Set in a world still reeling from the discovery of transhumans, MERGE charts the loves, the betrayals, and the struggle for survival as transhumans are rounded up and sent to live in ghettos. Tensions are high, riots are brewing. The human race is about to come undone.
Written collaboratively by AM Harte, Kit Iwasaki, MCM, and Yvonne Reid, the thirteen-story series will follow four distinct, stand-alone storylines, and will be published in quick succession between May 28–June 18. Only by reading the final instalment will you understand how the stories merge.
The blog tour sponsors include: A Bit of Dash; All-Consuming Media; Attack of the Book; Black Sun Reviews; Bookittyblog; Books N Beans; Full Moon Bites; Reviews by Molly; The Next Best Book Club; and The Pen & Muse.
About 1889 Labs
1889 Labs is an independent publisher dedicated to producing the best strange fiction conceivable by the human brain. Catering to a specific demographic of men and women between the ages of 3 and 97, we print everything from kids books to serious stories for adults. Our goal is to bring you on an amazing adventure onscreen and off. We hope you’ll take us up on the offer. For more information and our full list of titles, visit http://1889.ca.
Review
For the Merge Blog Tour I read three stories by Yvonne Reid. I loved Yvonne Reid’s stories: “A Long Way Down,” “Evil, True Evil,” and “The Beggar’s Run.” The world created by Reid is so tantalizing and each story reveals a little more, gives the reader a little more information. Being transhuman seems like a big pain, if not a problem, but I if I had to be one I would be a large cat or perhaps a nifty sea creature.
"Long Way Down"
“Long Way Down” introduces us to Harrison, a bounty
hunter, and how he hunts his prey, which happens to be in broad daylight. He
has no reason to hide, but Janice, the woman he has come to collect, has every
reason to hide. The story introduces us to transhumans and the disease that
causes it. I get the impression there is no cure so those in power are trying
to do damage control, hence the ghettos where the transhumans live, which is reminiscent
of the ghettos the Jews lived in. Although he acts like a hard ass, Harrison is
a good guy and does seem to care about the transhumans he is tasked to bring
in. I can’t help but wonder what got him to this stage. The ending was a kick
in the gut and foreshadows Harrison’s other adventures.
"Evil, True Evil"
Once again, Harrison is on another job, this time
seeking a young boy. The story brings up the question of how much remains of
the human mind when the transhumans are in their animal form. What makes us us?
A little more about the world is revealed and the reader learns about fringe
groups that want to kill transhumans instead of sending them alive to the
ghettos. Harrison cares about the young boy and does so at his own risk. More
bad luck for Harrison and another gut kicker ending. "The Beggar’s Run"
All stories will be available for purchase on 1889 Labs' website.
Giveaways
There are two separate giveaways listed below. The first giveaway is for the chance to win an ecopy of Reid's story "Evil, True Evil." The other giveaway is a chance to win an iPad, which is the grand prize, and ecopies of the MERGE stories. Good luck everyone! :) More information about the giveaways is below:
- anyone who comments on this post enters the ebook giveaway PLUS the grand prize giveaway for an iPad
- any comment on other blog tour posts count towards the grand prize giveaway
- any tweet with #merge1889 counts as an entry
- any Facebook post tagging the 1889 Labs fb page counts
a Rafflecopter giveaway
All the stories sound pretty good, especially Long Way Down. I like that it has a bounty hunter. I hope Harrison will find a lot of action.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Harrison will have a lot of action since it appears that there a lot of transhumans around as a result of a disease.
DeleteTrans-humanism has always been fascinating to me and any competent sci-fi that addresses it grabs me immediately.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know (I haven't read the other 10 stories), transhumans in these stories are created by a virus and that virus causes people to transform into animals.
DeleteThere's a really great angle on this in Kit's stories that suggests the virus may not be a virus so much as the body's response to other medical conditions... basically, people are turning into animals as an evolution of, or reaction to things like Alzheimer's or MS. It makes Harrison's job even more soul-crushing, when you think of it like that... hunting people who have serious, chronic illnesses...
DeleteI love the evolution of illnesses idea. I'm very eager to read the rest of the stories.
Deleteim looking forward to know more about Harrison and the transhumans. this sci-fi collection really intrigues me
ReplyDeleteI hope you read the stories and enjoy them. :)
DeleteThese stories sound really good. Harrison is very interesting character.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway!
Artemis
Good luck! And I hope you enjoy the stories if you read them.
DeleteMy daughter would love this story, I will pass this to her.
ReplyDeleteI hope she enjoys it if she reads it.
DeleteI'm still struggling with the first week of stories, since I am right now awesomely busy. But taking part in the blog Tour is fast, fun, plus in this case, it's given me tantalizing trailers. Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to read all the stories when you get a chance.
DeleteAahhh.. I like the Idea of this stori.. very interesting... can't wait to meet Harrison Soon... ^^
ReplyDeleteThank's for this Giveaway... ^^
Good luck with the giveaway. :)
DeleteYvonne Reid's“A Long Way Down," “Evil, True Evil," and “The Beggar's Run” sound like interesting reads! The plot is very unique and I can't wait to read about Harrison's adventures :)
ReplyDeleteThey are very good stories and I personally can't wait to read the other 10.
DeleteI usually don't like sci-fi but this one seems good!
ReplyDeleteIt's more than just sci fi. From the three stories I read, it's a question of humanity, what makes us human, and what keeps us that way.
DeleteWith all the paranormals out now, it's good to see a new concept like "transhumans." Intriguing!
ReplyDeleteeai(at)stanfordalumni(dot)org
I like the idea that it's a virus doing these terrible things to humans and it downright sucks too. It's not more of the I'm a vampire/werewolf/demon/etc and I'm so cool and so strong and so powerful!
DeleteThanks for the nice review. Look forward to reading this series.
ReplyDelete