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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Shadow Fall (Shadow Fall, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
Rating 1.5 stars
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
For almost a decade, dystopian literature has become mainstream amongst the young adult community, and it appears set to stay as another debut author joins the bandwagon. <i>Shadow Fall</i> by Audrey Grey encompasses ideas from popular series, such as<i> The Hunger Games</i> and <i>The Maze Runner</i>, to create an original apocalyptic story. In barely more than a fortnight the Earth is doomed to be destroyed by a passing asteroid, only a handful of humans can survive. The question is who?
Maia Graystone, a fugitive, has been given the opportunity to win a place on Hyperion space station – a castle in the stars – and safety from the asteroid, Pandora. However in a game of life and death it is not going to be easy to get through the trials. Posing, quite literally, as the Lady Everly March, Maia hopes not to be recognized by the tyrannous Emperor, nor by the mother who abandoned her. Yet Maia’s supporters have an ulterior motive – kill the Emperor.
To be brutally honest, <i>Shadow Fall</i> was a rather tedious book to read. Granted there was a lot of action – mostly unnecessary, bloodthirsty murder – however the confusing storyline, rude characters and the inability to evoke a visual idea of the setting, resulted in a painstakingly uninspiring story.
With so many dystopian novels to compete against, it is going to be hard for a new writer to stand out from the crowd. Audrey Grey used a lot of Greek mythological references as the basis of her ideas, something that appealed to me, but may be lost on other readers.
On the other hand,<i> Shadow Fall </i>contains a couple of scenes that will conjure emotion up in the majority of readers, and mildly excite and engage. Yet, for me, this was not enough to save it from a negative review. I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to get into the story and appreciate the author’s hard work.
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
For almost a decade, dystopian literature has become mainstream amongst the young adult community, and it appears set to stay as another debut author joins the bandwagon. <i>Shadow Fall</i> by Audrey Grey encompasses ideas from popular series, such as<i> The Hunger Games</i> and <i>The Maze Runner</i>, to create an original apocalyptic story. In barely more than a fortnight the Earth is doomed to be destroyed by a passing asteroid, only a handful of humans can survive. The question is who?
Maia Graystone, a fugitive, has been given the opportunity to win a place on Hyperion space station – a castle in the stars – and safety from the asteroid, Pandora. However in a game of life and death it is not going to be easy to get through the trials. Posing, quite literally, as the Lady Everly March, Maia hopes not to be recognized by the tyrannous Emperor, nor by the mother who abandoned her. Yet Maia’s supporters have an ulterior motive – kill the Emperor.
To be brutally honest, <i>Shadow Fall</i> was a rather tedious book to read. Granted there was a lot of action – mostly unnecessary, bloodthirsty murder – however the confusing storyline, rude characters and the inability to evoke a visual idea of the setting, resulted in a painstakingly uninspiring story.
With so many dystopian novels to compete against, it is going to be hard for a new writer to stand out from the crowd. Audrey Grey used a lot of Greek mythological references as the basis of her ideas, something that appealed to me, but may be lost on other readers.
On the other hand,<i> Shadow Fall </i>contains a couple of scenes that will conjure emotion up in the majority of readers, and mildly excite and engage. Yet, for me, this was not enough to save it from a negative review. I really wanted to like this book but I struggled to get into the story and appreciate the author’s hard work.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Rule of One in Books
Sep 23, 2018
Book review by Cari Mayhew. Rating 9/10.
With every chapter having its own climax, this YA dystopian novel is set to be a bestseller!
I had the opportunity to read this before its official release date thanks to Amazon First Reads. It’s set in the future in the USA. The country is deemed overpopulated, and the country follows the Rule of One, which is that couples can only have one child. Everyone has identity microchips implanted into their wrists, and rations of food are obtained from 3D printers.
Ava and Mira are hiding a secret. They are identical twins, who’ve been taking turns each day to live as one person. One day they are found out and they’re forced to go on the run! They had been well practised in pretending to be one person, but they were ill prepared to handle being discovered.
The plot is fraught with tension and there’s trouble at every turn. They leave with little more than a map and a name, and face plenty of obstacles along the way.
They eventually hear rumours of a resistance, and people who can help them, and they are given new identities. But, in turn, they are asked to help the cause directly. Meanwhile their father is taken into custody and tortured. At this point, the twins no longer see eye to eye.
Some scenes are a little cliché, but the fast pace more than makes up for it.
The blurb in the description says that it’s set in the near future. Technology-wise it could be, but not in terms of the USA becoming so over populated that it would need such a rule, although this was recently the case in China.
I loved this book - as I said, each chapter has its own climax, which makes it quite the page-turner! IMO, it’s exactly as a dystopian thriller should be – a tense but light read and not all dreary. I have already ordered the sequel, which is due to be released in 2019 – I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
For more book news and reviews, check out bookblogbycari.com
With every chapter having its own climax, this YA dystopian novel is set to be a bestseller!
I had the opportunity to read this before its official release date thanks to Amazon First Reads. It’s set in the future in the USA. The country is deemed overpopulated, and the country follows the Rule of One, which is that couples can only have one child. Everyone has identity microchips implanted into their wrists, and rations of food are obtained from 3D printers.
Ava and Mira are hiding a secret. They are identical twins, who’ve been taking turns each day to live as one person. One day they are found out and they’re forced to go on the run! They had been well practised in pretending to be one person, but they were ill prepared to handle being discovered.
The plot is fraught with tension and there’s trouble at every turn. They leave with little more than a map and a name, and face plenty of obstacles along the way.
They eventually hear rumours of a resistance, and people who can help them, and they are given new identities. But, in turn, they are asked to help the cause directly. Meanwhile their father is taken into custody and tortured. At this point, the twins no longer see eye to eye.
Some scenes are a little cliché, but the fast pace more than makes up for it.
The blurb in the description says that it’s set in the near future. Technology-wise it could be, but not in terms of the USA becoming so over populated that it would need such a rule, although this was recently the case in China.
I loved this book - as I said, each chapter has its own climax, which makes it quite the page-turner! IMO, it’s exactly as a dystopian thriller should be – a tense but light read and not all dreary. I have already ordered the sequel, which is due to be released in 2019 – I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here!
For more book news and reviews, check out bookblogbycari.com
Twisted World
8.0
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Book
Twenty years ago a deadly virus swept the globe, ravaging the population. People died and came back...
Post Apocalyptic Apocalypse Dystopia Dystopian Zombies
The Meadows
10.0
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Book
"A story of pain, injustice, love, resistance, and hope, this glorious book will lodge inside you...
YA Dystopian LGBTQ+ Science Fiction
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Meadows in Books
Sep 11, 2023
Trigger Warnings: conversion therapy, homophobia
Every youth hopes to get a letter to attend one of the places where only the best and brightest go to be even better and brighter: the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows…
When Eleanor is accepted to go to the Meadows, it means her escape from the Cove and a hard life by the sea. But, though the Meadows is filled with beautiful and wonderful things, it hoards dark secrets: its purpose is to reform its students from their attractions, to show them that the way of life is only possible through their way. Maybe Eleanor starts to believe, but then she meets Rose, and everything changes.
A year after leaving the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends are on the outside, living back in society - but not everything is as they hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, someone who makes sure former students haven’t strayed from the lives they were trained to live. But the past isn’t letting go of Eleanor and as secrets unravel, Eleanor must fight against everything she has been taught to be, especially if she can find the girl that she lost.
I originally was interested in this title when I saw it on BookishFirst because it was being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go” and I was all about that. I also love a good dystopian novel so this was really right up my alley.
That being said, I absolutely loved and devoured this novel over the course of the weekend when I didn’t have the interruption of work. The world building is intriguing and the “perfect” society is everything but (aren’t they all). The characters were also complex and engrossing - even the ones I wasn’t the biggest fans of, I still wanted them to succeed.
I absolutely recommend this book to those not only those who love dystopian novels, but those who want a page turning science fiction with queer characters.
*Thank you Dial Books and BookishFirst for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Every youth hopes to get a letter to attend one of the places where only the best and brightest go to be even better and brighter: the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows…
When Eleanor is accepted to go to the Meadows, it means her escape from the Cove and a hard life by the sea. But, though the Meadows is filled with beautiful and wonderful things, it hoards dark secrets: its purpose is to reform its students from their attractions, to show them that the way of life is only possible through their way. Maybe Eleanor starts to believe, but then she meets Rose, and everything changes.
A year after leaving the Meadows, Eleanor and her friends are on the outside, living back in society - but not everything is as they hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, someone who makes sure former students haven’t strayed from the lives they were trained to live. But the past isn’t letting go of Eleanor and as secrets unravel, Eleanor must fight against everything she has been taught to be, especially if she can find the girl that she lost.
I originally was interested in this title when I saw it on BookishFirst because it was being marketed as “a queer, YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go” and I was all about that. I also love a good dystopian novel so this was really right up my alley.
That being said, I absolutely loved and devoured this novel over the course of the weekend when I didn’t have the interruption of work. The world building is intriguing and the “perfect” society is everything but (aren’t they all). The characters were also complex and engrossing - even the ones I wasn’t the biggest fans of, I still wanted them to succeed.
I absolutely recommend this book to those not only those who love dystopian novels, but those who want a page turning science fiction with queer characters.
*Thank you Dial Books and BookishFirst for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated 2001: A Space Odyssey in Books
Oct 16, 2017
The godfather of science fiction
Arthur C. Clarke's vision of a dystopian world, where technology has advanced to frightening levels, is how science fiction was really born in my opinion. Writing this book whilst working with Stanley Kubrick on the film makes it a good accompaniment, if not even better, because of the amount of detail into each facet.
But the main element is the eeriness which HAL brings to the book. At times you think the isolation is making the protagonist Dr Bowman hallucinate, and at times you think the machine really has become self-aware. No one can forget that epic monolith, and the symbolism that it brings - is it a metaphor for God or something much larger than oneself? The final chapter haunts me to this day.
There are a few obvious changes such as when Bowman visits Saturn rather than Jupiter, which Clarke explains is because of what could be feasibly built on set. So for fans of the film, definitely read the book.
But the main element is the eeriness which HAL brings to the book. At times you think the isolation is making the protagonist Dr Bowman hallucinate, and at times you think the machine really has become self-aware. No one can forget that epic monolith, and the symbolism that it brings - is it a metaphor for God or something much larger than oneself? The final chapter haunts me to this day.
There are a few obvious changes such as when Bowman visits Saturn rather than Jupiter, which Clarke explains is because of what could be feasibly built on set. So for fans of the film, definitely read the book.
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Polaris Uprising (Polaris, #1) in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[The Polaris Uprising] has a similar plot line of many teen dystopian novels. It seems that the author [Jennifer Ibarra] borrowed the best parts of many and created her own. This is not a bad thing. In fact it helps to get YA readers to try new books.
The plot is set after a war in which the current leadership came to power and had promised to keep the people from want. Although the leader is called a president he is not democratically elected, in fact it represents a monarchy as he is prepping his youngest daughter to take his place when she come of age. His oldest daughter is a doctor who has just come of age and will marry her 'match'.
In this novel the idea that the state takes care of everything including your decisions is a driving force. It has let to the uprising as people want some freedom back. The sisters get entangled in this conflict. The question is what side will they take?
The plot is set after a war in which the current leadership came to power and had promised to keep the people from want. Although the leader is called a president he is not democratically elected, in fact it represents a monarchy as he is prepping his youngest daughter to take his place when she come of age. His oldest daughter is a doctor who has just come of age and will marry her 'match'.
In this novel the idea that the state takes care of everything including your decisions is a driving force. It has let to the uprising as people want some freedom back. The sisters get entangled in this conflict. The question is what side will they take?
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Red Clocks in Books
Apr 9, 2018
An interesting read
This book has a very interesting take on a dystopian future, and what is worrying is that it’s something you can imagine happening in our lifetime.
I like the fact that each chapter is headed by a different character, all of whose lives intersect during the course of the story. What I don’t understand is why bother calling them “The Biographer” etc if you end up finding out their real names through th either characters a third of the way into the book? Despite that the characters are well written, all with their own faults although some are more likeable than others meaning you don’t end up caring for some a story much as you should.
I think for the most part this book is very well written and it had me hooked, although parts of it did get a little rambling and unnecessary. It’s an interesting plot although I did feel a little dissatisfied with the ending, but it is a very relevant topic.
I like the fact that each chapter is headed by a different character, all of whose lives intersect during the course of the story. What I don’t understand is why bother calling them “The Biographer” etc if you end up finding out their real names through th either characters a third of the way into the book? Despite that the characters are well written, all with their own faults although some are more likeable than others meaning you don’t end up caring for some a story much as you should.
I think for the most part this book is very well written and it had me hooked, although parts of it did get a little rambling and unnecessary. It’s an interesting plot although I did feel a little dissatisfied with the ending, but it is a very relevant topic.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Mortal Engines (2018) in Movies
Apr 5, 2019
Another lavish dystopian YA adaptation with first-class art direction but a really thin story and bland characterisation. In a strange (and somewhat improbable) future world, lack of resources has forced cities and towns to mobilise themselves and wander the landscape on wheels and caterpillar tracks, preying on smaller habitations. Someone has an evil plan to do something or other, but this bit is quite forgettable.
Probably the main problem with this film for me was that it put me in mind of many great, quirky SF and fantasy stories (Brazil, Cities in Flight, Inverted World) without having more than a fraction of their narrative boldness: good-looking but forgettable characters wander about going through the motions of hackneyed character arcs, while lots of boxes get ticked but hardly anything surprising happens. It's actually quite an achievement for a movie which opens with London pursuing a small German town across country to wind up being quite as forgettably boring as this one does. Not sure if the books are any better, but this certainly qualifies as a huge waste of potential.
Probably the main problem with this film for me was that it put me in mind of many great, quirky SF and fantasy stories (Brazil, Cities in Flight, Inverted World) without having more than a fraction of their narrative boldness: good-looking but forgettable characters wander about going through the motions of hackneyed character arcs, while lots of boxes get ticked but hardly anything surprising happens. It's actually quite an achievement for a movie which opens with London pursuing a small German town across country to wind up being quite as forgettably boring as this one does. Not sure if the books are any better, but this certainly qualifies as a huge waste of potential.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Never Let Me Go in Books
Mar 6, 2018
Grim reading, but completely unexpected
For readers of Kazuo Ishiguro's other books, this will come as another surprise. While Remains of the Day is a period drama, and the Buried Giant is folklore, this novel reads as a dystopian fiction. What this shows is the author's incredible versatility at writing different themes, each as good as the other.
The story follows Kathy H., a carer to dying patients, and her mysterious upbringing alongside her charges at a secluded boarding school. From the beginning, we are introduced to the concept of 'donors', and it only becomes apparent after some time what it truly means. As a child, her and her fellow classmates were urged to be overly health-conscious with a special focus on artwork, which is said to be taken away to a gallery if exceptional. But when the students begin to question about its necessity, they understand that not all is what it seems.
From cloning to transplants, this book is both daring and alarming - and perhaps one of my favourite Ishiguro novels so far.
The story follows Kathy H., a carer to dying patients, and her mysterious upbringing alongside her charges at a secluded boarding school. From the beginning, we are introduced to the concept of 'donors', and it only becomes apparent after some time what it truly means. As a child, her and her fellow classmates were urged to be overly health-conscious with a special focus on artwork, which is said to be taken away to a gallery if exceptional. But when the students begin to question about its necessity, they understand that not all is what it seems.
From cloning to transplants, this book is both daring and alarming - and perhaps one of my favourite Ishiguro novels so far.