Title: Freedom
Author: Jay Kirkpatrick
Genre: Science Fiction, Futuristic
Length: Novel (232pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (11th March 2013)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: In a future Earth, Patrick Harvey, newly promoted Class One Empath, dreams of the independence his position brings and the apartment he’s saving for. His first solo assignment is treating John Doe 439, a man found outside the city, battered, traumatized, and apparently mute.
Despite a strong taboo against Empaths forging romantic relationships, Patrick realizes he feels a strong attraction to his patient. Soon he learns the man is a high-level Psychic Talent named Jac. Then Jac reveals that there are abusive people hunting him for his gifts, and Patrick’s uncomplicated world explodes.
Jac needs to meet up with his companions and flee the city before anyone else can find him—but it may be too late. Word of Jac’s talents has leaked to Central Government in Chicago. If Jac wants to retain his freedom, he needs to run—now. And if Patrick wants to explore a relationship his society tells him he can’t have, he’ll have to exchange the safe fetters of his job for the uncertainty of liberty.
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3618
Review: Patrick is a newly promoted Class One Empath, counting his lucky stars that he has escaped from the Outside and that he has a bed, decent food and a paying job. But, his first case 723, John Doe 439, is about to rock his world. as he discovers truths about the Government he works for and he has to make a choice. Jac (John Doe 439) begins to come back to himself with the help of Patrick. But, trusting Patrick is difficult for Jac, because he has been told what the all-whites do to Talents like him and none of it is good. Getting away from the centre with his friends is scary, but what follows them is even scarier, when all they want is to be left alone.
This is an exceptional good futuristic/science fiction story that takes you to a time when the world has been vastly changed and humanity is divided. Patrick has a middle of the road Talent and is proud to be able to support himself, escaping the Outside where he grew up. His first case is of a man found severely beaten and whose mind seems to be broken. The more time that Patrick spends with him, the more that Patrick discovers the truth behind his employers. Jac just wants to go home, away from the all-whites and the danger they present. But, he doesn’t want to leave Patrick behind; the all-white he has come to trust and like. But, Jac has no choice but to go before someone from Central Government come for him.
This story is set out a lot like a journal, with each person having their own heading when it comes to their point of view. There are more than just Patrick and Jac who star in this story, but Jac and Patrick are the main characters. Pulling together the other secondary characters and bringing us a story about a Government. A Government who ignore the Talentless and abuse the highly Talented, while hoodwinking the other Talents into believing that they are serving the greater good. The storyline is really good and takes you through a rollercoaster of a time, as you become invested in the characters and what is happening to them. It draws you in to supporting them through their decisions and their escape. and then finally the danger that they all face, when all they want is to live their lives in peace without being abused and broken.
Jac is a character who you want to protect and shelter. Patrick is a character that you want to scream ‘wake up’ at and Rob, Evie, Charlie, Sam and Dana are people who you root for and pray that everything will work out. While the storyline is brilliant, the romance and relationship are lax. You can see both Jac and Patrick drawing close together and there is an attraction between them, but I was thrown off a bit when Rob turned up. It sort of became tangled and I became unsure of what was to come. I would have also loved to know what the ‘Burst’ was that changed the world and how the Talents developed. But, we don’t get any background, so I was slightly disappointed with that. I have to say though, that I still enjoyed this story for what it did have.
I will recommend this to those who love science fiction, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, danger, escapes, realizing the truth, and a new beginning with new love.