Borrowed Book By: I found out about this novel via The Write Reads who was hosting a blog tour in April, 2025. I decided to check to see if an audiobook copy was available to purchase via Audible as I have a subscription to their Plus Catalogue. I was surprised to find it is included in the Plus Catalogue, thereby, I was able to ‘borrow’ or listen to a copy of the audiobook via my subscription without having to purchase the audiobook at this time.
Thereby, this is a self-listen of mine and I was not obligated to post a review. I am sharing my ruminative thoughts for my own edification and for continuing to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to step outside my zone of comfort for this audiobook:
I have been in such a readerly rut lately – too much on my heart/mind to properly focus on STORIES. Sad yet true. I knew I needed to pull myself out of this FUNK and guess what? The Half-Life Empire is just the kind of STORY I need right now. I discovered the writings of Ms Stovall with the novels Time-Marked Warlock and Chronos Warlock – of which are future reads and reviews of mine. If the last few weeks were different – the first novel of that series would have been happily consumed and reviewed already. However, if you read over the top anchour of my #BestBooksOf2024 post you’ll understand what has been going on IRL for Mum and I.
Try as I might, I’ve been finding myself pulled out of reading and the stories I want to be attached inside of late. I know what caused the detachment but how to restart reading again when you can’t find yourself able to focus? Wells. Sometimes you have to read something radically outside your normal wanderings and reboot your readerly life. For me, that was choosing a story that was within one of the main genres I regularly read but perhaps not a subniche of the genre I’ve previously read. Towards that end – I was grasping at straws as they say to find such a book and to find a writer I who could hold my attention.
Then, quite unexpectedly this lovely blog tour was announced, and I looked up the story and felt it might kick me out of my readerly funk! Especially considering I know NOTHING about Post-Apocalyptic worlds and rarely do I read stories about aliens overtaking worlds. Science Fiction is one of those delightful segues of interest in my regular wanderings and one that I want to delve deeper into exploring this year which is why I have a stack of Sci Fi Reads in queue. This particular story felt wholly new to me, and I felt would offer a new perspective on a genre I still feel like I’m in the early days of discovering.
Sometimes you just have to take a chance – find a story and buckle up for the ride it gives you! And, for me, the story held my interest for a long while until I reached a point where I wasn’t sure I could continue with the story. Although this ended up becoming a DNF for me – I have a lot of notes and thoughts to share about the story, the lead character (Kita) and the performance of the narrator – in case anyone else feels this is a better fit for them and know they can finish the journey I started with The Half-Life Empire.
The Half-Life Empire
by Shami Stovall
Source: Audible | Subscription
Narrator: Diana Richardson
From the Dragon Award–nominated author of Astra One young woman leads a ragtag band of survivors across a fractured, post-alien-invasion America.
Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.
When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.
Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland?
Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.
Places to find the book:
ASIN: B0CJ441FPM
Published by Podium Audio
on 17th October, 2023
Format: Audiobook | Digital
Length: 15 hours and 49 minutes (unabridged)
Published by: Podium Audio (@podiumentertainment) via Instagram
About Shami Stovall
Shami Stovall is a multi-award-winning author of fantasy and science fiction. Before that, she taught history and criminal law at the college level and loved every second. When she’s not reading fascinating articles and books about ancient China or the Byzantine Empire, Stovall can be found playing way too many video games, especially RPGs and tactics simulators.
Escaping First Contact