Manna City by Geoffrey Pierce

Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: February 1, 2018
Pages: 174
Format: Mobi
Add to GoodReads and StoryGraph
Buy: Amazon

---

Synopsis

​Nista is nine months pregnant, starving, and living in a cave. Her husband, Dane, thinks she's gone crazy. And the first time she heard the voice of her unborn child, she thought she'd gone crazy, too. But the child has told her too many things, shown her too many things that have come to pass. She knows…someone is coming to usher them away from their isolated purgatory. Someone is coming to lead them through the unforgiving desert - teeming with lawless killers and savage beasts - to the last bastion of civilization, a mythical land of plenty called Manna City.

---

Review

I received a free copy of this book from the author and I am leaving a review voluntarily.

This might have been one of the more different dystopian novels that I have read, for sure. There were the similar topics of cannibals, running out of resources, fighting to survive, starvation that is common in this genre, but a pregnant woman's full out determination to get to a place she's only seen in dreams and heard about in rumours definitely made it different. The common tropes made the risk of getting Nista there unscathed even more prominent, considering she was ready to give birth at any time. 

Sometimes the plot did seem like it was driving towards figuring out how to kill Nista's husband Dane. I kind of felt bad for the guy the entire time I was reading the book, especially as he was just trying to provide for his pregnant wife. The loss of their first child also made me sad for Dane as well. 

I actually almost yeeted the entire book in the beginning because it is one thing to kill to survive or in defence, but it is entirely another to lead innocent lambs and dogs to senseless slaughter. I survived and prevailed into the read but still! 

via GIPHY

3.50 Stars

---

About the Author

 Geoffrey Pierce was raised in Upstate New York. He spent several years roaming the deserts of Arizona and Utah, climbing through the mountains and valleys of California, and cavorting with the beasts in Yellowstone National Park.

He spent far too much time in college attaining a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy, an M.A. in Teaching Arts, and another M.A. in English Literature.

He’s had an array of jobs, from painting and construction to working at a law firm and slinging medical equipment. After teaching for several years, he resigned to be a stay-at-home father. Now that his son is in school full-time, he works as a custodian, handyman, substitute teacher and daycare provider at his son’s school.

Geoffrey is a New Voices Playwright Award winning author who currently lives in South Florida. He enjoys camping with his family.

---