‘Unblinking’ (The Shuttered Lands Trilogy, #1) by Kira Carter

4 stars

‘Unblinking’ is an interesting take on a futuristic dystopia and, a believable one at that.  In Minka and Zedd's world, environmental disasters have rendered most of the planet uninhabitable.  Our two main characters grow up in The Tower Lands, a cluster of ten connected skyscrapers within which every aspect of their lives occur.  Education, employment, and entertainment are all provided within these Towers, by the mysterious elite Trustees. 

Privacy is forfeited in exchange for security and transparency, the ever-watchful unblinking Eye can see and record everyone, at every moment (with the exception of small rooms in which to change clothing and use the bathroom.)  Children are even tracked through their educational years, there is no opt-out of this monitoring.  

Employment is found only through helping to maintain the Towers or to provide entertainment; entertainment involves watching individual's Streams or channels, much like the cable TV selection we have today.  Except that the most successful and watched Streams are 'edited' and include nudity or profanity or otherwise embarrassing moments that an individual would rather not share with the entire world.

At first, Zedd enjoys his new job as an Editor, taking an individual's Stream and splicing it together in such a way that it becomes more fun to watch; always at the cost of the individual.  Minka is one such victim.  She is unwillingly thrust into Stream popularity when a simple trip-and-fall in her high school cafeteria appears on a 'Too Hot' Stream, edited for maximum embarrassment when her head accidentally lands in an athlete's clothed lap.

Zedd starts to fall for the subject of his work projects and wants to help Minka escape to one of the other small settlements that still exist in the wake the environmental disasters.  As a Tower Worker, he has access to information about how life used to be, and how to leave the Towers.  Minka, on the other hand, repeatedly gets in trouble with her parents and the Tower Trustees as she tries to research these things on her own.

Zedd wants to help Minka, despite Minka’s understandable hatred for the as-yet-unnamed Editor who has made her life miserable.  Will he be able to help her escape?  Will she let him?  Find out!

'Unblinking' is currently part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program.