Review: The Void by Jinapher J. Hoffman

The Void is a work of science fiction, and follows the story of Madeline Finch. Her journey begins with an announcement. The president, General Might, interrupts the regularly scheduled television shows to inform the public that in order to help save the dying planet, his soldiers would be rounding up citizens to participate in a program designed to create superhumans with the power to save the planet; The Void. When collection starts, her husband resists and is killed, and she is taken into The Void against her will, but she doesn't plan on staying long. A promising candidate, she is experimented on and advances the farthest in her cohort, only to escape with a plan to wreak havoc upon General Might's plans any way she can. In an unlikely sector of the nation, she finds an underground faction with a plan, who also happens to have superhumans of their own. She joins them and experiences unlikely alliances and betrayals among these superhuman experiments, all the while learning more about just what General Might has in store for the human race. Through the twists and turns of the novel, she tries desperately to preserve her own humanity, though the scientific modifiications have made it hard for her to recognize her own face in the mirror. This inner humanity helps her navigate the insane world of General Might, as she further unravels the psychopath's nefarious plot. The ending finds her in an unlikely position, and leaves the reader wondering if Jinapher will be plucking out a part two.

As a lover of dystopian tales and everyday heroes, I was pretty satisfied with the narrative. Jinapher's writing style is rather poetic, almost rhythmic, which really does the story-telling justice at times. At some parts of the novel, though, I would've liked the author to give a few more details for the sake of world-building. Sometimes I was unsure of exactly what certain things looked like, but that wasn't a huge issue, as I just used my imagination. What I could gather about the structure of the society, though, was reminiscent of the world in Hunger Games. The story was paced quickly and packed full of action that kept me tearing through the pages, and it wasn't bogged down with too many scientific concepts or processes. I can certainly seeing this story being optioned for film. The formatting was decent and there were very few typos. Overall, the story felt like a cross between Hunger Games and X-Men, and I definitley recommend it to fans of sci-fi and dystopia.

Purchase the book on amazon here.