Ration by Cody T. Luff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Set in a murky dystopian world, where only women remain, we follow a group of characters living in a place known as The Apartments.
As the story unfolds, you learn more and more about this stark environment, where every calorie is counted and what one chooses to eat may cost another their life.
Following multiple perspectives, this twisted tale is bleak.
She dark, y’all.
If you’re looking for light and fluffy, you need to turn tail and run, baby, cause this ain’t it.
It’s unclear to me how to even begin to describe this plot. It’s like Little Orphan Annie stumbled into the landscape of 1984.
Bizarre enough for you?
What I can say is that this story is all kinds of dark, dirty and cringe-worthy. Almost every scene left me shaking my head and slightly nauseated.
The writing is so good, it truly sucks you in. Horror lovers will enjoy this. I can’t imagine them not. I was truly impressed with the creativity and how the story never let up. Luff is taking his readers on a ride and once you are in, you’re in.
While not scary in a ghostie, other-worldly way, there is a definite ominous atmosphere. It seems that information you want to know always lies just beyond your grasp.
The characters are not likable.
The world is not likable.
There are no saving graces here.
There is a lot of great, graphic, bloody and toe-curling content however, so if that is your jam, you definitely need to be tracking down a copy.
Initially, I was thinking I would give this a 3.5-star rating but ultimately, I was just so impressed with Luff’s outstanding creativity and writing style that I bumped it to a 4. For the type of story this was, I really enjoyed it.
My one minor issue was that I personally would have enjoyed more world-building. He did a great job with his setting. The setting was incredibly detailed. You could feel the dark, the dank, the dirt, the dried blood, but I wanted to know more about where this place sat in position with the rest of the world. Why were the characters at this point? More context would have been helpful to me. However, I completely understand that this is a personal taste issue and I know a lot of readers will love this just the way it is!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Apex Book Company, for sending me a copy of this to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity and would definitely pick up more books from this author!!!