Book Review: Colony One
By Elizabeth Suggs
Colony One by T. L. Ford is a fun sci-fi/mafia adventure story about an orphan girl named Alex Smith.
I enjoyed this story for the most part, and I think T. L. is a talented and very analytical writer, but sometimes I felt this was to a fault. The book feels like two different stories, one where Alex is on the streets and then gets involved with the mafia, and then the other is about her experience founding Colony One. And unfortunately for me, it felt like the story dragged on near the middle when she’s creating her business.
I think what hung me up for so long was that we were living Alex’s life from a child to adult, with rarely any stopping. Life changes as a person ages, and things become unrecognizable or different. This isn’t a bad thing, but I would have enjoyed the story more if quite a bit of the middle had been skipped, so we could keep up a quicker pace.
I wasn’t in love with the ending or some of Alex’s characteristics, but I thought the story was fun, especially in the beginning. One of my favorite things throughout the book are the fun illustrations occasionally placed on the page. They emphasized different points and helped me, as a reader, better identify with the message.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
She wasn’t a particularly beautiful young girl, despite her long yellowish-brown hair.
Without the usual prod with a stick for mice and spiders, he reached in and pulled out his spare shiv.
The dank, abandoned warehouse with broken floors smelled like mice nests.
If you have the patience, you should read this story. There are points and sentences that I really marveled at and I think it’s definitely worth the read, but it’s not for everyone. I look forward to seeing what else T.L. comes up with.
Elizabeth Suggs is the owner and founder of Editing Mee and co-owner of Collective Tales Publishing. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves to dive deep into books (the weirder, the better!), and she loves to take random long walks to unplanned destinations. Check out her recently released book Collective Darkness with eleven other authors. Buy your copy here: www.CollectiveDarkness.com