Mandate Thirteen is promoted as being a gritty dystopian thriller for fans of Children of Men, A Handmaid’s Tale, and The Running Man, and so it is, particularly the former. In fact, I could be coaxed into claiming that it's a superior novel to the P. D. James classic in many ways. Joseph Dowling shows us a near-future dystopian Britain (well, England, more specifically, as you'll discover) in which birth rates are dwindling and fertile girls are in demand. It's not a new theme in dystopian fiction, but the author spins his own yarn and does so admirably well, spoiling the reader with prose that is both eloquent and punchy, believable characters with strengths and flaws, settings both familiar yet disconcerting as we travel from London to Scotland, and along the way, plenty of edge-of-your-seat tension and raw-knuckle action. This is a novel about societal breakdown, but the key to the story is family, love, and survival. Above all, it's about a father's fight to take care of his daughter. Mandate Thirteen is a tale of dystopian action and adventure that's worthy of inclusion on the bookshelf of any fan of the genre. I'd certainly consider it an honour to hear that my post-apocalyptic novel, Flicker, has Mandate Thirteen as a neighbour on your bookshelf, Dear Reader. ( )

I chose to read this book because the synopsis sounded really good, but something in the story somewhat was rubbing me the wrong way all along, not because it wasn’t well written, but because it felt written by a SJW to a SJW… so religion is bad, but the main characters can keep out of religion, for instance in the handmaid tale, religion was all over them, they couldn’t run away from it, only in other country, but in here religion controls everything, far right as it was told in the book, but things seem a mish mash of all far sides of the spectrum brought together as the evil itself… and it’s religious zealots but they don’t make our characters live under religion, it felt like a complain from the author, is bad because he said it was not because it made it bad for the characters, of course that being said, mandate thirteen is the law that made all girls from 13 years old being tested if they are fertile or not, and then if fertile sent to schools where they will be taken care or at least that is what the government is telling the people…

The mother is a monster in shape of a human, selling her daughter and then saying that if the father runs away with the girl they wont get the money they told her they would get… yeah I didn’t like her, also didn’t like the father… so the world is how it is, prices are skyrocket, the girl needs new clothes and hasn't eaten meat in more than a year, people complain all the time that all of the problems in their present is because people ignored the climate changes, etc, and he insists in having a car that runs with gas? Doesn’t have money for anything else, but he can put gas in his car, while the TV is broken for weeks at his house… and in the run from the people that want his daughter he runs away in his car, because having the last of those cars is not like telling everyone, “hey look at me, I am here”…

Hope doesn’t feel like a thirteen years old girl… she is like a mix of a younger girl and older… and the way the father and mother lie to her, made me cringe…

Hmmm but still is not a bad story… I just was annoyed by the kind of things I mentioned before… and the book feels like a short read, so that is a plus. ( )

Since a Christian conservative government took over, life has become more limited and structured. At the age of 13, Hope tests positive for fertility and is set to go to one of the Birthing School facilities. Outraged, Michael dodges the Baby Farmers and he and Hope go on the run.

This entire book was one big chase scene. I thought the characters were a bit stereotypical and lacking dimensionality. I would have been much more interested in reading about the Birthing Schools and reading about the girls trapped within the rigid system. How the plot unraveled, was just not for me. Overall, not a book I would re-read or recommend. ( )

In the near future, fertility has declined massively and the birth rate has dropped. In London, Christianity rules and with the rules that the leaders have built up, other religions have been eradicated (conform or leave) and breeding schools have been set up for fertile women. And now, all of a sudden, girls qsbyou g as thirteen have to be checked for fertility and join them if they turn out to be able to bear children. And unfortunately, Hope has just turned thirteen.

Hope's mum takes her to be tested. Following the test, she tells her daughter that the machine is broken and they'll find out what her results were in the morning. In the morning, however, the breeding farmers turn up at the door to take her away. All for a hundred grand. Luckily her father scops her up and runs away with her in his old green Ford. The rest of the book details their journey across the English countryside as they try to reach Scotland, where Hope will finally be safe.

To those who are interested in the whole baby breeding aspect of this society, this book shows pretty much none of this. This is a story of people trying to avoid them. We do, however, get to see how cruel and ruthless these people are as they chase our pair across the country, sparing no expenss. I wish there had been more of what the baby farms are actually like. Maybe the author could explore this in a future book if it's something he's interested in writing about.

I don't know quite how to feel about Hope. She doesn't quite feel like a thirteen year old. At times she feels far younger (although that may be die to the very limited experiences of her upbringing) and at other she feels far older. Her father feels like a far more consistent character. I felt a bit sorry for him at the start but you quickly get to see how loving and resourceful he can be. Although he is also incredibly stupid at times. Like when he used his ID chip to buy a gift for their hosts. As much as it's thoughtful, the number one rule of being on the run is to not let your persuers, particularly powerful persuers, know where you are!

Overall this was an enjoyable and action packed book. Even if it was not always believable. It should have been much easier to find out pair of runaways. Their persuers had access to a bunch of technology -AI, drones, etc- as well as a lot of manpower. And they weren't exactly difficult to follow. I find it hard to believe that they were just like "oh no we no longer see them even though we know the area they're in, and in some cases even the direction" and give up. Given their resources and their desperation (especially of Milo - I hate his cruelty), I really doubt that they wouldn't have kept looking in the area.

Would I recommend this book? Well, it depends on what you're looking for. If you want an action packed book about a father and his daughter escaping from a cruel government and private sector that want to enslave his daughter, yes. If you're mostly interested in the baby breeder aspect, not so much. ( )

Not my cup of tea, but for adult readers who prefer dark, gritty, and somewhat violent novels, this book may be for you. It's easy to follow, set in a dystopian society, and includes plenty of action, but it just wasn't what I was expecting or hoping for in a dystopia that included tweens, just a little too dark for my taste with underdeveloped characters.

LT Early Reviewer ( )