Robin's Review

HIVE
This is Book 1 in the self-titled series HIVE.
by Mickey Hadick

It was a strange life in a strange world

If you opted-out, you opted-out of civilization

Leah, the daughter of a corporate executive, lives a privileged life in a hive-like city created after nearly all of humanity is wiped out by climate disasters, plague, and war. The corporation manages all of society with flawless efficiency, and once Leah opts-in to the terms of service, she'll be one of the lucky ones enjoying the fruits of other-people's labor, just as her parents planned.

But Leah is, instead, hoping to spend more time with Abel, the son of the Chief Operating Officer. Leah's feelings for Abel have grown stronger. Unfortunately, the corporation has different plans for the two teenagers.

When the corporate security team brutally kills innocent bystanders, Leah is awakened to the corporation's ruthlessness. Now she wants nothing to do with her parents' world.

Leah and Abel can only be together if they escape the city and make their way to the rumored settlements beyond the corporation's reach. Escape won't be easy: the corporation's artificial intelligence tracks all movement throughout the city, searching for suspicious activity.

Their only hope is to connect with The Collective, the resistance group trying to overthrow the corporation and restore civil liberties.

All they have to do is pull it off to find a new life.

The dystopian society called Westham is separated into New Town and Old Town.

To live in New Town, you had to opt-in and agree to the “Terms of Service” where you will be monitored 24/7 by an Artificial Intelligence program where sensors track your every move, which is recorded and logged into data servers, and then the AI reviews it. Tracking, logging, and interpreting data. These were presented as challenges overcome by the corporation which allowed for greater freedoms for those opted-in, as the solutions provided stability, growth, and happiness for society. And it was run by the authoritative corporation called R 1. These citizens were call the “incorporated “.


The “unincorporated” people live in urban decaying older communities referred to as Old Town. These people living there have opted out, clinging to the rights bestowed upon them from the constitution and receiving no help from the corporation R1.

If you opted-in to the corporation’s “Terms of Service,” you most certainly would not control your own future and violating the Terms of Service got you banished to Family Valley aka “the herd.”

Here are some of the characters:

Leah Davidson
Ballard Davidson, Vice President of Messaging
Tyra Davidson, wife
Karas Davidson, daughter

Abel Barker
Greg Barker, Chief Operating Officer of R 1
Hannah Barker, wife
Illasha Barker, sister

Stanley Whitehead Director of Operations for Messaging of R 1
Novalee Whitehead, daughter

Rohn Gray, Chief Minister
Marie Margaret Gray, wife
Ashton Gray, son

Jaylend Foster, teacher at Decker’s Cafe

Viktoria Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of R1
Merritt Rasmussen Chief Security Officer
Priori Leaf Chief Inspector
Inspector Stetson Fox

I found this book to be an interesting and entertaining take on a dystopian society. It was quite imaginative in its futuristic world building. It thoroughly described this world with exciting science fiction oddities. I would happily read it again and again. And I highly recommend it to everyone no matter what genre you enjoy. I am chomping at the bit for the next installment of this series which will happen sometime next year.


Favorite Lines:

“Engage yourself”

Her father warned her of this almost daily as a child. “You want to be sent to the herd?” he would ask. “That’s what they do with naughty kids.”

“If your tree is growing in the forest but your friends don’t know about it, do you even have a tree?”

“You had to account better than the bad guys’ accountant, and lawyer better than the bad guys’ lawyer, and grift better than the grifter behind the con.”


#Dystopian #Science Fiction #Fantasy #ComingofAge #PostApocalyptic #Romance #ArtificialIntelligence #AI

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