The Culling

You would think that in the years of the Hunger Games and even going as far back as the Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 that dystopians would have run their course. That they would have been dried up by now. Because let’s be real, how many dystopians can really be out there and not all sound the same?

Well, allow me to point you in the direction of The Culling. Because this was absolutely phenomenal and I’m highly upset that I have to wait until January to get my hands on the next book.

I loved the concept of Datapoints. Humans with tech in their bodies which makes them nearly robots along with sociopathic tendencies. Count me in! I was fascinated and also slightly afraid of them. I wouldn’t want to come across a Datapoint in a dark alley at night, that’s for sure.

I really enjoyed Glade’s POV. Sure, she was so entrenched in the belief of the Authority but I also liked that she questioned things. Even before she met Kupier. She had constantly questioned everything. I liked her confidence and I liked she was really into computers. Anytime a girl is interested in anything considered not girly, I get excited because that is awesome rep for girls in the science and technology field.

I also enjoyed that the POV was exclusive to just Glade. It added more to the story because clearly Glade didn’t know everything. With Jan Ernst Haven, we got a more sinister look of things that were happen. With Kupier, we got a look at the rebels who were trying to take the Authority down. With Dahn, we got a look inside what is considered the perfect Datapoint. Every POV brought something to the table and enhanced the story.

If I could offer one teeny tiny complaint, it would that I would have liked to have learned more about the creation of the Authority. How did humans attain space travel and are able to live in different planets? (Glade was from Io, a moon of Jupiter) How did someone come up with the idea of Culling? I would have liked to learn more about the tech and how it connects to the Datapoint. Just little things like that. I’m one of those that really love backstories.

Other than my super tiny complaint, this book was really spot on. I think this will be a great series and I’m anxious to see where it will go.

This book is great for all ages! It's mot just a YA book to be sure. I loved the build up behind everything and the drama that was around every corner. I do so hope there will be another book because I wasn't ready for it to end.

publisher synopsis: What happens to a girl trained as a executioner, who finds out her life is a lie?

In a solar system where The Authority decides who lives and who dies, only one of their own executioners can stop them.

Glade Io is a trained killer. Marked at a young age as an individual with violent tendencies, she was taken from her family and groomed to be a Datapoint—a biotech-enabled analyst who carries out the Culling. She is designed to identify and destroy any potential humans that threaten the colonies: those marked as lawbreakers, unproductive or sick. But when she’s kidnapped by rogue colonists known as the Ferrymen, everything Glade thinks she knows about the colonies, and The Authority that runs them, collapses into doubt.

Pulled between two opposing sides, and with her family’s lives hanging in the balance, Glade is unsure of who to trust—and time is running out.

This book is GOOD!! It has a killer with a conscious, a killer that the system depends on. What happens when the conscience voice gets louder and that person realizes what she will really be doing when its not a simulation.
Thought provoking and fascinating! Couldn't put it down!! Can't wait for the next in the series!!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.