Sentient

The Sentient Trilogy Book 1

USA 2040: Animal agriculture has drastically changed the climate and the way people live. Drinkable water is scarce, the population is suspicious and isolated, and animal rights activists are all but extinct due to threats by the agribusiness industry.

Bray Hoffman isn’t an activist, but she has a secret. Her best friend Alice is a pig confined to a tortuous life on a factory farm and Bray can feel everything Alice feels. All the pain. All the fear. All the torture. As an animal empath, Bray learns first-hand the truth of the hidden horrors of animal agriculture and with Alice’s days coming to an end, Bray fears what might happen to the pig, and to herself.

Bertan Duarte is an undocumented immigrant working for this agribusiness industry. The secret world in which he works is mired in the dried blood of countless lives lost, where workers must fight both themselves and each other to survive an unfair system that has them trapped in enslavement.

Kage Zair has spent years in hiding with other animal activists. The landscape is far too dangerous for people like them. But Kage cannot just stand by and allow a manipulative agribusiness to destroy animal and human lives and the planet.

Sentient is the first book in a new eco-dystopian series that follows Bray, Bertan and Kage as they fight for answers and freedoms in a society that wishes them none. Told from all three perspectives, this thrilling debut novel is full of action, adventure, suspense and horror.

This isn’t the future we fought for but it’s the future that’s coming.

©2022 Jay VanLandingham (P)2023 Jay VanLandingham

What a great listen!

From the start, I was pulled in. The story follows three main characters Bray, Bertan, and Kage each offering a unique perspective that ties into some really powerful themes.
Bray is an animal empath who literally feels the pain of her best friend, a pig trapped on a factory farm.
Bertan is an undocumented worker caught in a brutal and unfair system.
Kage is an activist risking everything to protect animals, people, and the planet.
The two audiobook narrators, bring the characters to life. Each chapter moves Bray, Bertan, and Kage, giving us a deep dive into their individual struggles and perspectives. The pacing and narration make each threads compelling on its own, leaving you eager to see how they’ll come together in the next books. I was surprised by how fast-paced it was and how much it made me think about freedom, compassion, and the choices we make in how we treat others, both human and animal.