The Dream Protocol (Descent #1) Review

4.5 brilliant stars!!! When I first read the synopsis for this book and the corresponding reviews, I was pretty interested in seeing what all the fuss was about. Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. For an independent author, Adara Quick's novella is just enthralling and the story she weaves is just breathtaking. I can safely say, this is one beautiful book and I'll get to why in the next following points. Worldbuilding: As this story is a dystopian read, we can guess that the society within this book is broken into factions. I thought the concept for this world was pretty unique. In the underground city of Skellig, growing old is forbidden. In this world, being young is considered to be the ultimate ideal and the old are referred to as the "ruined". Interwoven within this dangerous ideal, is the fact that none of the citizens of this world has a dream of their own. It's all controlled by the Minister whose Dream Drones dish out dream justice if anyone crosses the line. Dreams are fed to the denizens of said world through the IDream program created by Makers which they download each day. However, their lives are pretty much miserable and they are controlled by the Ministry. Only those in the Ministry and who work for them ever see the real world while others are essentially robots. I was just drawn to how this world shares a marked similarity to our society where people are in the constant pursuit of trying to be a certain way or try to fit into a particular mold. It's a story about trying to be different and chasing your passions. That's the crux of this story. Character building: I absolutely adored every character in this novella. The MC Deidre is so strong willed. She is passionate about chasing her own dreams and is willing to fight for them. The minor characters within the story help to build up and flesh out the MC while staying solid themselves. Flynn and Antrium are equally marvelous in their own right. I loved how the author depicted friendship, love and family. The characterizations were so authentic that I found myself rooting for the MC and her counterparts. I just found myself swept up in their world. Plot Progression: The novella was a fairly quick read with it just being around 149 pages. The plot progression was seamless and brisk with plot devices coming up at the most opportune times. There was no massive info-dumping or parts that lagged. There are character shifts within chapters but it is done in such a way that is hardly noticeable. The revelations were quite shocking and kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending especially picked up pace and was a bit rushed with a major cliffhanger. Hence, my reason for deducting half a star but that's just a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading the sequel. Adara Quick has made quite a mark with this book especially in the YA dystopian genre. I would recommend giving this one a try, it's definitely worth it. :)

#youngadult #scifi #dystopia #mystery #AdaraQuick