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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
This book was reallllyy good. The plot line was very interesting and the political intrigue was top tier. I loved all the characters and the world building was done very well.
The basis of this book is really interesting and I like that we get to see Nemesis’ battle with her humanity and who she wants to be.
Great read! Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one!
The basis of this book is really interesting and I like that we get to see Nemesis’ battle with her humanity and who she wants to be.
Great read! Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one!
Nemesis is a Diabolic, and Diabolics do not feel. Or at least they shouldn't, but when Nemesis is sent to the heart of the Empire, her entire world changes. Betrayal lurks around every corner, and she must be careful to keep her identity -and true nature- a secret. All Diabolics were supposed to have been eliminated, she should not be alive. She also certainly should not be impersonating a senator's daughter, and yet...there she is. Out of duty, and out of love.
As the tale weaves on Nemesis becomes much more human, and rejects these feelings as they appear, believing her humanity to be impossible. It is what she has been told her entire life after all. Yet maybe there is more to Diabolics, and to Nemesis, than that. As the stakes grow ever higher and old faces re-enter Nemesis' life, her choices become that much less clear and when a man enters the equation... well, she can't feel love and compassion as humans can. Can she?
As the fight for her life and the future of the Empire begins in earnest, Nemesis must ask difficult questions about who she is, and what she has the potential to become.
As the tale weaves on Nemesis becomes much more human, and rejects these feelings as they appear, believing her humanity to be impossible. It is what she has been told her entire life after all. Yet maybe there is more to Diabolics, and to Nemesis, than that. As the stakes grow ever higher and old faces re-enter Nemesis' life, her choices become that much less clear and when a man enters the equation... well, she can't feel love and compassion as humans can. Can she?
As the fight for her life and the future of the Empire begins in earnest, Nemesis must ask difficult questions about who she is, and what she has the potential to become.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this as a 12 year old and it's reference to the emperor's new clothes was so well done that it made my favourite non human character to date. I like the post earth human world that is created. I have to reread it because i've built it bigger in my head but the deception of the character is known by the reader but is played out so well in the story that when it does come to a head it is good.
I didn't know what to think about it at first, but I absolutely fell in love with it! Nemisis is the most badass character I know! Like that girl kills people without hesitation and would give her life for other's.
This was one of my favorite sci-fi books in highschool/early college and I wanted to revisit it. It was really interesting to see just how much I've grown as a writer and reader by revisiting this book. Don't get me wrong, the plot is great and I would highly recommend to anyone. But there are many jolts where I get pulled out of the storyline. Primarily during the first few chapters when any exposition was given there was a lot of telling and not showing, and coming from a first person POV, it just felt like the information was being forced into the readers mind, rather than naturally unfolding in a scene. This occasionally happens throughout the book with regard to Nemesis' constant point blank reminders to the reader that she is not a human, and I just don't think this needed to be repeated again and again when we were already getting that information from what was being shown in the scene.
“It’s terrifying to realize your own decisions are shaping your destiny.”
This is one of those books where when I wasn’t reading it I wasn’t really thinking about it, but when I was reading it I was enraptured. The characters were compelling, the world and politics were intricate, and the relationships were dynamic. I just thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Diabolic follows Nemesis as she goes undercover in Sedonia’s place to the Emperor’s court, where she must survive hiding her true self, in a place primed for rebellion.
Things I Liked
All of the relationships were glorious! ALL OF THEM. I LOVED Nemesis and Sedonia’s relationship. There was so much unconditional love and care between the two of them, that it was a wonder to behold their purity. I also really loved the budding romance between Nemesis and Tyrus. They’re both uniquely situated in their families and really find genuine happiness with each other.
I also really loved basically every character, which makes my heart happy. Nemesis was such a genuinely good person and a staunch defender of the weak. It was so easy to connect and root for her. And I loved seeing her gain an independence and individuality, when she always felt like she was never she own person. I thought Tyrus was a very compelling character who was SO SMART and cunning. I always liked him, but there were times I didn’t know if I could trust him, and it made reading the book more fun.
There was also some excellent brutality, as one would expect with galactically-enhanced bodyguards. The diabolics are conditioned to be inhuman and ruthless, so it was really interesting to see Nemesis’ inner battle, reconciling who she feels she is vs who she’s been told to be.
Things I Didn’t Like
The beginning was a little muddled for me. I don’t know if I just wasn’t paying close enough attention, but there was a lot of new terms and worldbuilding info, and some of it ran together for me.
I really liked Neveni. I thought she was a great friend to Nemesis, but after about the halfway point, I started to like her less. There wasn’t really anything bad about her, I just didn’t agree with some choices she made, so I started to connect to her less.
The Diabolic is a wonderful story of humanity and the pure power of friendship. I just can’t stop thinking about how much I connected with the characters and how much I LOVED the relationships. This was a great scifi read with so much heart and great politics and power plays too. It really had it all.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If Dune and The Hunger Games were mashed up this would be the result. Political intrigue and religious rule in space with teenagers leading revolts.
It was a little bloodier and sexier than most YA I've come across, but it wasn't a draw back. It was a good way to kick off a series.
It was a little bloodier and sexier than most YA I've come across, but it wasn't a draw back. It was a good way to kick off a series.
This has been on my TBR for awhile and I always meant to get around to reading it. This was an interesting dark YA sci-fi. Definitely feels like a space opera, Hunger Games or the like. The world is interesting as the elite of humanity have shunned science and technology in favor of religion and though they live among the stars in their fortress' they have no understanding of the technology that functions around them. They've become a society of excess and there's a dark undercurrent surrounding them all. The emperor isn't one to be crossed and has no problems killing an entire planet to maintain his rule.
I really did enjoy Nemesis. She may have been created for one purpose, but she's so much more than even she thinks. She has to quickly adapt and to figure out how to survive in the world she finds herself thrust into amongst cutthroat royalty who would kill her if they could. She's hiding who she is to protect the one person she cares about, taking on an identity she has no real experience in.
While I loved Nemesis's character, none of the rest of the characters struck me quite as profoundly. They were ok, but I wasn't excited about her relationship with any of them really. Her feelings for Sidonia were thrust on her, and while Sidonia seems to have the right motivations, she never really got any sort of investment from me emotionally. Tyrus was really the same for me. I never felt like I got to know him well enough to completely accept the relationship and feelings he was claiming for Nemesis.
The world building was interesting and I'm curious to see where the series goes though. So I'll definitely be reading the next book.
I really did enjoy Nemesis. She may have been created for one purpose, but she's so much more than even she thinks. She has to quickly adapt and to figure out how to survive in the world she finds herself thrust into amongst cutthroat royalty who would kill her if they could. She's hiding who she is to protect the one person she cares about, taking on an identity she has no real experience in.
While I loved Nemesis's character, none of the rest of the characters struck me quite as profoundly. They were ok, but I wasn't excited about her relationship with any of them really. Her feelings for Sidonia were thrust on her, and while Sidonia seems to have the right motivations, she never really got any sort of investment from me emotionally. Tyrus was really the same for me. I never felt like I got to know him well enough to completely accept the relationship and feelings he was claiming for Nemesis.
The world building was interesting and I'm curious to see where the series goes though. So I'll definitely be reading the next book.