Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

The Forgotten by Joshua Noon is a tantalizing sci-fi with characters that will have readers spellbound. A stranger, “a man with short, almost military-cut, sandy blonde hair and clean-shaven face…” has just been found by the nomadic folk, badly wounded and left to die. Everything about him is strange, including the tattoo on his arm. The man has no memory, and a powerful religious government is after him. Can this man find out who he is before the Church finds him? And does he know that his lost memories contain the incredible treasures and secrets about a world that once was?

The Wastelands is a great setting for a compelling and intriguing story. I was pulled in from the very first chapter when Ryan discovers the wounded and forlorn man. The discovery of this man raises a lot of questions and defines a powerful conflict that the reader will love to follow. The political setting, a time of an uneasy peace, a period following a devastating war, comes across powerfully in the writing. I loved the characters. A man hurt and left to die arouses a lot of curiosity, but there is much in the protagonist to make the reader want to know him even more. Joshua Noon has an exquisite style of writing and his narrative voice captures the reader’s attention strongly and holds it till the very last page. The Forgotten features elements of suspense, great dialogues, and a culture that brilliantly reflects the nomadic life. It was a real pleasure to read this one.