Official Review: The Kanan Doom Rage Girls by James Westly
Posted: 26 Feb 2020, 11:21
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Kanan Doom Rage Girls" by James Westly.]
In 2033, a series of earthquakes have devastated Los Angeles, effectively turning it into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In this lawless city where water is a valuable commodity but lives are cheap, a group of women led by Shyla does their best to live on. Their relative peace is threatened when a street gang starts baring its fangs at Malibu.
James Westly’s The Kanan Doom Rage Girls is an action-packed story filled with gunfights and exciting developments. The book already starts with a bang, throwing us into an intense car chase. At first, the sudden introduction of the setting and a bunch of characters in the middle of an action sequence does feel a bit overwhelming. However, you quickly get used to the novel's fast pace.
Since the novel is so short and focused on action, one would expect it would struggle with the characters. This is especially the case given that there is a grand total of eight members in Shyla’s family. The reader will be pleasantly surprised to find out this is not the case. For starters, the book cleverly splits the characters so that we only follow five of them in this first volume, giving each woman more space to shine.
Another great aspect is how genuine and fun the interactions between the main characters are. You feel like they’re close friends who tease each other and whose personalities sometimes clash, but you know they won’t hesitate in defending one another. My favorite character is likely Maya, a young woman who looks like a princess and often makes light of every situation. But don't drop your guard around her, as she proves to be one of the most dangerous in the group.
As we travel through the roads of Los Angeles, we see how the city and its inhabitants changed after the earthquakes: stores are destroyed, the vegetation is burned down, a shopping mall becomes a housing space and trading center, etc. The author has put plenty of effort into the setting, so readers familiar with Los Angeles should enjoy seeing familiar places reimagined in a post-disaster situation.
There are minor inconsistencies in the book: a character is misnamed once (Xi is referred to as Ele), a few names have different spellings throughout the novel (Razr is first introduced as Razor and the BulletBoyz are sometimes called Bullet Boyz), and the book goes back to chapter eight after chapter ten. I’ve also spotted four errors in the text; it’s not a large number but still somewhat significant for a short book.
The Kanan Doom Rage Girls is an excellent page-turner that can be read in a single sitting, ideal for readers who want a quick fix of action. Since the novel still needs at least one more round of professional editing, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The book isn’t suitable for young readers due to the level of violence and profanities. I also wouldn’t recommend it to readers who expect complicated plots or deep themes.
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The Kanan Doom Rage Girls
View: on Bookshelves
In 2033, a series of earthquakes have devastated Los Angeles, effectively turning it into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In this lawless city where water is a valuable commodity but lives are cheap, a group of women led by Shyla does their best to live on. Their relative peace is threatened when a street gang starts baring its fangs at Malibu.
James Westly’s The Kanan Doom Rage Girls is an action-packed story filled with gunfights and exciting developments. The book already starts with a bang, throwing us into an intense car chase. At first, the sudden introduction of the setting and a bunch of characters in the middle of an action sequence does feel a bit overwhelming. However, you quickly get used to the novel's fast pace.
Since the novel is so short and focused on action, one would expect it would struggle with the characters. This is especially the case given that there is a grand total of eight members in Shyla’s family. The reader will be pleasantly surprised to find out this is not the case. For starters, the book cleverly splits the characters so that we only follow five of them in this first volume, giving each woman more space to shine.
Another great aspect is how genuine and fun the interactions between the main characters are. You feel like they’re close friends who tease each other and whose personalities sometimes clash, but you know they won’t hesitate in defending one another. My favorite character is likely Maya, a young woman who looks like a princess and often makes light of every situation. But don't drop your guard around her, as she proves to be one of the most dangerous in the group.
As we travel through the roads of Los Angeles, we see how the city and its inhabitants changed after the earthquakes: stores are destroyed, the vegetation is burned down, a shopping mall becomes a housing space and trading center, etc. The author has put plenty of effort into the setting, so readers familiar with Los Angeles should enjoy seeing familiar places reimagined in a post-disaster situation.
There are minor inconsistencies in the book: a character is misnamed once (Xi is referred to as Ele), a few names have different spellings throughout the novel (Razr is first introduced as Razor and the BulletBoyz are sometimes called Bullet Boyz), and the book goes back to chapter eight after chapter ten. I’ve also spotted four errors in the text; it’s not a large number but still somewhat significant for a short book.
The Kanan Doom Rage Girls is an excellent page-turner that can be read in a single sitting, ideal for readers who want a quick fix of action. Since the novel still needs at least one more round of professional editing, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The book isn’t suitable for young readers due to the level of violence and profanities. I also wouldn’t recommend it to readers who expect complicated plots or deep themes.
******
The Kanan Doom Rage Girls
View: on Bookshelves