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williamc's review
4.0
A strong continuation of the premise set forth in [b:Hunger|7247856|Hunger (Horsemen of the Apocalypse, #1)|Jackie Kessler|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1269038726s/7247856.jpg|7134137], introducing the incarnations of War and Pestilence. Death disguised as Kurt Cobain continues here, as well, with some interesting romantic possibilities raised between certain characters. It's easy to imagine where the series goes from here -- two books for each of the two remaining Horsemen. But since we've had two books now to explore the world created by author Kessler, my hope is that a larger story might appear -- one that goes beyond embodying contemporary teen issues as Horsemen, and that explores how these young women and men work while facing larger internal and external threats, or deal with particulars of their assignments. It's to Kessler's credit that she has invented such an original cast. Hopefully she'll unearth a more expansive storyline to match.
andrez's review
4.0
After reading Hunger (and not enjoying it that much), I wasn't really sure whether I'd want to read Rage, but since I usually give things second chances, and I got this from NetGalley, I decided to give the author another chance. Well, I am really happy that I did, because this is so much better than Hunger!
It deals with an almost completely new cast of characters (I don't think Death could be replaceable anyway), and we're introduced to Missy, a girl who cuts herself to escape to the pain. Personally, I liked Missy a lot more than Lisabeth; while Lisabeth was really flat to me, Missy was truly alive to me. She had so much emotion and it was a lot more realistic, I think. I also appreciated that her life outside her Horseman job was more developed, it was great to see why she had her problems. Sometimes I was just as outraged as (or even more than) Missy. her sister, especially mad me want to pull off some hair... her hair. She was SO obnoxious! And it really pissed me off that her parents were blind to everything (though not as much as knowing there are parents like that in real life). The things I loved the most, though, were how she ended up finding her inner strength, no matter how cliché that sounds, and the ending. It was so much better than Hunger's. And I could see it happening with Missy!
The writing was also a lot better, and it didn't bore me to death. Personally, I don't think you need to read Hunger to appreciate Rage, but if you want to anyway, go for it.
It deals with an almost completely new cast of characters (I don't think Death could be replaceable anyway), and we're introduced to Missy, a girl who cuts herself to escape to the pain. Personally, I liked Missy a lot more than Lisabeth; while Lisabeth was really flat to me, Missy was truly alive to me. She had so much emotion and it was a lot more realistic, I think. I also appreciated that her life outside her Horseman job was more developed, it was great to see why she had her problems. Sometimes I was just as outraged as (or even more than) Missy. her sister, especially mad me want to pull off some hair... her hair. She was SO obnoxious! And it really pissed me off that her parents were blind to everything (though not as much as knowing there are parents like that in real life). The things I loved the most, though, were how she ended up finding her inner strength, no matter how cliché that sounds, and the ending. It was so much better than Hunger's. And I could see it happening with Missy!
The writing was also a lot better, and it didn't bore me to death. Personally, I don't think you need to read Hunger to appreciate Rage, but if you want to anyway, go for it.
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