Reading is like breathing...

3.5 stars.***Review posted February 27, 2014



Year 2546…The Borders War had waged for three hundred years and had wiped four hundred million people from the planet.
At the end of One Breath One Bullet you’ll find an index that contains a timeline of the Borders War, a detailed list of the characters and most importantly a glossary. I honestly wish I had known about it and read that first because it would have facilitated my understanding of the plot and setting. While I’ve read and enjoyed dystopian books in the past, One Breath One Bullet was not always easy to grasp. This was some sort of “hardcore” dystopian for me and it took some getting used to. Regardless, it’s a good and interesting story and I already read the sequel. The third book is due out in March 2014.



I loved the main protagonists’ names. Merq Grayson and Armise Darcan do sound predatory, adventurous and mighty cool. I would have liked to get more background information about Merq and Armise, though, because it felt very impersonal. On the other hand, they live in an impersonal, cold and sparse world. Feelings are not welcome. In consequence, you shouldn’t expect anything romantic about their “relationship”. If anything, their encounters are rather violent, fierce and intense yet it suited their characters and environment. Also, I struggled a bit to adjust to the timeframe switches.

Merq and Armise have a complicated connection and that's putting it mildly…

It was as simple as undeniable attraction. As complicated as an instinctual tether that should have been too theoretical and hokey for either of us to believe in, but that neither of us seemed to be able to free ourselves from. It was as base as the primal force of having your release gripped with a firm, commanding hand that straddled the line of agony, urgency and necessity. As existential as our one desperate claim to freedom in a life that was predetermined, years in advance, by men in uniforms who would never see the real-life implications of the orders they gave.
Armise and I, in another world and another time, might have been inevitable. Inseparable. I just couldn't imagine what that would even entail. 



One Breath One Bullet is more about the world building, the history of the Borders War, the ominous infochip and how Merq and Armise met; there’s hardly any relationship build-up. In this first book Merq and Armise are more foes than friends, let alone lovers. One of my friends said it reminded her of a post-apocalyptic Special Forces and I tend to agree with her. I admire Sam’s writing and One Breath One Bullet shows what a wide range of writing skills she has to offer.

Overall an intriguing read that provided an alternative (and scary) concept of our future world. I liked it but I expect the sequel, Dominant Predator, to be better. I'm done with book 2 and it was better. If you’re a fan of somewhat dark and gritty dystopian stories, then I recommend you to give this series a try.