Official Review: Raft 9 by AJ Harred

[dhaller]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Raft 9" by AJ Harred.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Sara Ahmed is an Egyptian soldier on vacation in 2115’s version of Egypt, a peaceful liberal democracy. It’s her first break in three years, and she’s planning on getting a massage, snorkeling, and generally doing all those things you’re supposed to do on vacations.

Then she gets a message on her phone: 89348 Raft 9.

As it turns out, Sara is the understudy for the famous Captain Azerban as Commander of Raft 9, the ninth space shuttle in a project designed to ensure humanity’s survival in the face of the unthinkable. Sara regretfully leaves her vacation, annoyed that she’ll be sitting around during another disaster drill instead of soaking up the sun.

Only this time, it isn’t a drill.

And Captain Azerban is nowhere to be found.

Raft 9 by AJ Harred is the first installment of a planned episodic science-fiction thriller that begins with a nuclear holocaust. Because of the way this story is being published, I believe that it’s best to think of it more as a television show than a novel – not unlike the serials that writers like Charles Dickens used to publish.

And taken as the first episode of a new series, I can say, I’m hooked. The writing is fast paced and stark to the point of being bare. Details are only included when they serve to move the plot forward or make a point. I read the first installment in a little more than half an hour, and I wouldn’t have been able to put it down if I’d tried. As soon as Sara realizes that the drill she’s been running for years now is no longer theoretical, the plot kicks off and the tension explodes.

In a larger sense, the story explores the future, a place only a century ahead of us, where liberal democracies have become the norm worldwide, and yet Iran still decides to nuke everyone. I have to admit, why terrorists decided to kickstart global destruction isn’t exactly well explained, nor is why humanity is so well-prepared for it in a peaceful world (Sara repeatedly thinks missile defense systems will handle any sort of nuclear launch, and they’ve apparently been running drills for a nuclear attack for years now), but those kinds of omissions are forgivable if you think of this story like the pilot episode of a television show. There’s plenty of time for backstory later.

Another thing I really liked about this book was its main character, and how her perspective shed a kind of light on the future the story was set in. Sara Ahmed is a 22nd century Egyptian woman with a command in the military – if that isn’t optimism, I don’t know what is. And seeing the world end through her eyes is its own kind of heartbreaking, as she acknowledges that everyone left behind on Earth probably didn’t make it.

I rate Raft 9 3 out of 4 stars. It would have been 4 out of 4 stars, a rating I rarely give out, save for a tendency to show small details that could be told, and a somewhat lackluster speech that felt stale compared to the rest of the story.

Raft 9 is definitely worth the time it takes to read it if you’re a fan of science fiction and disaster fiction. Personally, I’m looking forward to the next installment.

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Raft 9
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[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds like an interesting book about the future of the planet. Though I, honestly, am not into disaster stories, this book sounds intriguing and Sarah Ahmed sounds like a relatable character. Good job on the review.

[Sarah G]

This sounds like a good book, however I prefer stories with lots of detail where you can really picture what's going on. So maybe not the story for me. Great review!