Browne Candidate

Aurora Browne, age 10, is sold by her mother for a bag of silver. Aurora becomes a Candidate, meaning that her sole purpose in life is to breed. Keepers and Pale Soldiers control her every move through a combination of beatings, physical superiority, psychological manipulation, and an implant behind Aurora's ear that will explode at the press of a button. The seas are stinking cesspools of pollution that none dare swim in, filled with mutated marine life. Most of Earth's landscape is as barren as the wombs of the rich women who live in floating cities and hire Candidates to bear "their" children. This is the future, and an ugly future it is. At age 18, Browne, who is brown, is selected for breeding by her fourth couple. The child, the offspring of Browne and the husband, will be genetically altered to hide the skin color of its birth mother. With her latest assignment for the Williamses, Browne meets Bain, butler/cook/sexual surrogate, and learns of a world where freedom is a remote but present possibility. Browne is nearly six feet tall, with a kinky afro, enchanting hazel eyes, an almost indomitable will, and a wealth of misconceptions trained into her by the followers of Harvestina. Bain is tall and tan, with long blonde locks. The sexual chemistry is unmistakable, but what can they do about it? Kurtz writes in the cross-genre tradition that is becoming common among e-authors. In this case, romance and science fiction. This is a different take on the issue of infertility. She writes with a sure hand, bringing her characters and her settings to life. She knows that, regardless of genre, it is characters that drive the most entertaining stories.

I was introduced to an author new to me with this book. One of very few African-American women writing speculative fiction, Nicole Givens Kurtz makes a grand debut. She takes us into a physically, politically and morally devasted world where most women are not valued except as babymaking machines and adjuncts to their husbands and most people are not free. Except that her lead characters are people of color, the world is reminescenet of the world of The Handmaid's story. The two women featured in this book are Aurora, who was sold into servitude by her mother and has since borne children for three women who were unable to produce, and Angel who is seeking to be fertilized even though she isn't ready to become a mother (to shore up her marriage). The two men who are featured are brothers: Boy toy Bain who is in the same household as Aurora and Ren who is a leader of the resistance. Both women leave their situations: Aurora runs away with Bain (assisted by Ren) and Angel is kidnapped by Ren. this takes us into the world of the Resistance. It's not hard to see why Aurora is attracted to the handsome Bain even though he seems somewhat immature. she can't really remember being cherished for herself and he says he loves her. It is interesting to watch these women progress through the novel. But maybe the best thing about the book is that it is an action thriller populated by people we come to care about. If you want to know what happens to these people, pick up the sequel, Zephyr Unfolding.

Browne Candidate by Nicole Givens Kurtz is a short shot of reality. With the onset of many diseaes and chemicals to both assist women with getting pregnant or not, I found the very real possiblities presented in this novel to be both hair-raising and slighlty frightening. Although shorter than most novels, I did find the plot of Aurora and her lover, Bain, to be both classic and original at the same time. I was drawn into their world immediately, and found Aurora to be both a strange and very odd character. Not withstanding, her childhood was ripped from her, sold by her mother, and forced into a life of servitude, I would probably be very wierd myself. Bain isn't as well rounded as Givens Kurtz's other characters, or his counterpart, Aurora. However, she falls for him, and I can see why. He's handsome, her tutor to more worldly things and the sole male in the house outside the "father." However he isn't your typical alpha male. His brother, Ren, who shows up later in the novel, appears to be fit that role. I also enjoyed the comparions between Angel and Aurora. One who seeks to become pregnant, and one who does not wish to be so--one wealthy, one a slave. When they finally come together, it is a lesson for us all on relations and the reality that we perceive and the one we hide from. Overall, I enjoyed the book, and recommend it to others seeking some ethnic science fiction thrillers. I also happily recommend it's sequel, Zephyr Unfolding, which expands upon the Resistance, and focuses more on Angel, Ren, and what happens to them after the results of this novel. Givens Kurtz demonstrates maturity and a more sophisticated level of writing in the sequel to this book. However, this being her first novel, it was a finalist in the EPPIE's best science fiction category, and as a finalist for best science fiction novel in the Dream Realm Awards. And I agree. There is good stuff in this novel. So, if you're looking for a quick, suspenseful, fun, and outright solid science fiction novel. This is one to try.

Browne Candidate is a strong tale of one woman's struggle for fredom and self-awareness as she fights against who she has been pre-destined to be. Exciting, fast-paced and most importantly of all - fresh. Kurtz has done an exemplary job of creating a near distant future world which is all together fascinating and quite possibly probable.

Author Nicole Givens Kurtz's tale of a dark future is easily one of the best reads this year. Aurora Browne's ordeal as a candidate, women utilized as surrogates under the guise of religion, is one that is harrowing and somberly realisitc.If you're looking for some excellent new fiction, this novel may be for you. It's a quick read, but well worth it.