Not everyone feels this new society is ideal, though. A select group creates their own colony—a pureblood, white supremacist cult complete with arranged marriages and heavily guarded borders. Cara yearns to escape her life in the colonies. For as long as she could remember, the seven colonies, led by her imperial grandfather Julius Bull, have only had one mission: protect the bloodline from contamination and produce the next generation of survivors. So, Cara makes a run for it.

Desperate to keep her dissidence quiet for fear of potentially inciting a power struggle within the colonies, Bull brings in Jimmy Matoo—a Special Investigator from San Francisco whose brother was found dead near one of the colonies the same night Cara disappeared.

For Matoo, the visit to Corinth, Oregon, is eye-opening. He has never seen a white person before and is shocked by their ideas of imperialism, racial purity, and the prospect of arranged marriages in the 27th century. Desperate to find out what really happened to his brother and his connection to Corinth, Jimmy learns that dozens of young people, all destined for loveless, arranged marriages, have gone missing over the years, and some had been found dead on the outskirts of Corinth.

With the clock ticking, San Francisco’s Detective Matoo's missing persons investigation soon becomes a fight for survival—turns out the residents don’t like a brown fellow in their midst. Can he find Cara, figure out what happened to his brother, and save the Bull-Smiths from the Cabal before it’s too late? Maybe. But first, he must find out who in the colony has the means and connections to smuggle the dissidents out without being detected because it could be the difference between life and death.

Bindiya is a former defense and aerospace journalist. Before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, she lived in Dubai, UAE, and Bangalore, India.

CORINTH 2642 AD is her debut novel. To find out more visit her website www.bindiyaschaefer.com or follow @bindiyaschaefer on Instagram.

MY THOUGHTS

In Bindiya's debut book, Corinth 2642 AD, we are introduced to Detective Matoo, a man who has experienced some tragedies in his life, however, he is still carrying on, he has not given up! He feels a certain amount of guilt but he has a curious mind and seems to be the man for the job.

Enter, Bull, who brings him a case to solve that he cannot resist and the story takes off from there.

I did suck my teeth at Matoo's meeting with Bull, my not-so-favorite character, and mentally patted Matoo on the back; I was also impressed by his patience and forbearance.

I love first-person stories because I'm in the head of the person telling the story.

I also love books with strong main characters. So I loved the main male character and the strength of the main female character. She flew under the radar for a bit but then bam, there she was. (I'm not telling!)

I enjoyed the world built by Bindiya with all its quirks and technological advancements. I especially liked the way she skillfully portrayed that despite the apparent perfection of freedom, unity, and advancements there are just some who would rather have power instead of peace.

As I read I marveled at the character development, about her dropping clues without info dumps and about her ability to suck me into the story so that I got all emotional. These are the marks of a seasoned author.

This book was a work of fiction that felt very real at times, I was hooked and re-read certain sections because I didn't want to miss a nuance. I was left with the feeling that there is still much work to be done in the world by everyone!

I received a free copy of the eBook and this review was left voluntarily.

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