Title: A Touch of Death

Author: Rebecca Crunden

Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian

My Rating: 4/5

A Touch Of Death is the first book in the Outlands Pentalogy by Rebecca Crunden. This book is the perfect blend of dystopian and sci-fi. Nate Anteros and Catherine aka Kitty are the main protagonists. The story is set in the place “Cutta” ruled by the terrifying Crown and the Council kingdom under King “Markas”.

Any crime is chastised only by execution or brutal torture. Nobody is allowed to break any of the King’s law, that mainly includes being complemented with a life partner at a very young age against their will. Due to an uninvited situation, both Nate and Kitty absconds from the Kingdom as they are affected by a deadly infection, where other’s touch could cause severe burns throughout their body.

This book is beyond my expectations and unputdownable. Reading this book gave me a renewed feeling after a short reading slump. The plot was so fast-paced and engrossing with no time to guess the next move. I admired Kitty for her inner strength, love and support towards Nate. Their relationship was beautiful and their bond grew gradually that made me love their pair more. Also, I found her character more interesting than Nate because of her funny trust issues with him. I so badly wanted them to be the endgame. My most favourite part was their horse riding journey to different places and I personally felt the western touch in it. There was mild usage of technologies then and there in this story which was nice.

Well developed characters, author’s amazing writing style, the perfect storyline would definitely make us want more about this book. The climax ended with a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series. If you are a fan of dystopian fiction or sci-fi then make sure to pick this series as soon as possible.

*Thanks to the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own.*

A thousand years in the future, the last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. Yet riches and power only go so far, and even Anaitians can be executed. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears.

A stark contrast, Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. That is, where it doesn’t concern Nate. His actions sullied not only his future, but theirs. And unlike Thom, Catherine has never forgiven him.

Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids.