So, yeah, I read a lot more than I write. And once in a while I share what I’m reading if it’s super good and kept me engaged. This trilogy is for sure a goodie if you like that whole dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre (which I do). The Park Service Trilogy by Ryan Winfield definitely hits all the right buttons for me.
It is classified as Teen and Young Adult reading, but so is a lot of what I write, so that should be no deterrent. It manages to avoid the pitfalls of YA, (which is talking down to the reader), yet keep that sense of discovery that engages the reader entirely. That’s good writing. But yes, the main characters are primarily teens, which is one of the main tenants of the Teen/YA genre.
What’s it about?
Essentially, we meet Aubrey as he’s about to be classified for his future. In his world, deep under the ground of the former United States, they are born and die with the firm belief that the world above is a wasteland absolutely devoid of life. They survive under ground and then progress to Eden, which is a virtual world of unlimited bounty at the end of their terms.
But things don’t exactly go as planned when Aubrey moves to his new level and profession and he discovers the world is not at all what he’s been told. And over it all is the looming presence of the Park Service, who keep the world pristine and whose ultimate goal is a terrifying one.
What do I think of it?
Where to begin! First off, the world building is fantastic. And I mean great! There is a sense of wideness and immediacy that keeps you turning pages well past bedtime.
A lot of readers that write to me say that they love my world building, that it feels like they are there and can see, feel and hear the world around them as I’ve written it. I appreciate those comments, but it also means I know how hard it is to build a world that engages all five senses. I notice when that isn’t happening in books that I read. If the world is too far in the background, I lose touch with the story. So, this series is a treat in that the world is a character as well, and one with many facets and faces and moods.
Second, the characters are amazing! A few of them seem a little black/white in their behavior, but that is also a part of the story and the way that people (whether Park Service or above ground or from underground) have been raised to think and behave. The main characters, particularly Jimmy and Aubrey, are fully fleshed and so very engaging. I adore those two.
It’s also a scary-good story in that it’s a future that seems so tantalizingly possible. Perhaps not in the specifics, but in the way things progressed. And it makes the reader wonder which side of the fence they would wind up on in such a future.
I could wax on about this series for forever, from the philosophical to the physical, but that would just start letting spoilers out and I’d hate to do that and ruin the fun.
If you’re looking for some good reading, this is a great one. Since they are in Amazon Prime, that means they are eligible for Kindle Unlimited. That means you can read it for free if you’ve got Kindle Unlimited.
Caveat: As always, I only feature books on the Read and Loved posts written by authors I don’t know, so none of these are by friends or co-writers in anthologies or anything like that. These are purely from a reader perspective.