Review by pshaw1414 -- Homecoming by Jude Austin
Posted: 12 Dec 2020, 23:28
[Following is a volunteer review of "Homecoming" by Jude Austin.]
In Project Tau, book one of Jude Austin's Project series, human cloning has been made possible and a major company called Gentech is responsible for creating clones (projects) to do undesirable tasks for humans such as mining and hard labor. The projects are trained for strength, endurance, speed, and the ability to tolerate pain. When a fraternity initiation stunt goes awry, Kalin Taylor is kidnapped by Gentech, a major project manufacturer and training company. There, he is essentially transformed into a project. Under the new name, Project Kata, he undergoes the same rigorous training as a project. After two years of heinous treatment, Kata decides that enough is enough and plans to escape with his comrade, Project Tau.
In book two, Homecoming, after escaping the confines of Gentech, Project Tau and Kata are officially on the run. If they can make it to Kata's home planet of Trandellia, Kata can speak for Tau and they will be safe. Unfortunately, this is no easy task. Bounty hunters, corporate superpowers, and government officials from more than one planet make their journey less than smooth. Will they ever be able to live free? Will Kata's true identity ever come to light, or will he live the remainder of his life as a project?
Homecoming was almost as exciting as Project Tau was. Austin did a fantastic job of building the suspense and creating a truly twisted storyline. My favorite part of the book was when Project Tau experienced the outside world for the first time. He arrived on a planet that had grass, trees, and animals. The sensation of grass under his bare feet was terrifying to him! It reminded me of the way a baby would avoid putting their feet down onto the grass if you held them above it. At that point, I felt that Tau's lack of real-life experience was truly shocking.
Some heavy thematic elements were used to intensify Homecoming. Among these are descriptions of torture endured by the projects. Some instances were quite graphic and disturbing in nature. One such instance was a description of a rape. This event was not described in graphic terms, but the emotional strain it had on the victim was very clear. Sex was discussed briefly and in humorous terms. When Tau was asked how he thought the world came to be, he innocently guessed that it was the product of a lot of sex. Despite this, there were no instances of eroticism. Additionally, there was a description of a grisly murder and heavy profanity throughout the text. Based on these observations, I would not recommend this book to sensitive or immature readers.
In terms of quality, I felt that Austin did a fair job with Homecoming. Having read Project Tau, I was ecstatic to see this one available for review. I found four minor errors, leading me to believe that it was likely edited by a professional. Homecoming was a pleasure to read, and I would highly recommend it to those who enjoyed the first book. In my opinion, you must read Project Tau to fully comprehend what is happening in this book. It does not stand alone very well, but it was an exceptional sequel and I am happy to give it 4 out of 4 stars.
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Homecoming
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In Project Tau, book one of Jude Austin's Project series, human cloning has been made possible and a major company called Gentech is responsible for creating clones (projects) to do undesirable tasks for humans such as mining and hard labor. The projects are trained for strength, endurance, speed, and the ability to tolerate pain. When a fraternity initiation stunt goes awry, Kalin Taylor is kidnapped by Gentech, a major project manufacturer and training company. There, he is essentially transformed into a project. Under the new name, Project Kata, he undergoes the same rigorous training as a project. After two years of heinous treatment, Kata decides that enough is enough and plans to escape with his comrade, Project Tau.
In book two, Homecoming, after escaping the confines of Gentech, Project Tau and Kata are officially on the run. If they can make it to Kata's home planet of Trandellia, Kata can speak for Tau and they will be safe. Unfortunately, this is no easy task. Bounty hunters, corporate superpowers, and government officials from more than one planet make their journey less than smooth. Will they ever be able to live free? Will Kata's true identity ever come to light, or will he live the remainder of his life as a project?
Homecoming was almost as exciting as Project Tau was. Austin did a fantastic job of building the suspense and creating a truly twisted storyline. My favorite part of the book was when Project Tau experienced the outside world for the first time. He arrived on a planet that had grass, trees, and animals. The sensation of grass under his bare feet was terrifying to him! It reminded me of the way a baby would avoid putting their feet down onto the grass if you held them above it. At that point, I felt that Tau's lack of real-life experience was truly shocking.
Some heavy thematic elements were used to intensify Homecoming. Among these are descriptions of torture endured by the projects. Some instances were quite graphic and disturbing in nature. One such instance was a description of a rape. This event was not described in graphic terms, but the emotional strain it had on the victim was very clear. Sex was discussed briefly and in humorous terms. When Tau was asked how he thought the world came to be, he innocently guessed that it was the product of a lot of sex. Despite this, there were no instances of eroticism. Additionally, there was a description of a grisly murder and heavy profanity throughout the text. Based on these observations, I would not recommend this book to sensitive or immature readers.
In terms of quality, I felt that Austin did a fair job with Homecoming. Having read Project Tau, I was ecstatic to see this one available for review. I found four minor errors, leading me to believe that it was likely edited by a professional. Homecoming was a pleasure to read, and I would highly recommend it to those who enjoyed the first book. In my opinion, you must read Project Tau to fully comprehend what is happening in this book. It does not stand alone very well, but it was an exceptional sequel and I am happy to give it 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Homecoming
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon