3 out of 4 stars
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Dawn of Hope by Dobrin Kostadinov is a futuristic novel set in the 22nd century. The original version is in Bulgarian, and this is a review of the English translation. The story starts at the point where Mankind has sucked everything that it can out of the earth. The human population is bursting at the seams, and the earth can no longer support man’s greed. Many are threatened with starvation, and civil unrest is on the rise.
The United Nations, sensing that man is facing destruction; decides the only solution is to find another habitable planet. Just in time, Professor Roman Zanev discovers a habitable planet. The United Nations decide to send explorers to this unfamiliar world. The novel follows the adventures of those who remain on earth as well as those who voyage to this new world. It consists of nine chapters with the story being told from the perspective of various characters.
I appreciated how the author started by incorporating world history into his story. This was because it was fun to try to equate the events in the book with particular historical events. I could feel the author’s dedication as he went into detail about world history. In addition, the fact that the world had become a global village intrigued me. Usually when talking about a global village, it is consistently in a favorable light. In the book however, the reality was people living squeezed together out of necessity rather than desire.
It was equally fascinating to see those in power fighting tooth and nail to be among those who leave the earth for “greener pastures.” The political games that were played kept me riveted, and not once was I bored. The struggles of those who went to the new planet were also very entertaining. The resilience of man was clearly showcased in this book, as they tried making a home in a foreign planet.
Although I enjoyed the book as a whole, I felt that the author would be better served breaking down the chapters further or even dividing the book in two. This is because I felt he had many stories to tell and one book did not do the story justice. I also felt that the paragraphs should have been broken down as sometimes it felt as if I was looking at a wall of text.
All things considered, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. This is because there were quite a number of grammatical errors scattered throughout the novel. Thankfully, they did not detract from the plot. I have to say that while this novel required dedication to read, it was well worth the effort. I would recommend this book to lovers of futuristic or apocalyptic novels, as they will be in for the adventure of a lifetime.
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Dawn of Hope
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