BOOK REVIEW: CHRYSALIS BY BRENDAN REICHS

Title: Chrysalis
Author: Brendan Reichs
Genre: Science Fiction
Published on: March 5, 2019 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers


The stunning finale of the Project Nemesis trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Brendan Reichs.
 
The 64 members of Fire Lake’s sophomore class have managed to survive the first two phases of the Program—and each other. Now, they alone have emerged into the dawn of a new era on Earth, into a Fire Lake valley that’s full of otherworldly dangers and challenges. Although staying alive in this broken world should force Min, Noah, Tack, and the others to form new alliances, old feuds die hard, and the brutality of the earlier Program phases cannot be forgotten. But being a team isn’t easy for the sophomores, and when they discover that they may not be alone on the planet after all, they’ll have to decide if they’re going to work together…or die together.


The quest to save humanity continues in this final entry of the Project Nemesis series. With the way Genesis ended, the author could have satisfactorily wrapped it up as a duology. Min Wilder, the main protagonist, managed to save all 64 members of her sophomore class. They went through Phase Two of Project Nemesis for millions of years while Earth healed from an apocalyptic event. Thanks to living as data inside a supercomputer, the students experienced all that eternity in a few months. Now they’re back in physical bodies in the real world.

It’s been a few months since Min and her classmates emerged from the supercomputer. They returned to a vastly different Fire Lake than they remember. Along with Noah, her boyfriend, Min’s built a fledgling community. Project Nemesis left them with every supply humanity could need, stored in a decommissioned missile silo. For the moment, their world is small. The student’s former town of Fire Lake is now an island surrounded by a vast ocean. There’s nothing around, except for an island a day’s sail away.

STATUS UPDATE: SUMMER HIATUS

Good morning, everyone! I’m back after a bit of an unintentional hiatus. These past few months have been very busy for me. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the original reasons I launched Ivan’s Insights was to write about topics related to my areas of expertise. Though I published book reviews from the beginning, this site wasn’t a bona fide book blog until later. I had and still have trouble finding work even though I’m not a slacker, I’ve never been fired (let alone reprimanded), and I don’t apply to jobs that I honestly can’t do, like a doctor’s assistant or a junior marketing specialist. The field I’m best at is information technology. I’ve been a software and website tester as well as an IT aide, but those jobs were temporary. And unfortunately, my computer technician skills have become rusty from lack of use (managing my tech and my parents’ tech is nowhere near challenging enough) so I’ve been searching for other kinds of work.

Over the past few months, I’ve been freelancing as a food delivery driver for DoorDash and Uber Eats. I was aware those existed, but they didn’t seem like ‘real’ work to me. I wanted a regular W-2 job, not a contractor position or freelance job. My financial stability was precarious, so I signed up for those apps. I was a little apprehensive at first, but eventually I fell into a routine. I’ve read online that apps like Uber and DoorDash don’t quite pay contractors well (and a lot of customers pay meager tips). Despite that, I made enough to cover my bills and a small bit more. It made me wish I could drive passengers, though. My car is just not recent enough.

Apart from that, I’ve also been reading as many books as usual. I just haven’t written that many new reviews. My writing time has been taken up with the novel I’ve been working on since last year. It’s slow going; I haven’t even finished the first draft yet. I think it’s good, though. It’s strayed a bit from the outline I made, but I like how it’s turning out. I can’t wait to be able to reveal more about it. All I’ll say for now is that it’s a sci-fi thriller.

That’s all for this morning. I’ll see if I can stick to my regular Wednesday book review schedule again. Not that I have run out of them; I still have plenty even though I’ve barely written any new ones. I’ve just been rather consumed by my freelance work and my novel. Oh, and I’ve been gaming a bit as well, but I’m disciplined enough to only schedule myself two hours a day for that. Anyway, have a good day!