The Cull: Book one (The Cull Book Series)

The Cull by Joanne Roach is book one in The Cull series, a three book dystopian novel. The author wrote the story in 3rd person, and we see the story from the main characters and a couple of side-character's POVs. I loved this; the story is intense, and getting all the different emotions and opinions made it complete. This story is set in the future, mainly in South East England, and the author does a fantastic job depicting how that world looks like, what is going on and how this affects every person living on Earth. Stephanie (Steph) and Thomas (Tom), the main characters, are multi-dimensional people. They are entirely different and have different backgrounds, but they get thrown together by fate/bad luck. These characters have depth, and the more I read, the more they came to life. I also got to know the side characters well. We get less of their backstory, but the author explains everything happening in the world and to their loved ones. While this is a dark story, there is room for a bit of humor and the start of friends who may become closer. Dystopian novels aren't my usual go-to, but I loved The Cull. This story has a great pace, is well-written, and is entertaining. The characters are lovely, but their story is heartbreaking, I felt every emotion in the book while reading this. I can't wait for Book 2 to be released!

What an exciting literary debut from Joanne Roach! One of the things I enjoy most about reading, and what I look for in a book, is if the author creates a world and characters that I want to know more about. From the get-go, her story had my mind painting and building the landscapes, buildings, and people along with her words, made my heart swell and break, made me cringe, made my stomach roll, I felt saddened, I felt despair, I screamed in anger inside my head and I cried on the outside. Her story had my brain abuzz with questions about “what would I do in this situation?”, “could I go through with it?”, “could I watch others go through it?”, “could, would I rebel?”, “how did they get to that point?”, “could the real world get to that point?”, etc, etc, etc. When a book engages both my emotions and my thinking, call me intrigued and ready for more! Well done, Ms. Roach, I’m in anticipation of where you’re taking this story.

The synopsis of this book was so enticing and I was very excited to read it. I had been looking for a new dystopian series to read for awhile and thought I found a series I could enjoy. The beginning of the book was great and completely had me committed but sadly this didn't last and became very boring and drawn out. Honestly, I almost quit reading. I will not be continuing on.

This was an immersive, heartbreaking, and unique dystopian story that I really enjoyed reading. The writing was excellent. I felt, saw, and heard everything that was going on for the main characters as if I was there with them. I felt for the main characters when they were chosen for the lottery and kept hoping they would find a way to escape it. The points of view of the more sinister characters were strong and showed just how vile they were. I believed that all of these characters could be real people and they all had distinct ‘voices’. I really enjoy dystopian stories so this was right up my alley. My personal preference is one POV per chapter, and this story had multiple POV shifts, but they were easy to follow and each character had a distinct 'voice' so I did not get lost in it. I am looking forward to seeing where our main characters go next in the story!

The Cull brings up a very real issue.. overpopulation. Putting my self in to the world of The Cull, I found myself putting myself in the main character’s predicament of being selected to sacrifice themselves for the betterment of the human race. I cheered and applauded the effort and willed the characters to make their escape. I was left wanting more!

Loved this story! Look forward to reading more and find out what happens next. Well written and seeps into your imagination. Recommend others give it a go 😊

Brilliant reading. Can't wait for the 4th book

The World's population has almost doubled since 1975 to 8 billion plus. Growth is unsustainable, but it is a no-go area for politicians. This book attempts to tackle this in a very cruel and insensitive way. The outcome is predictable. Apart from a fair few grammatical errors and the use of too many adjectives, I found the book very interesting. This would make a good tv series. I look forward to Book 2.

I so wanted to like this book. The idea was interesting, I love dystopian fiction, and it started off so promisingly. Unfortunately it was so badly edited as to be practically unreadable, with punctuation, grammar, and other mistakes (is the poison bright blue or light blue? It matters!) on every page. There were a couple of paragraphs that were pure gibberish! The characters also didn't ring true (Tom doesn't seem to communicate by any way other than shouting, and it's sad to see a potentially strong female character end up being a bit of a drip). There are no twists, no surprises, and by the end I just wanted to get it over with. Won't be reading another by this author. A shame, as there's definitely potential here.

Gripping storyline from beginning to end! You will experience all the feels and emotions whilst reading this book - anger, sadness, fear, joy, excitement - and it really does feel like you are there alongside the two young main characters, willing them on. It is set in the southeast of England, which to me is very relatable. Very well written - with short, concise, well structured chapters - and I also like that although the story is set in 2050 it doesn't feel like it is an unrealistic or unbelievable plot - these scenarios could very well happen in the not too distant future. Excited to see how the story develops and where Part 2 of The Cull takes us!