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Pollen
Rome and Shunka live on opposite sides of the city walls, but it's not only the walls that separate their lives, it's the air they breathe.
Rome Shackleton, a cafe shop owner is having a bad day, it's the ten year anniversary of a stunt that left him with a notorious reputation and a limp - his failed attempt to escape his home, New Hanoi. An off the books deal goes south with a local underworld bare knuckle fighter and the secretive Flower Factory sets their sights on him. He is plunged into an impossible choice, but in a world where every day is served the same he relished a chance for a change.
Across the walls the district of Little Tokyo buzzes in a fever of neon. Shunka, is a happy teenager, she is respected by her friends, has access to all the latest mods and hasn't even thought about the walls around her since she was a child. Running an errand for her boyfriend, she is pulled into a trap that will reveal the city for what it is and all its sinister secrets.
Rome Shackleton, a cafe shop owner is having a bad day, it's the ten year anniversary of a stunt that left him with a notorious reputation and a limp - his failed attempt to escape his home, New Hanoi. An off the books deal goes south with a local underworld bare knuckle fighter and the secretive Flower Factory sets their sights on him. He is plunged into an impossible choice, but in a world where every day is served the same he relished a chance for a change.
Across the walls the district of Little Tokyo buzzes in a fever of neon. Shunka, is a happy teenager, she is respected by her friends, has access to all the latest mods and hasn't even thought about the walls around her since she was a child. Running an errand for her boyfriend, she is pulled into a trap that will reveal the city for what it is and all its sinister secrets.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
17 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 10, 2017
I really enjoyed reading Pollen. There's something quite original about the setting and the idea - it's worth hanging in there until the 'big reveal' which occurs in the latter chapters due to the originality of the idea.
Sort of in the same vein as The Windup Girl, as both felt to me that they were realistic considerations of what the future could look like.
Sort of in the same vein as The Windup Girl, as both felt to me that they were realistic considerations of what the future could look like.
August 20, 2013
I finished this book last night, and while I felt the ending was rushed in several ways, it is still one of the best novels I've read in awhile.
To begin, the pace, feel, and homages to William Gibson and Neal Stephenson are clear. If you liked Snow Crash, if you liked Neuromancer and the Sprawl books, you will probably appreciate Pollen. It's a great dystopian future with enough mystery and difference from our world to keep my attention.
The characters are just as bewildered as you and I to what's really going on, which makes the exposition quite natural. The story revolves around two districts known as New Hanoi and Little Tokyo. While New Hanoi reminds me of the portrayal of many African or South American towns in its lawlessness, power struggles, etc. Little Tokyo is very similar to Gibson's Sprawl books. Both districts are interconnected somehow, but until the last third of the book, the exact nature of this connection is a mystery. The narrative is very well-told, and the pace is excellent, until the end.
I've been trying to noodle how to explain what I think about the end without spilling the beans on the story. For one, the pace increases. Normally, I have no problem with this. I love hitting the Event Horizon of a book where I cannot put a book down without first finishing it. However, as the pace increased, the style seemed to get a little bit...sloppy. There were an increased number of spelling errors, punctuation oddities, etc. It felt as though Mr. Lamb were under a time crunch to get things done and had to rush the end. The story, itself, I have no problem with. It's hard to explain why I feel this without some spoilers, so here's my obligatory warning:
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Shunka's end was fitting to her. It was realistic. While other authors might have pulled some magic mod or amazing app out of her sleeve (or forearm as the case may be), that tactic had been done with Shunka already...plenty of times. It was fitting that she hit it with everything she could and still not do enough damage to save herself. It was fitting that her end be one she chose for herself, while doing as much damage in the process. It was a tragic end...while she was a mature nineteen, she was still only nineteen. In my own context, I say she still had so much life, but in the context of the novel, what she attained was what she sought: choice. Granted, she probably would have chosen freedom had the option been available to her, but she still exited life on her own terms; a very Shunka choice. In terms of the ongoing narrative, Shunka becomes a martyr; a symbol for those who continue to fight. She becomes an object of worship. Obviously the leaders of Little Tokyo will become aware of her selfless act of suicide, and much will be made of her never-give-up spirit. She will become a symbol to galvanize the resistance.
As for Rome's end, sure, I wanted more. I wanted to know where he and Mae were going. There was much of their story that could still be told. I suspect that if Mr. Lamb is ever gripped by the story of Pollen again, he may pick up with Rome's story. But isn't that the measure of the success of a story? I think of the best stories I have read or seen and characteristic of all of them, I want to know more. I want more books. I don't want the author to close the door on the world I have experienced. Mr. Lamb accomplishes this with me.
*****END SPOILERS*****
So while I felt the ending pace and its accompanying stylistic and spelling errors are the only marring elements to an excellent read, the story itself is still well-told, and even if Mr. Lamb never returns to this story, I know I certainly will.
To begin, the pace, feel, and homages to William Gibson and Neal Stephenson are clear. If you liked Snow Crash, if you liked Neuromancer and the Sprawl books, you will probably appreciate Pollen. It's a great dystopian future with enough mystery and difference from our world to keep my attention.
The characters are just as bewildered as you and I to what's really going on, which makes the exposition quite natural. The story revolves around two districts known as New Hanoi and Little Tokyo. While New Hanoi reminds me of the portrayal of many African or South American towns in its lawlessness, power struggles, etc. Little Tokyo is very similar to Gibson's Sprawl books. Both districts are interconnected somehow, but until the last third of the book, the exact nature of this connection is a mystery. The narrative is very well-told, and the pace is excellent, until the end.
I've been trying to noodle how to explain what I think about the end without spilling the beans on the story. For one, the pace increases. Normally, I have no problem with this. I love hitting the Event Horizon of a book where I cannot put a book down without first finishing it. However, as the pace increased, the style seemed to get a little bit...sloppy. There were an increased number of spelling errors, punctuation oddities, etc. It felt as though Mr. Lamb were under a time crunch to get things done and had to rush the end. The story, itself, I have no problem with. It's hard to explain why I feel this without some spoilers, so here's my obligatory warning:
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Shunka's end was fitting to her. It was realistic. While other authors might have pulled some magic mod or amazing app out of her sleeve (or forearm as the case may be), that tactic had been done with Shunka already...plenty of times. It was fitting that she hit it with everything she could and still not do enough damage to save herself. It was fitting that her end be one she chose for herself, while doing as much damage in the process. It was a tragic end...while she was a mature nineteen, she was still only nineteen. In my own context, I say she still had so much life, but in the context of the novel, what she attained was what she sought: choice. Granted, she probably would have chosen freedom had the option been available to her, but she still exited life on her own terms; a very Shunka choice. In terms of the ongoing narrative, Shunka becomes a martyr; a symbol for those who continue to fight. She becomes an object of worship. Obviously the leaders of Little Tokyo will become aware of her selfless act of suicide, and much will be made of her never-give-up spirit. She will become a symbol to galvanize the resistance.
As for Rome's end, sure, I wanted more. I wanted to know where he and Mae were going. There was much of their story that could still be told. I suspect that if Mr. Lamb is ever gripped by the story of Pollen again, he may pick up with Rome's story. But isn't that the measure of the success of a story? I think of the best stories I have read or seen and characteristic of all of them, I want to know more. I want more books. I don't want the author to close the door on the world I have experienced. Mr. Lamb accomplishes this with me.
*****END SPOILERS*****
So while I felt the ending pace and its accompanying stylistic and spelling errors are the only marring elements to an excellent read, the story itself is still well-told, and even if Mr. Lamb never returns to this story, I know I certainly will.
June 2, 2013
I enjoyed this tale of a world gone awry... a place where people are living in designated cities, walled in, with the outside world a mystery. Some unseen force controls the walls and as long as nobody tries to cross them, life moves along just fine. The sci-fi technology is fascinating... sidewalks that show ads tailored to the person walking along, implanted apps under a person's skin, and most importantly... the pollen.
We follow two main characters, living on opposite sides of a wall, as they each learn about the other world and the roles they will play in leading their people to reaching the other side of the wall.
I didn't care for the ending- it seemed rather abrupt. *SPOILER ALERT* Shunka was such a strong character that I didn't expect her to make the choice that she did. Roman's story seemed to be just taking off- he's got Mae back, and he's got a whole revolution ahead of him.
It felt like other parts of the story were missing, too... or maybe just left open for a sequel? *SPOILER ALERT* If Shunka, a teenager, has managed to get inside the walls and learn the secrets of why each city has developed special solutions, it only seems logical that the rest of her friends will soon follow. I can't imagine that the boyfriend is going to just let her death slide... he'd be out for revenge. Like I said, it seems like this is wide open for a sequel.
Disclosure: I was given a free e-copy of this book by the author in return for posting my honest review online.
We follow two main characters, living on opposite sides of a wall, as they each learn about the other world and the roles they will play in leading their people to reaching the other side of the wall.
I didn't care for the ending- it seemed rather abrupt. *SPOILER ALERT* Shunka was such a strong character that I didn't expect her to make the choice that she did. Roman's story seemed to be just taking off- he's got Mae back, and he's got a whole revolution ahead of him.
It felt like other parts of the story were missing, too... or maybe just left open for a sequel? *SPOILER ALERT* If Shunka, a teenager, has managed to get inside the walls and learn the secrets of why each city has developed special solutions, it only seems logical that the rest of her friends will soon follow. I can't imagine that the boyfriend is going to just let her death slide... he'd be out for revenge. Like I said, it seems like this is wide open for a sequel.
Disclosure: I was given a free e-copy of this book by the author in return for posting my honest review online.
April 13, 2014
I really don't have a lot to say about this book. It was relatively enjoyable I suppose but did not really hold my attention, I found myself putting it down to read a Walking Dead comic I had read before. I never connected with any of the characters and they all just seemed a little dull to me, and if you can't feel for the characters plight or like them. I liked the technology that was used and the concept behind the walled cities was pretty good too. The thing is it seemed to drag from scene to scene and never gave you enough of the characters or anything.
Rome Shackleton lives in New Hanoi and has managed to make something of himself after his stint as a celebrity for attempting to climb the wall and get a look at the outside world when he was a teen. Then he is given something which could not only change his life but that of everyone else in the city. Shunka resides in Little Tokyo and is a 19 year old Farmer (not what you think) which means she has a good life and can indulge herself in her love of new mods (modifications). Things start to go crazy when her friend is accused of stealing data from the farmers and Shunka must clear her name.
What neither of them know is that their lives and world are not what it seems to be and someone wants to watch what happens when things are stirred up.
I got this because the blurb sounded so interesting and I love science fiction, but maybe it was a bit to subtle or maybe I was to dense to get it. It was alright but not anything I would read again. I would say give it a try and see what you think.
Rome Shackleton lives in New Hanoi and has managed to make something of himself after his stint as a celebrity for attempting to climb the wall and get a look at the outside world when he was a teen. Then he is given something which could not only change his life but that of everyone else in the city. Shunka resides in Little Tokyo and is a 19 year old Farmer (not what you think) which means she has a good life and can indulge herself in her love of new mods (modifications). Things start to go crazy when her friend is accused of stealing data from the farmers and Shunka must clear her name.
What neither of them know is that their lives and world are not what it seems to be and someone wants to watch what happens when things are stirred up.
I got this because the blurb sounded so interesting and I love science fiction, but maybe it was a bit to subtle or maybe I was to dense to get it. It was alright but not anything I would read again. I would say give it a try and see what you think.
August 25, 2013
Fantastic read. A solid 8/10. Cyberpunk in the tradition of Gibson and Doctorow. The pacing of the final sequence was a little off, but other than that I have no problems with this book. A definite recommend.
August 20, 2013
A convoluted story of the future with way too many errors for a 5 star rating. I counted 24.
July 30, 2015
When I read the description for this book I thought it sounded really interesting and couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it. It was quick to read but with each page I read I found myself forgetting what I had already read. The plot didn't seem well developed and actually it felt like there were two separate stories that were trying to mesh as one but it didn't quite work out. I also noticed a lot of grammatical errors, then again that may just be due to the fact that I was reading the kindle version but it didn't help me enjoy the book anymore. None of the characters impressed me much either, there didn't seem to be much depth to them. There aren't many books that I dislike bur this was definitely one of them.
September 12, 2013
I really enjoyed the book. I loved the ideas behind it and found myself sucked in instantly. I do feel that the ending was a bit rushed as I'd previously seen in other comments and I feel it could have been more explanatory in depth. I enjoyed the two main characters. I felt more invested in Rome rather than Shunka, probably because his story came first and seemed more detailed. The descriptions of surroundings/cities were really well written. I envisaged them easily and it drew me in to the story even more. So glad I stumbled across this on Facebook!! Shall be keeping an eye on this author!
November 12, 2013
I have really enjoyed some Dystopian books. This one was just okay. First I had a hard time getting past the poor editing. So many misspellings as well as incorrect wording. The story was disjointed and I couldn't connect or care about any of the characters. I also had trouble following where the story was going (or what was the point?)and did not feel that there was a satisfactory conclusion.
October 19, 2013
Really fun cyberpunk/dystopia/red-pill/heroic-bloodshed story. A gripping read from start to finish, "Pollen" is tightly-packed prose that doesn't waste words (for example, it's not been padded and stretched unnecessarily into a trilogy). I'm definitely looking forward to future reads from Aaron Lamb.
April 6, 2015
I'm not sure about this book.
While the story was okay, it was a bit jumpy... but the main thing was that it seemed to have been done before.
Unfortunately one of the main distractions for me was spelling and grammar, which makes for disjointed reading by the time you've figured out which word the author actually meant to use.
While the story was okay, it was a bit jumpy... but the main thing was that it seemed to have been done before.
Unfortunately one of the main distractions for me was spelling and grammar, which makes for disjointed reading by the time you've figured out which word the author actually meant to use.
September 26, 2014
Excellent dystopian novel. It may be because I just watched it, but it reminded me in many ways of the world of the movie Divergent crossed with some form of The Hunger Games, though better written than the latter.
March 10, 2016
Mediocre story with a couple of minor editing errors. I changed my rating from a two to a three with the "reveal" from the very last chapter as to me that was the best part. This story is more of a prelude to future books.
March 14, 2015
Future Asia
This near future story set in Asia just didn't grab me. I thought most of it could be set in the present day and the characters were pretty aimless.
This near future story set in Asia just didn't grab me. I thought most of it could be set in the present day and the characters were pretty aimless.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews