Till Human Voices Wake Us

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Till Human Voices Wake Us

December 6, 2019 by JBronder

Welcome to the blog tour for Till Human Voices Wake us by C.S. Johnson!

Till Human Voices Wake Us (Till Human Voices Wake Us #1)

Publication Date: July 31, 2019

Genre: Science Fantasy/ Mermaids

Sometimes the difference between reality and insanity is only a matter of absurdity.

There is nothing Milo Bishop fears more than the thought that he is going insane.

Having grown up hearing his Uncle Jay’s stories about the strange mermaids Milo never had a reason to believe they were actually true. But when a near-death experience gives Milo a vision of a mermaid calling to him for help, Milo is forced to test his uncle’s claims. And when he winds up in Rasulka, the mermaid community tucked away, deep under the southern California seas, the question of his uncle’s sanity is the least of his concerns.

For in the heart of Rasulka, a growing whirlpool in the ocean-sky and the terrarium’s changing climate — along with a discarded prophecy that says their end will come when humans appear — all suggest that the end is near. Along with his uncle and best friend, Moss, and Eluia, a young mermaid who grew up hearing myths about humans, Milo has only hours to sort through his doubts and insecurities and face down unimaginable terrors if he is going to find his way home — before Rasulka, and everyone in it, is lost forever.

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Excerpt

“Are you awake?”

Much like the time I’d woken up in the hospital, I was beckoned back to reality by a familiar voice—but instead of my mother, this time it was her voice.

Am I dreaming? Am I dead?

I could hardly believe it. My eyes were covered with sand and dirt, and I squirmed as something nudged my foot, and hard.

“What is it?”

A new voice spoke from the other side of me. This one was a male voice, one that sounded older and much more disgruntled.

“I … can’t say.” She was the one who answered, and I knew from the gentle innocence of her voice, she hadn’t been the one who’d been prodding me.

“Well, is it alive, Eluia?”

Eluia.

Her name was Eluia, and before I could open my eyes to see her, I already knew she was the one I’d seen before. She was the one I’d spoken to while I was saving Moss from the whale.

“Yes, it seems so,” Eluia said. A soft whisper of a touch grazed my forehead. A shiver went through me at its chilling warmth.

“Let me see.”

“Don’t poke it with that stick!”

Right on cue, something stabbed my cheek, right underneath my goggles.

“Ouch,” I grumbled, tasting the salty thickness of air and musk through the mask of my wetsuit. “Watch it.”

“It’s making noises.” Eluia’s voice rang with excitement. “See, it is alive.”

“Hey!” I yelped, as another jolt of pain hit me, as I was prodded in the ribs.

“Ceros!” Eluia’s rebuke came quick. “Stop. You’re hurting it.”

“Just because it’s alive doesn’t mean it has value,” Ceros scoffed.

I didn’t have to see Ceros to know I didn’t think I was going to like him.

Ceros.

He was in one of Uncle Jay’s stories.

That moment was too surreal; I found myself debating with myself, torn between whether or not I was going to open my eyes and find out what destiny had in store for me.

Uncle Jay had told me before that some people don’t want to heal. But as I lay there, with my back to the ground and my limbs all sprawled out in different directions, I realized that it wasn’t just healing that people didn’t want. I didn’t want to be stripped of my ideas about life—and I didn’t want to take a leap of faith into a new world where things could be different or frightening.

“Just because that’s your opinion, doesn’t mean I value it,” Eluia murmured under her breath. From the sound of it, Ceros was already walking away, so I doubted he heard her.

Hearing her voice again—and the spirited defiance behind it—I decided I wanted to know the truth about her, if nothing else.

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About the Author

C. S. Johnson is the award-winning, genre-hopping author of several novels, including young adult sci-fi and fantasy adventures such as the Starlight Chronicles, the Once Upon a Princess saga, and the Divine Space Pirates trilogy. With a gift for sarcasm and an apologetic heart, she currently lives in Atlanta with her family. Find out more at here.

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My Review

5 Stars

Milo Bishop has some problems and has some seriously negative thoughts when we first meet him. Milo grew up listening to his Uncle Jay’s stories of mermaids and is about done listening to them until he finds himself in Rasulka, the mermaid community below California. But these are not the wonderful mermaids of legend.

These mermaids don’t believe in humans. They are cold and cruel as they practice torture and murder in the name of science. This behavior is a recipe for destruction and it will be up to Milo to try and save those he can along with himself.

After reading Across the Floors of Silent Seas I couldn’t wait to dive head first into this book. Milo has some serious issues he is working with and my heart goes out to him. I think I would be thinking the same thing about the mermaids until I found myself in Rasulka too. But Milo has to make some serious decisions quickly if he is going to save everyone.

I really liked how this book makes you think, especially about Milo and his issues. I understood his mental health issues but he does realize how selfish he has become. This is not your typical happy, fuzzy bunny story and I loved it because of that. I really hope that there is more to come from this series.

Across the Floors of Silent Seas (Till Human Voices Wake Us – 0.5)

Do mermaids believe in humans?

While working on a deep-sea diving assignment at the University of California, oceanography student Jay Bishop is dragged into a volcanic tube towards the earth’s core and certain death.

But much to his surprise, Jay not only survives the fall, he finds himself taken prisoner by a community of mermaids and kept alive as a science experiment. Confused and disoriented, Jay’s only hope to escape back to the surface is found in Paga, an elder of the community who believes Jay’s unexpected arrival marks the fulfillment of a terrifying prophecy.

With the community rising against them, Jay and Paga face dangerous choices — and their consequences — if Jay is ever to see home again. Will Jay make it back to the world on the surface? And even if he does, how can his life be the same ever again?

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My Review

5 Stars

Jay Bishop is an oceanographer that is studying the sea floor when he is sucked into a volcanic tube to the center of the earth. There he is rescued by mermaids to keep him to runs tests on him. To them humans are myths and legends. Jay just wants to go home but it looks like his fate is sealed except for an elder called Paga.

Paga believes that Jay is the fulfillment of a prophecy. Jay is trying to get Paga to help him but then again he is afraid of what awaits him on the surface. Are humans really going to believe his story? That is if he can escape the mermaids in the first place.

I love SC Johnson’s stories and jumped at the chance to read Till Human Voices Wake Us. I was also giving the chance to read Across the Floors of Silent Seas. I am so glad that I did. Jay has a great banter with his sister with just breathes life into them. I was instantly sucked into the story along with Jay in the volcanic tube.

I could not put this book down and ended up reading it in one sitting. I’m so glad that I have the next book in the series because I can’t wait to see what happens next.