New recommendation time. This time, it’s Altered, the first in what I hope is a series by A. D. Croucher.

I’m tired, so I’ll just link out to my review on Amazon, but I shall add a bit beyond that I really dig this piece.

From an independent novelist’s point of view, I enjoyed it more than just because of the prose. I also liked that it’s basically a novella that doesn’t have to fit into the traditional 250-350 page format. I bet this piece is about 20-25,000 words, shorter than a normal book by one third. Still, it feels complete, and better than that, it feels complex.

Most of the characters in this story grow and mature, or at least change, and the Altered title describes both the emotional world of the characters and the scientific mechanism that drives the plot. It all comes together like peanut butter and chocolate.

If you want a good young-adult urban science-fiction story, treat yourself to this.