Blog Tour and Book Review: Otherborn by Anna Silver

Title: Otherborn
Author: Anna Silver 
Series: Book One in the Otherborn Series
Published: April 4, 2013 by Sapphire Star
Genre: YA Fantasy

Book Description:
Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her. What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future. 
When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? 
Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?

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About the Author: 

Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art, which includes oil paintings and fairy houses, has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University in Austin. She has written web copy for private clients and freelanced for the Hill Country Current in Texas. Her write-up on a past-life regression was featured in best-selling author Brian Weiss’ new book MIRACLES HAPPEN.
 OTHERBORN is her first published novel. She is represented by Rebecca Podos and Nicole LaBombard of Rees Literary Agency. 






My Thoughts and Review: 

I really enjoyed the very creative premises that Silver has created in Otherborn, I couldn't help but get sucked into the storyline simply because it was so intriguing and out there. 

London is a great character. She is a fighter and often referred to as being fiery and feisty She is very much hardened and slightly calloused from the cold, impersonal world that she has grown up in. A world where not a lot matters and  few care about what is going on around them or about each other. A cold dreary place full of little character and originality available. Where the arts of music, books and creativity have long been dead and nothing “new” has been created in years. Where dreams don't even exist and are unheard of. 

Living in a world like her's and being special is a danger to your very existence and few survive if they show even a little bit of being that “different” or “special”.

The whole concept of this novel not only had a very dystopian feel to it with the Energy Crisis, the world under a food ration, people banned from breeding and the whole darkness of the government and Tycoons controlling everything but also a very sci fi twist I wasn't expecting. One where worlds come together for one common purpose. And without getting into too much detail to ruin anything, this truly couldn't have been  more unparalleled from anything I have read before. The blending of the two genres was pretty flawless. It added a whole new depth and elements to the story and characters that puts it above others out there right now. 

Really this wasn't overloaded with too much detail about how the Energy Crisis occurred or even about the “Others” themselves and while I might have considered that a hindrance in other books, it just wasn't in this one. The author gives us just enough to satiate our hunger for answers while still not giving you so much that you aren't tempted to stop reading because you feel like you have already figured it all out. 

In fact, the ending, I didn't see coming at all and left me wanting to read the next book. So much left undone and so much for them too do! So much heartbreak and betrayal and so much hope too. Hope of what they can accomplish and the hope of not giving up and believing that they can do what they set out to do. What they were meant to do. It will be fun to see where the author takes it from here. 

I give this one 3 Stars!