Scan barcode
laceanddaggerbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book is both a good example of a sequel yet still not as good as the original. Maybe I say that because I found the Liam/Syd hints hard to enjoy as I'm more attached to Knox/Syd but I can't be certain. Still it moves the plot on from the first book and is an enjoyable read.
biblioflick's review against another edition
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
I like on how it started. The "mysterious" disease "spreading". And the mystery enclosed in Cousin and Liam. And Syd is quite sad/guilty on how Knox die he even have dreams about him. Syd is quite broken.
Being alive and living aren't the same
At the birth of a new world, there will be always pain.
I like on how it started. The "mysterious" disease "spreading". And the mystery enclosed in Cousin and Liam.
Spoiler
The cure for the disease is to restore the system using the "Machine". But it would take months to build it up, because the machine doesn't exist. What I hated about the ending is the being "cured" too while others die. The others' recovery is not expanded enough to explain why do others die and others live. It's like the case of Marie's parents, where her mother is healthier that her father yet her mother die. Is it about the gender? Or their lifestyle (like eating, drinking). I just don't know what other reason I hated the ending.Spoiler
And I felt bad on Baram's death. And I hated on how Finch/Furious acted, he only thinks for himself.dukanva's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
madlovenovelist's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
This duology has me falling in love with Alex London’s writing and imagination. Not only do we get representation of a minority group (GLBT, POC) but a dystopian world to rival many that have dominated the YA genre. I can’t believe these books have been sitting unread on my shelves for years. ‘Guardian’ was a great read, but not quite up to the excellence of debut ‘Proxy.’ I was still engaged as a reader but upon completing the book I did not feel it had as much of an impact on me as the debut of the series. While the story unfolded organically, I did feel the omniscient POV pulled me from the story frequently.
Like ‘Proxy,’ ‘Guardian’ felt like a road trip book, protagonist Syd attempts to once again get to some place against a faction in power to free the population from an oppressive rule (and save their lives from a virus.) We see Marie stepping in as his protector/squad member again. And a new addition of Liam as a love interest.
I don’t think I saw too much character development from Syd. Being fallible seemed to play a big part of his story, but that had already been brought up in ‘Proxy.’ Instead it seems he starts to wrestle with his guilt and whether or not he is deserving of happiness.
Liam felt a little one note. He definitely embodies the mind of a soldier, but I wanted more inner torture to come out after the events he’s lived through and done… that kind of stuff would mess up anyone. I wanted more vulnerability (in private moments) to shine through. I feel it would have rounded him out as a character and not just a stereotypical protector.
I didn’t feel like Marie went much of anywhere. She helps move the plot along at some points, but again I was questioning what she was even doing there. Her determination to stick to a cause still feels out of step with the narrative. I think a great opportunity to juxtapose the philosophical themes of the novel were missed out in using her as an alternative point of view, or a sounding board.
It did feel a little formulaic, following the same path of ‘Proxy.’ I was hoping it would divert from this template, but still an entertaining read nonetheless. The first half, like the debut, felt a tad slow in its pacing. There are some great action scenes, but it takes half the book to set up the scene and get all the characters in place to drive the plot forward.
I really love Alex London’s writing style, but I’d love to read more following a different form of plot/story and see him start moving the plot forward in the early chapters.
I pretty much hunched-out the ending very early on – but not quite – there was a little twist to it that I had not guessed… and that added a great surprise. There were also a few other elements that I did not see coming. Overall, ‘Guardian’ gave me more surprises than ‘Proxy,’ but it let me down in the structure of the plot, pacing, and it needed a bit more spice for the characters. I needed something to balance out the bleakness in the world of ‘Proxy’ and machinations of introducing new characters and plot points.
I think as a sequel I was expecting more complexity, a higher intensity of challenges faced, introduction of a more emotional connection with the characters; but it was more of another episodic adventure following our protagonist. I can definitely see its appeal to the YA market.
Again some grammatical mistakes London’s editing team overlooked : missing words, words out of place. A little frustrating. I hope they up their professional game and let this author really shine.
I am going to download the finale short story form Alex London’s website because there is no third book in this series. Mainly because I did not get the level of completion I wanted. I don’t think it’s going to address the big questions, philosophical questions in the subtext, but merely wrap up the future of the main characters – which would be nice. As ‘Guardian’ ended as abruptly as ‘Proxy.’
Still a great read I’d happily recommend.
This duology has me falling in love with Alex London’s writing and imagination. Not only do we get representation of a minority group (GLBT, POC) but a dystopian world to rival many that have dominated the YA genre. I can’t believe these books have been sitting unread on my shelves for years. ‘Guardian’ was a great read, but not quite up to the excellence of debut ‘Proxy.’ I was still engaged as a reader but upon completing the book I did not feel it had as much of an impact on me as the debut of the series. While the story unfolded organically, I did feel the omniscient POV pulled me from the story frequently.
Like ‘Proxy,’ ‘Guardian’ felt like a road trip book, protagonist Syd attempts to once again get to some place against a faction in power to free the population from an oppressive rule (and save their lives from a virus.) We see Marie stepping in as his protector/squad member again. And a new addition of Liam as a love interest.
I don’t think I saw too much character development from Syd. Being fallible seemed to play a big part of his story, but that had already been brought up in ‘Proxy.’ Instead it seems he starts to wrestle with his guilt and whether or not he is deserving of happiness.
Liam felt a little one note. He definitely embodies the mind of a soldier, but I wanted more inner torture to come out after the events he’s lived through and done… that kind of stuff would mess up anyone. I wanted more vulnerability (in private moments) to shine through. I feel it would have rounded him out as a character and not just a stereotypical protector.
I didn’t feel like Marie went much of anywhere. She helps move the plot along at some points, but again I was questioning what she was even doing there. Her determination to stick to a cause still feels out of step with the narrative. I think a great opportunity to juxtapose the philosophical themes of the novel were missed out in using her as an alternative point of view, or a sounding board.
It did feel a little formulaic, following the same path of ‘Proxy.’ I was hoping it would divert from this template, but still an entertaining read nonetheless. The first half, like the debut, felt a tad slow in its pacing. There are some great action scenes, but it takes half the book to set up the scene and get all the characters in place to drive the plot forward.
I really love Alex London’s writing style, but I’d love to read more following a different form of plot/story and see him start moving the plot forward in the early chapters.
I pretty much hunched-out the ending very early on – but not quite – there was a little twist to it that I had not guessed… and that added a great surprise. There were also a few other elements that I did not see coming. Overall, ‘Guardian’ gave me more surprises than ‘Proxy,’ but it let me down in the structure of the plot, pacing, and it needed a bit more spice for the characters. I needed something to balance out the bleakness in the world of ‘Proxy’ and machinations of introducing new characters and plot points.
I think as a sequel I was expecting more complexity, a higher intensity of challenges faced, introduction of a more emotional connection with the characters; but it was more of another episodic adventure following our protagonist. I can definitely see its appeal to the YA market.
Again some grammatical mistakes London’s editing team overlooked : missing words, words out of place. A little frustrating. I hope they up their professional game and let this author really shine.
I am going to download the finale short story form Alex London’s website because there is no third book in this series. Mainly because I did not get the level of completion I wanted. I don’t think it’s going to address the big questions, philosophical questions in the subtext, but merely wrap up the future of the main characters – which would be nice. As ‘Guardian’ ended as abruptly as ‘Proxy.’
Still a great read I’d happily recommend.
connorbookinit's review against another edition
3.0
[3.5 Stars] I think I agree with most of the reviews I've read that I liked the first book a tad better than this one, but I still liked it. I think the story really progressed organically, and everything that happened made sense in terms of the world and the characters' motivations. At times I could find the omniscient POV pushing me out of the story. We would get "X" character's feelings about something, and then in the next sentence it switches to "Y" character's thoughts on the matter. The transitions between third person close with one character and another weren't as smooth as I would have liked, is what I guess I'm saying. As for the ending, I'd like a little more closure than what we got seeing as this is the final book, but I'm okay with it. Overall, I'm glad I read this and if you're looking for a YA dystopian book with a gay, male, main character, it's a good one.
maleh97's review against another edition
3.0
Like honestly it's not as interesting as the first one was. It's just a hassle to continue w it.
liinukka's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't like it as much as the first book, mostly because it lacked the cyberpunk elements that made the first book so much fun. I guess this one felt more like your generic post apocalyptic universe, complete with extremists and factions who do weird and unpredictable things in the face of desolation.
The main protagonist's motivations were kind of vague, as was his characterization. There was a lot going on but it felt like nothing really was coming together. It was rather a random sequence of events that stumble into the finish line without much cohesion. Kind of a disappointing ending.
The main protagonist's motivations were kind of vague, as was his characterization. There was a lot going on but it felt like nothing really was coming together. It was rather a random sequence of events that stumble into the finish line without much cohesion. Kind of a disappointing ending.
artie's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
boonana's review against another edition
5.0
I was so happy to see the diverse characters within this series. One thing that made me happy was the amount of girls in power this book had. Woman doctor, woman leader of the rebellion, girl leader of not only one of the make-believe corporations but a girl in charge of the whole Machinist movement. And who could forget the strong, brave, sweet, stubborn, fear-inducing, awe-inspiring Marie. There was also LGBTQ representation too. It's not often I find a novel with an amazing action-packed plot with a gay protagonist. Usually, if I want a book with a LBGTQ main character, I have to find a book where the plot centers on it. It was refreshing to stumble across this book with no expectations only to find one of my new favorite series. I kind of hope this will be a trilogy because I want to read about the new civilization and I want Syd, Liam, and Marie's stories to continue, but it ended so beautifully and allowed the readers to make their own ending for the main characters that I don't think another is necessary. Also, what would the plot be for the next book? I'm sure London could come up with something amazing but I'm perfectly fine if their stories stopped here. Amazing, fast-paced read; I loved both Proxy and Guardian.
Spoiler
London really knew how to blend the romance of Liam and Syd (loved them) without it seeming overdone or taking away from the action.Spoiler
Although Syd was getting on my nerves in the beginning, I understood why he felt and acted the way he did. I also loved Liam. I loved the way he acted and the way he loved Syd and would do anything for him just made me like his character more. There is a shy, bashful, passionate, romantic boy under the trained killer. I wish I could've known his story too, but I guess that's for Syd's ears only (yes I believe Syd survives).zoe_is_tired's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0