Unlucky Evens, Cursed Odds

De: Bill Adams

Narrado por: Joel Porter

The hateful Path, that of the 9th Born.

The survival of the Ark—humanity’s last bastion after God's wrath destroyed the world—is balanced by birth order: the oddborn are assigned a Path, the evenborn are given over to the will of God. And it is upon those of the 9th Born Path to sanitize the evens.

John 59129’s first walk as a Niner is the same day the scientists of the Ark plan to defy God by seeking to turn back time. An electrical surge sends John past the safety of the Ark, into an unblemished world. A glimpse of perfection. Of all the evenborn saved.

But when John wakes, he's back in the Ark, twenty years after the failure to harness time. Was his encounter real or just a dream caused by his accident? Are those in charge of the Ark keeping the oddborn caged? Is God the monster, or is it mankind?

For John 59129 to find out before his own child is born, he must be willing to play the odds.

©2024 Bill Adams (P)2025 Bill Adams

When your choices are not your own, what's real?

Born into captivity, like everyone else, and assigned a life-long work-duty might make most people grateful. Thankful that they were allowed to live past birth at all, and given the chance to thrive with family and friends. But what if you caught a glimpse of an alternate outcome. How far would you travel, and how much would you risk, for even a glimmer of unachievable hope that there might be a different path. John wrestles with his visions, pressing hard against the laws and structure of his community, in a short but thought-provoking story. Other reviewers mentioned Wool as a related inspiration. My first thought was Logan's Run. There are likely others as well, but Bill Adams presents different rules here. Narration by Joel Porter is straightforward and clear. The opportunities to have discussions far longer than the story's length are plentiful. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 1.95x.]

Tight short story. Well crafted.

Strong voice. Immediately builds a world. Like the Fahrenheit 451 version of Hugh Howey’s Wool. Or Pierce Brown’s Red Rising. Draws a clear line between class warfare and parenthood.

Good Narration and a Decent Story

Not the most cutting-edge dystopian fiction, but was engaging most of the time. Enjoyed the listen.