The Blending Time by Michael Kinch will be reviewed in the November 1, 2010 issue of Booklist [circ. 24,150].
The Blending Time.
Kinch, Michael (Author)
Oct 2010. 288 p. Flux, paperback, $9.95. (9780738720678).
Set in a dystopian future in which young heroes and heroines are pursued and harassed by corrupt government officials, Kinch’s first novel calls to mind Suzanne Collins and Cory Doctorow. It’s 2054, and plagues, devastating pollution, and predetermined (and deadly) jobs are the norm. Seventeen-year-olds Reya, D’Shay, and Jaym meet during a sea voyage to Africa, where they are to become “blenders,” creating offspring with native Africans (who can no longer reproduce with each other). Each blender encounters horrific experiences, including rape and attempted murder, but all find sympathetic allies and make their way to the underground resistance movement. While this debut title lacks the tight construction of Collins’ Hunger Games series, Kinch’s depiction of the many different landscapes is a nice distinction. Determinedly multi-ethnic, fast-paced, and with plentiful gore and violence, the book will draw reluctant readers who enjoy action and adventure. Sequels are definitely in order, as the protagonists are left hanging on several cliffs. — Debbie Carton
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The Blending Time by Michael Kinch is reviewed in the Sept 15 issue of Kirkus Reviews
THE BLENDING TIME
Author: Kinch, Michael
A well-realized, harsh dystopia provides the setting for this exciting debut. Sometime in the late 21st century, three 17-year-olds face a future dictated by their corrupt global government. All might be sent to work on the “canal,” a death sentence, so they take measures to get any other job possible. The three wind up in Africa, where they are supposed to marry local people and produce offspring—the entire population of the continent has been sterilized by an intense solar flare. One finds herself captured by the “gades” (presumably short for “renegades”), bandits who raid the back country and keep captured women as sex slaves. After some hair-raising adventures, the other two boys find themselves battling the “gades” as well. Kinch invents a plethora of abbreviated jargon that heightens the credibility of his awful future world. His three main characters will easily convince readers that they’re real, distinct people. Full of action, this is a compelling, realistic and exciting thriller for more mature young readers. (Science fiction. 14 & up)
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NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS (ONLINE)
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Blending Time by Michael Kinch
(Flux, October 1, 2010)
...This is not a book for the tenderhearted, because it doesn’t flinch at showing us how an already terrible situation could continue to get worse, and how that situation affects real people who are stuck in the middle of it. It’s brutal and enraging, and yet The Blending Time makes the reader simultaneously happy not to be there, and uncomfortably aware that events like those that occur in this book are actually happening now.
Yes, The Blending Time could easily be the start of a series. This is Kinch’s first book, and it’s a rough one, but a good one. He’s certainly a name to follow.
Reviewer Samantha Holloway is a freelance writer and editor, and is working on her first novel. Her most recent short story is in Fiction International’s FREAK issue and an upcoming anthology, and her academic work has appeared in The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader, and at various conferences.
