The Amber Project

This dystopian young adult novel is set in 2157 somewhere near the Atlantic coast. Terry and his classmates are growing up in an underground city. The surface of the planet became contaminated years ago by a mysterious and deadly gas named Variant. The city is slowly falling apart; the surface must be reclaimed! As such, a clever scientist has come up with a way to create Variant-tolerant humans. Terry and his classmates are the first generation of these new humans.

Take Ender’s Game and mash it up with The Handmaid’s Tale and you get something good, disturbing, and thought-provoking. This underground society was founded by survivors of a world calamity. As such, they put in place some hard and fast rules in order to keep humanity show more alive. The military and the Matron have the most power. Human reproduction is closely managed. The Matron is the head of the organization that provides reproducing women (the mothers) status and perks in housing and food. All reproductive assignations must be approved by the Matron. Meanwhile, the military has made attempts over the years to reclaim the surface. The new Variant humans are their latest attempt.

The story opens with Terry Eckles on his seventh birthday. His mom, Mara, drops him off at the Academy. There he learns that he won’t be allowed to go home for 10 years, after he graduates the Academy. John, who will become his best friend, is his roommate. May is the brains of the little group. Alex has anger management issues. The story moves ahead in chunks of time, so we get to see the kids grow up in the Academy. While this was interesting, I didn’t become very attached to the kids until they become teens and they start doing interesting things.

I really got hooked on the story when we start seeing how the city reproduction is controlled. Mara Eckles became a mother at 15 and has produced several promising children for the city. All her daughters have proven to be fertile reproducers as well. The Matron, Eva Long, is a formidable woman. She has to walk a difficult line between the survival of humanity and protecting the mothers from certain aspects of the military branch of power.

Then we have colonel James Bishop. He’s been a stalwart pillar of the Academy for decades, leading the training of the city’s military. Now he’s taken a personal interest in the new Variant humans. The author could have easily made Bishop an outright villain. However, I found myself sympathizing with him sometimes. After all, humanity might well be facing extinction if they don’t do something drastic. I really enjoyed that he was a complicated character and that I couldn’t outright despise him.

Dr. Henry Newbur is the main scientist and head teacher at the Academy. I pictured him as a man who is more comfortable around test tubes and dusty books. He’s also missing an arm, making him a source of mild gossip among the students. Dr. Archer is a complete 180 from Dr. Newbur. He’s very much into the science unlocked by the latest Variant discovery. To him, Terry and his classmates are specimens.

Taken all together, the book has a solid set up and then the action starts once the teens are sent to the surface. I don’t want to spoil things too much, as the teens don’t head to the surface until the second half of the book, but I really had fun with them exploring the now defunct buildings. There’s also things up there on the surface that the underground city folk are barely aware of, things that can rip the face off a grown, armed man. It’s a great start for a dystopian series.

The Narration: Alexander Edward Trefethen did a good job with this book. His voice is pretty masculine, so I was a little worried that he wouldn’t be able to pull off the female voices, but he did, though in a few instances the ladies would sound alike. I really liked his voice for Alex, who is always disgruntled about something. His old lady (and sometimes tipsy) voice for Matron Eva Long was also really good. show less

A gas called 'Variant' has engulfed the Earth and only a small pocket of humans cling to life in an underground city.   Procreation is strictly controlled, resources are limited, and time is running out to find a solution to humanity's future as the city is slowly failing from age.

The solution this book deals with is to genetically engineer the children to be able to exist breathing Variant, thus allowing future generations to return to the surface, and this is the story of one of those groups.   And, i have to say, it's a rather good story too.

It certainly keeps moving along at a good pace as there's a lot going on in the city with the various competing groups and their agendas.

It's well written with good characters throughout.

All in show more all, a very good start to this post apocalyptic, dystopian future, tetralogy -- and i'm happily diving straight into the next book for more of it. show less

Blending Ender’s Game with Catching Fire perhaps, J.N. Chaney’s The Amber Project is set in a scary future where the earth has been rendered lethal by toxic gasses and the remnant of humanity lives underground. But it’s still humanity, still recognizably hungry for power today rather than hope for the future, still more concerned with improving the present than restoring what’s needed for tomorrow. Except…

There’s a boy who goes to school, a mother who knows what she’s done but not what’s been done, a leader who uses others and a woman who uses the system to bring about change. And there’s that Project, its revelations perfectly timed to entice and satisfy the reader.

Filled with thought-provoking questions, fast action, show more exciting terrors and fascinating advances, the Amber Project offers enough to satisfy the reader in one novel, and enough to entice the reader into wanting more. Luckily, there are more books in the series.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it. show less

I received this book in exchange for a fair review.

The book was a little slow going for me to begin with, not because it wasn't well written but because I didn't connect with Terry or his mother Mara. After a few months of Terry being at the school it did start getting better. I actually liked Nuber and Ross the best.

The story is a unique take on science and dystopian fiction merging the two genres seamlessly. Well done, especially when you consider this is the author's first book.

The Amber Project: A Dystopian Sci-fi Novel (The Variant Saga Book 1) by JN Chaney is a terrific, fast paced, suspense filled sci-fi/fantasy novel I had to inhale in one sitting. The world is destroyed by a gas that is dubbed, Variant. Survivors live far below ground and now after 200 yrs they have started trying to make babies that will have DNA that is capable of letting them live top side and breathing Variant gas. This is about these kids and some other society members. There is intrigue, suspense, super human abilities, strange creatures, deceit, love, adventure, and great dialogue. A well thought out plot and wonderful set of developed characters make this an excellent book for sci-fi and fantasy readers. Well done!!! I hope there show more is a book 2. show less

A Fantastic Indie Author...

The Amber Project is the first book in, Indie author, J.N. Chaney's, Variant Saga series. I really hadn't heard much about Chaney until recently so I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but I was very pleased with the story. It's a dystopian story about survivors that have been forced to live in an underground city because a mysterious gas called the Variant has been spreading across the world. A scientist has been experimenting with kids and genetically modifying them to breathe and withstand the toxic gas. The story follows one group of kids through their modifications and training to endure the harsh conditions on the surface. 
 
The Amber Project had everything I was hoping for in a dystopian. Chaney show more is a talented writer and his debut was outstanding. It really exceeded my expectations! I found a new favorite author and can't wait to read the rest of the series.
 
 
*I received a copy of The Amber Project from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 
 
 
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I was given this ARC of book one in exchange for an honest and I want MORE! Terry's birthday was today and he'd be going to school, he was seven years old and promised his younger sister that he would tell her all about school when he returned, but he didn't understand nor had his mom told him be wouldn't return! At the school academy, he learned that every child was the same age as him and they all had the same birthday. Later, the children were put through one test after another where some never returned and he had the feeling that the adult's were not telling the truth.