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jodar's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This YA science-fiction thriller is well-written and gripping. Several pretty convincing twists and turns play out as conspiracies unfold and true identities are revealed.
The novel confronts some large questions, too: right and wrong, individual consent to medical procedures vs the well-being of humanity, nature vs nurture and true identity.
The scientific elements of the story stretched credibility to the degree that to me the science functions much like magic in a fantasy novel. Likewise “the Wrath” encoded within humanity’s genetic makeup is like a rationalised original sin, though any religious sentiment is avoided and occasionally overtly discounted:
The novel confronts some large questions, too: right and wrong, individual consent to medical procedures vs the well-being of humanity, nature vs nurture and true identity.
The scientific elements of the story stretched credibility to the degree that to me the science functions much like magic in a fantasy novel. Likewise “the Wrath” encoded within humanity’s genetic makeup is like a rationalised original sin, though any religious sentiment is avoided and occasionally overtly discounted:
If I believed in something beyond this world, maybe I could clutch at it like a rope, but I don’t, and all I see after this life is cold, infinite darkness (MC in Chapter 25)
I found the puppy-love romance between the MC and one of the other main characters a bit nauseating, though it wasn’t belaboured too much and it did fit within the storyline.
The book is the first in a series and it has a good resolution to this part of the story arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Car accident
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