Review of Severed Roots

[Rosemary Wright]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Severed Roots" by Nego Huzcotoq.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Severed Roots, by Nego Huzcotoq, is a unique fantasy book. The "Age of Oppression," when mankeys (men) were in control, was gone because it was an era where mankeys maltreated women, while children were ill-treated due to their attachment to their families. It was a "New World Order." Women were no longer owned by mankeys, and kids were no longer owned by parents. The government stated that families threatened social harmony and productivity. Hence, marriage was abolished, and it was a crime for any woman to have a baby of her own. In addition, babies were delivered by surrogates and raised in a children’s centre.

Nick, a magician, was satisfied with the life of a mankey. He didn't question the "New World Order," but things changed when his friend, Beatrice, planned to eliminate herself if she couldn't have children. Thus, Nick embarked on a dangerous mission to save his friend. Would he succeed? Would he ever get a better life?

Exploring chiefly the themes of the importance of family life, selfishness, genderism, and control, the book is appealing and engaging. It contains narrations that show how our worlds will seem if the family systems are destroyed, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. I love how the characters analyse the institution of the family differently, telling how it brings out the best or worst in people. In addition, the story flows smoothly, and I commend the author for being able to present a coherent story about such delicate topics.

Regarding the characters, they're interesting and lifelike. The author gave enough information about them that was enough for me to relate to them. I like the main character, Nick. Though he accepts the mankey's life, he's open-minded enough to understand the different opinions of others. He's a kind-hearted person, who wants others to be happy, and he will do all he can to ensure that. I guess that's why he's a magician.

There's nothing I don't like about Severed Roots. It's engaging and educative. It discourages the abuse of women and children through marriage and family systems, while showing the beauty of these systems. However, since the story shows a world where women rule, some men may not want to read it. Anyway, it's just a beautiful story used to examine some topics in society.

Finally, I rate Severed Roots 5 out of 5 stars. I couldn't rate it lower because it was intriguing, and I enjoyed reading it. The author used a great story to explain why we should have families or not. Besides, it was exceptionally well edited; I didn't see any typos or grammar errors. It'll be a great read for fans of dystopian fantasy books.

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Severed Roots
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[Patty Allread]

I love how the characters analyse the institution of the family differently, telling how it brings out the best or worst in people.

A true statement that family can bring out the best and worst in people! Family is very important to have a stable society, and today many elements tear families apart. This book seems pretty relevant and projects a future with a wholly changed family system.

[Michael Valentine]

I wonder if Nick was able to succeed in saving Beatrice. I guess I would have to read this book to find out. Thank you for this beautiful review.

[Oluchi23]

This is a nice review but the questions that follows "Would he succeed?" "Would he ever get a better life?" What answering. Adding the book to my bookshelf ASAP will help me find the answer. Thanks for the job.

[-Veronica-Vaughn-]

Having just finished reading this book myself I had to see if I was the only one who was extremely unsatisfied with the ending. I reread the final chapter 5 times just to see if maybe I just missed something. This review is pretty much spot on (the only exception being I would definitely not classify this as Fantasy, it is Dystopian Sci-Fi) but like most of the other reviews I have seen you don’t seem bothered by the ending. This leaves me feeling perplexed. I won't spoil the story by saying why I am so perplexed but I will say that the ending was disappointing enough to take the book from 5 stars to 4 stars. Maybe it’s just me but when I swiped the last page and saw the book was over I was more than a little let down.