#Bookreview – Project Ancora by Allison Maruska

What Amazon says

After suffering great loss, Levin struggles to find his place in a world that would see him as an outcast if it knew the truth of his existence. His purpose lies in keeping his siblings and the other genetically engineered youths safe. So when they start disappearing, he has no choice but to find them – a mission that becomes more urgent when his sister, Rana, is among the kidnapped.

As Rana works with the captives on an escape plan, Levin uses his extraordinary abilities to figure out where they are and who is behind the abductions. What he discovers is more serious than he could have imagined, and it’s up to him to get them back to safety while keeping them hidden from those who are supposed to be protecting them.

“If you enjoy stories about genetically engineered societies that are heavy on action and grit, then Project Ancora is the novel for you.” – Leah Vernon, author of Impure.

My review

This last book in the Project Renovatio trilogy is my favourite of the three. The action kicks off very quickly with Levin receiving a rather strange phone call on Christmas Day which alerts him to possible danger for the Project Renovatio children. Levin is still reeling from the emotional fall out of his loss but he knows that he is the appointed leader of his group and must ensure their safety. Levin sets about taking the necessary steps to gather the children in a safe environment.

I enjoyed being part of Levin’s continued growth into a young man with a strong sense of social justice and good leadership skills. I was pleased to see him starting to recover and re-establishing relationships with friends and family.

Levin’s younger sister, Rana, has a much bigger role in this novel. I liked the introduction of a strong female character and enjoyed the sweet love aspect that unfolded throughout the story. Rana is a character that younger female readers can identify with and aspire to emulate.  She shows herself to be quick thinking and tough, able to make decisions under pressure and act for the greater good of a group of people.

This book is very fast paced and includes a lot of action. Some new characters are introduced which adds a bit of intrigue to the story-line as some of the new members of the group were previously its enemies. I thought this was an interesting way of making a statement about tolerance and forgiveness among young people.

I thought Project Renovatio as a whole was a most enjoyable series. I rated Project Ancora five out of five stars on Amazon.

Purchase Project Ancora

Dark Visions horror anthology

Allison Maruska is one of over twenty contributing authors to Dan Alatorre’s new horror anthology which will be available on 15 October 2018.