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Peter R Stone

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Forager - A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Thriller (Forager - A Dystopian Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Peter R Stone (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 1,853 ratings

Book 1 of 6: Forager - A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Six Book Series

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Over 80,000 Copies Downloaded/Sold to Date - Award-Winning Finalist in the “Fiction: Science Fiction” category of the 2015 USA Best Book Awards

Twenty-year-old Ethan Jones lives in a post-apocalyptic, oppressive society that terminates anyone with mutations caused by nuclear radiation in an effort to keep the human race pure. Because of that, he lives every day in fear for his life, for he has an incredible mutation that gives him an edge when foraging in Melbourne’s ruins. An edge he uses to survive encounters with the vile Skel savages who roam those ruins.

His life becomes complicated when he rescues a mysterious Japanese girl from the Skel and brings her back with him, for she breaks the town’s rigid conventions in her pursuit of him, placing their lives in jeopardy. Her odd behaviour and probing questions baffle him, as does the fact that he understands her when she speaks in Japanese. At the same time, the Skel ramp up their attacks on the foraging teams. Is this part of a larger plan that could spell the town’s doom? And why do the Skel suddenly possess advanced technology – who is backing them, and why?

Keeping his mutation secret, uncovering the girl’s true intentions and trying to save the town all vie for Ethan’s attention. And if he fails, not only his life, but the lives of all, are at stake.

* Books in Peter R Stone’s Forager Series
- Book 1 Forager
- Book 2 Infiltrator
- Book 3 Expatriate
- Book 4 Impersonator
- Book 5 Specialist
- Book 6 Revolutionary The thrilling conclusion to the Forager and Forager Impersonator Trilogies

"The main thing that I really liked about Forager was that I was constantly taken by surprise." -- From Trips Down Imagination Road. "I love that everyone in Ethan's home is one way, while the Japanese girl he saves is almost the exact opposite. Woman are to be seen and not heard, but this girl has guts like you wouldn't believe." -- From Journey with Books.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A Review by Kathryn Bennett

Forager (Forager - A Dystopian Trilogy Book 1) by Peter Stone is the story of 20-year-old Ethan Jones who has a secret that even his parents and companions don't know about. A secret so bad that if it is found out he will be taken away by the draconian paramilitary and dissected like a science project. When Ethan visits the ruins of Melbourne in 2122 AD, to forage for scrap metal, he feels safe and free. His life is thrown into even more of an uproar when he meets a Japanese girl who defies the conventions of his town so she can get to know him better.

This is a unique dystopian book and for me put a fresh take on themes we have seen before. Peter Stone builds a solid foundation for his trilogy. Ethan is a compelling and interesting character that I felt connected with only a little bit into his story. The pace of this book is really fast, but it goes along well with the characters and the events that happen within the pages. You can tell that Peter Stone cares about his writing and his characters and I truly do applaud him for this brilliant piece of work. The dialogue between the characters is well thought out and some of the best that I have seen in books recently. I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy a good book any day of the year.

From the Author

Travellers Guide to Newhome by Peter R Stone

Welcome to Newhome, a town complete with modern facilities and comprehensive services, situated directly north-west of the ruins of Melbourne's Central Business District. Below are some tips to help you enjoy your stay with us.

Be Prepared for an Extended Stay

You are not permitted to leave the town for any reason.* This is for your own wellbeing, because it's not safe out there. Skel roam the ruins night and day, and we don't want you bumping into one of them, do we.

* Unless you're a town sanctioned forager. And if you are, we wish you luck. You're going to need it, too. For if you're caught by the Skel - well, let's just say we won't be making any rescue missions.

Observe the Town's Quaint Customs

Newhome boasts a unique culture which recognises the diverse roles played by males and females in a modern society. If you are female, note that young women are not permitted outside without a suitable chaperone. Furthermore, women may not speak without permission, are barred from school, and may not enter the workforce. If you are male, take care that you're never alone with an unmarried woman apart from a member of your family, for sexual misconduct is dealt with severely. The moral fabric of society must be upheld. Please also note that only authorised books may be read. This is for your protection. We don't want any subversive ideas popping into your heads.

Report Any Mutants

All mutations must be reported to the Custodians immediately. We all know the importance of keeping the human race pure, don't we.

Respect the Law

The Custodians are here for your protection. Ignore malicious rumours claiming they abuse their authority. These rumours are baseless slander. If you hear someone spreading such slander, report them to the nearest Custodian immediately.

All Citizens are Equal

All citizens in Newhome are equal and enjoy equal rights. However, some citizens have more to contribute to society than others, and if they're lucky, they may win the right to move into Newhome's exclusive North End district.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GUB9DGA
Publisher ‏ : ‎ (November 22, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 22, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1961 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #11,794 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #131 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #145 in Dystopian Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #657 in Teen & Young Adult eBooks

Customer Reviews:
4.2 1,853 ratings

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Peter R Stone

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Peter R Stone is an award-winning writer, winning the Faithwriters Writing Challenge on three separate occasions, as well as frequently being a Faithwriters Editor's Choice top ten winner. His winning entries include The Medal and Dreams Forsaken.

Peter R Stone, an avid student of history, was reading books on Ancient Greece from the age of four. Periods of interest include the ancient world, medieval era, Napoleonic times, and the Second World War. He still mourns the untimely passing of King Leonidas of Sparta and Field Marshal Michel Ney of France.

A product of the Cold War Generation, Peter Stone studied the ramifications of a nuclear missile strike when he was in his senior year of high school, learning the effects of nuclear fallout and how to (hopefully) survive it. He has ever been drawn to post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels and films, and eagerly devoured The Day of the Triffids and John Christopher's Tripod Trilogy when he was a child. He is also an avid fan of science fiction, and his favorite books include the Lensmen Series by E.E.Doc.Smith, anything by Alastair Reynolds, and the Evergence trilogy by Sean Williams.

Peter Stone graduated from Melbourne School of Ministries Bible College. He teaches Sunday School and plays the keyboard in church. His wife is from Japan and they have two wonderful children. He has worked in the same games company for years, but still does not comprehend why they expect him to work all day instead of playing games.

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4.2 out of 5

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Jim Holroyd

This is the book I wanted to write...

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2022

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The nuke that hit Melbourne a century ago must have had the wrong co-ordinates.

This is the book I wanted to write in my late teens. A post apocalyptic tale around a city and a repressive society. I wrote maybe twenty pages of my book before I gave up. It’s title was “Non-Citizen” after the B Side of Suzi Quatro’s hit single “If You Can’t Give me Love“. Now approaching the final chapter of my life, I came across this YA Post Apocalyptic novel with the same vibe, it was free on Amazon for Kindle, and I loved it.

The book is set 100 years after World War 3 had brought about mass global destruction and Melbourne was one of the many cities that was nuked. The protagonist, Ethan Jones is a 20-year-old forager, who lives in a parochial walled town, Newhome outside Melbourne and he leads a small team into the abandoned city to forage for metals like copper and lead.

The author Peter R Stone like me, according to his Goodreads bio “eagerly devoured The Day of the Triffids and John Christopher’s Tripod Trilogy when he was a child.” I am reminded also of The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, when reading this, about a repressive society set after a nuclear war. In Newhome there is a very patriarchal society, with draconian punishments for stepping out of line, women can be executed for pre-marital sex, for example.

Foraging is a dangerous job, the Skel, a kind of demented nomads, clad in an armor made from the bones of their victims roam the city. Early on in the book, Ethan’s foraging party rescue two Japanese from a Skel attack and take them back to Newhome. The Japanese are from another town in Victoria, Hamamachi and Ethan finds himself strongly attracted to 20 year old Nanako, who is very different in looks and attitude to the young women of Newhome.

There is still some functioning technology, like cars running on solar power, electricity and even MRI Scanners in the hospital but there is no air travel and no global communications. Ethan also has an unusual power, a bat-like echolocation, which he’d been warned from an early age to keep quiet about lest they dissect him like a frog.

The action is fast paced with plenty of plot twists, the characters are engaging, maybe some of the background characters are a little predictable and one dimensional. I would also liked to have known more about the Skel. There is mystery and romance thrown in the mix for a thoroughly enjoyable read.

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Ron

A Great Firlst Effort and a Fun Read

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2017

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Other reviewers have nicely hit the plot high points. There is a bit of unevenness, of jerkiness in the plot flow, particularly at first. The action is rapid. There is a delicate balance between keeping the action moving and the pages turning vs. slowing down to develop secondary characters a bit more, such as Ethan's sisters. That my yet happen in the sequels. I am a grammar Nazi, however, and I did find a few instances of "I" as the object of a verb. Always use objective case: "me." My mother taught me to distinguish by taking the second (or third, depending) person out of the sentence. "The Guardian shot Michal and I" is the form that appeared, I believe, three times. If "Michal" is removed as one reads along, no one would make the mistake: "The Guardian shot I." Nope. Bye the way, that is very minimal fuss from a grammar Nazi.

As a person who is in the process of learning about plot arcs, character arcs and the like, my thoughts are that the primary plot arc is good (boy re-meets girl, re-falls in love, etc) The second plot arc seems to be Ethan's family. Not enough time is spent developing this theme. Peter needs to get involved with a critique group of professional writers. This first effort is way too good not to get the polishing available for his future works.

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Karen Siddall

Australian post-apocalyptic YA story

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2014

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The earth and society has been decimated by World War Three. The surviving members of the human race have clustered together in settlements on the Australian continent in the former state of Victoria.

Eighteen-year-old Ethan Jones has grown up in one of these city-settlements, Newhome, on the outskirts of what is left of Melbourne. He leads a successful team of 5 friends that forage for metals and other useful items amongst its ruins.

Ethan, however, has a secret. Ethan is a mutant with enhanced hearing and echolocation abilities that would earn him a death sentence if the powers-that-be found out.

The success of this team (far outstripping that of the other forager teams) attracts the attention of the "Custodians": the militaristic overseers of the city and the guardians of the status quo. Under the pretext of protecting Ethan's team from the horrific marauders known as the "Skels" that haunt the Melbourne ruins, a team of Custodians accompany them out of the city for a day of foraging.

While working, the two teams must come to rescue of a trading party from the distant city-settlement of Hamamachi that has been attacked by the Skels. The party's only survivors are Counsillor Okada and his young female translator, Nanako. For Ethan, life as he knows it is fixing to change forever ... again.

The author has given us a fully developed, post-apocalyptic world and populated it with great characters. The plot is imaginative and I was absorbed with the story immediately. The society of Newhome, highly structured with rigid and unforgiving laws and traditions, sets the stage for the variety of characters and their hopeless lives (although the ambitious can aspire to entry into the privileged and mysterious part of the city known as "North Gate.")

The mix of actually existing items like the Custodians' Bushmaster vehicles and Austeyr assault rifles add a touch of our present to Ethan's reality, and I found that fun. I also liked that the characters used actual Melbourne street and place names on the foraging trips. I imagine if the reader actually lived in Melbourne that would be pretty cool.

The action was tense, tight, and held a number of twists that I never saw coming. As I read, I did not want to put the book down, respect the clock, and get on with what needed doing (sleep, work, etc.) in my day-to-day. I just needed to read "one more chapter." I truly enjoyed this book and will have to build up my stamina for when the Forager sequel - Infiltrator - comes out later in 2014.

Bravo to the author for a great start to this trilogy.

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Top reviews from other countries

Billy Belly

A story well told !!

Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2016

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I was immediately impressed as I read the first few pages of this book as the words flowed well, and the story moved along at a comfortable pace. The characters themselves were dynamic almost from the outset and were very well developed. It didn't take long before I was totally engaged in the story and by the second chapter I was hooked !

The plot and story line takes one into an already adapted civilisation where various towns exist in the post nuclear shadow of war. The particular town in question mysteriously began many decades ago and the elders then had vowed never again to make any mistakes that had led mankind to nuclear war.

To do this the Elders, for many generations, have imposed horrendous and unrealistic restrictions upon its population; most infractions carry the death sentence. The restrictions control the 'working' population but the elite have the 'privilege' of living in a community segregated from the classes of people beneath them.

The story is quite realistic as the author is obviously in tune with human nature and, among other things, it's tendencies of creating classes. The 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

An excellent read that I enthusiastically recommend to all either already into dystopian books or readers new to the dystopian experience.

Now, I must get to reading the second book of the trilogy.

I OFarrell

Thrilling post-apocalyptic dystopian

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2017

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Ethan has the job he always wanted and more freedom than most but he also has a hidden gift and a whole year missing from his memories. This doesn’t usually bother him but when a beautiful girl turns up and he feels a connection to her, he begins to question his life.
This is a really unusual post-apocalyptic story. Ethan is an intriguing character because he doesn’t fully know himself and so neither does the reader. The plot unfolds very slowly and never fully gives up its secrets which makes for a great series to come. The politics of the post-apocalyptic world Ethan lives in are complex and leave the reader worrying about the character’s ability to survive the regime.
I can’t wait to read more of this series and I think it would work really well as an audiobook.

Kindle Customer Tricia

Tricia

Reviewed in Australia on June 19, 2018

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Great and interesting story to read and found it hard to put down. Looking forward to seeing how they get on

Misfit Malice

Good one.

Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2017

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An action-packed story, lot of tension, I loved that trilogy. The more you read, the more you learn about the main character, as he have amnesia. So, it's kind of like a detective/mystery story, in the sense that he have to unfold the truth about his past. Loved the different city cultures, how they managed to survive after one hundred years.

But, and there's a big but (no pun intended), the too much in love main character annoyed me. I never give bad reviews.If I don't like it, I just don't say nothing, as I know how hard work it is to write a book. That's why I didn't gave 5 stars...

I know it's a thing of personal taste. Some will like that, others, as me, won't appreciate it that much. I really don't like love stories, most of the time, so I'm biased. But there was a lot of it. Too much for me. Just wanna let the author know. It would have been better to put a lot les more. Again, personal taste...

But, overall, a really, really good story. I highly recommended it if you don't mind the sugary aspect that happens a little more than from now and then... ;)

One person found this helpful

Michael

Just wanted to keep reading, hard to put down

Reviewed in Australia on August 15, 2019

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What a great read.
This is the first book I have read from this author and I was not disappointed. In fact I bought the rest of the series when I completed Forager.
The story is not a typical post apocalyptic one and keeps moving at a steady pace. There is mystery as to who the founders are and you do not find out till towards the end of the series.
This is one of the books that you may find hard to put down. You just want to know what will happen next.

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Forager - A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Thriller (Forager - A Dystopian Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

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Peter R Stone

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