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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I started reading this book last night and I just couldn’t put it down so I read it all in one sitting! I completely fell in love with this book. After having read Acid by the same author(click here for my review) last month, I knew that I had to pick up this book as soon as I had this chance. I’m so glad I finally did because it was so good.
Cass as a main character wasn’t the strongest but I did still love her because she had morals from the start. When everyone else on the island refused to go after her brother, she immediately worked up a plan to go. While she didn’t think things through thoroughly, she had the best intentions so I couldn’t hate her. I loved reading from her perspective because she made sense.
Read more of my review at: https://thereadingfangirl.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/the-fearless-by-emma-pass/
Cass as a main character wasn’t the strongest but I did still love her because she had morals from the start. When everyone else on the island refused to go after her brother, she immediately worked up a plan to go. While she didn’t think things through thoroughly, she had the best intentions so I couldn’t hate her. I loved reading from her perspective because she made sense.
Read more of my review at: https://thereadingfangirl.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/the-fearless-by-emma-pass/
I really wanted to love The Fearless by Emma Pass. It sounded like a really interesting post-apocalyptic story that would be tense and disturbing at the same time. And while I did really enjoy certain things about the book, other aspects of the story really didn't work for me.
The start of The Fearless is told from Cass's perspective when The Fearless are sort of unleashed on the world and we see how and why Cass ends up on the island of Hope. I really enjoyed this part of the story. I was on the edge of my seat, my heart was pounding, I didn't know what was going to happen next. It was all really nail-biting.
And in this beginning of the story we are introduced to our main character, Cass, who is a normal girl living in the UK with her parents. She catches some glimpses of news reports and some newspaper articles about some weird goings-on with a new drug being given to soldiers in a preventative measure for PTSD. As well as reducing the risk of PTSD, however, this new drug has meant that anyone who has taken this drug, effectively kills off all fear but also all love and empathy and they become The Fearless. Strong, powerful, and lacking all humanity. They are enough to strike fear into anybody's heart. And when all of this is beginning, a friend of the family offers Cass and her parents refuge on this island, Hope. And on the way there they are attacked by The Fearless.
The rest of the story is told from three viewpoints: Cass, Sol, Cass's childhood friend, and Myo, a stranger to the island. I can definitely see why there are three viewpoints to the story and as all three were definitely beneficial to showing a wider variety of events as things go along. The story also jumps forward 7 years after the invasion of The Fearless and while Cass and Sol have been isolated on the island of Hope, their safety and belief in the island is shattered after the arrival of Myo and other more deadly occurrences mean that Cass must face The Fearless again after so many years. Here is where my issues begin to crop up.
My first issue with the book is that I never fully believed in any of the character's motivations. Cass does impulsive things because of her love for another character in the book, but that relationship never felt real to me. Same with Myo. We're told of his connection to his sister, Mara, but the only relationship that he is involved with that I truly believed in throughout the book was his affection for his dog, Lochie.
And while Cass and Sol are meant to be childhood friends, I didn't really believe in that either. We can see straight away that Sol harbours feelings for Cass but I would have liked that to have been explored more. In fact, I would have liked there to be more character description and development in general for Sol. He does a lot of things in this book that would make a person raise their eyebrow at, but throughout I always wanted to know why. Why does he do the things he does? Why is Cass important, why has this character changed so much throughout his time at Hope? I didn't get it.
So while I did like the idea of the fearless as zombie sort of creatures and I definitely want to see more UK based settings, I felt let down by the lack of character development and felt no real connection to the characters or their relationships together. And that is a shame. Perhaps you'll have better luck with this story!
The start of The Fearless is told from Cass's perspective when The Fearless are sort of unleashed on the world and we see how and why Cass ends up on the island of Hope. I really enjoyed this part of the story. I was on the edge of my seat, my heart was pounding, I didn't know what was going to happen next. It was all really nail-biting.
And in this beginning of the story we are introduced to our main character, Cass, who is a normal girl living in the UK with her parents. She catches some glimpses of news reports and some newspaper articles about some weird goings-on with a new drug being given to soldiers in a preventative measure for PTSD. As well as reducing the risk of PTSD, however, this new drug has meant that anyone who has taken this drug, effectively kills off all fear but also all love and empathy and they become The Fearless. Strong, powerful, and lacking all humanity. They are enough to strike fear into anybody's heart. And when all of this is beginning, a friend of the family offers Cass and her parents refuge on this island, Hope. And on the way there they are attacked by The Fearless.
The rest of the story is told from three viewpoints: Cass, Sol, Cass's childhood friend, and Myo, a stranger to the island. I can definitely see why there are three viewpoints to the story and as all three were definitely beneficial to showing a wider variety of events as things go along. The story also jumps forward 7 years after the invasion of The Fearless and while Cass and Sol have been isolated on the island of Hope, their safety and belief in the island is shattered after the arrival of Myo and other more deadly occurrences mean that Cass must face The Fearless again after so many years. Here is where my issues begin to crop up.
My first issue with the book is that I never fully believed in any of the character's motivations. Cass does impulsive things because of her love for another character in the book, but that relationship never felt real to me. Same with Myo. We're told of his connection to his sister, Mara, but the only relationship that he is involved with that I truly believed in throughout the book was his affection for his dog, Lochie.
And while Cass and Sol are meant to be childhood friends, I didn't really believe in that either. We can see straight away that Sol harbours feelings for Cass but I would have liked that to have been explored more. In fact, I would have liked there to be more character description and development in general for Sol. He does a lot of things in this book that would make a person raise their eyebrow at, but throughout I always wanted to know why. Why does he do the things he does? Why is Cass important, why has this character changed so much throughout his time at Hope? I didn't get it.
So while I did like the idea of the fearless as zombie sort of creatures and I definitely want to see more UK based settings, I felt let down by the lack of character development and felt no real connection to the characters or their relationships together. And that is a shame. Perhaps you'll have better luck with this story!
Check out even more book reviews on my blog: https://www.lifeofafemalebibliophile.com/
The Fearless is a dystopian YA novel that deals with an aftermath of a virus outbreak gone wrong. The virus was a result of a drug that was supposed to help soldiers recovering from PTSD, but ended up turning them into zombie-like aggressive humans. Going into this novel I’ve seen and read stories similar to this before so I was a bit worried if I would like it and if would stand out among other dystopian reads.
The story starts out where the first major outbreak happens worldwide as Cass is a young child, then jumps into present day where Cass is now a teenager. She lives on an isolated island with a community of people where they find some kind of normal life after the outbreak. One day an outsider named Myo breaches security on the pretense of needing medicine and it causes a ruckus on top of “the fearless” kidnapping Cass’s brother Jori.
After the general refuses to search for Jori, Cass decides to go on her own rescue mission. She trusts Myo on a whim, breaks him out of the island’s prison and they leave to escape the island. Cass wants desperately to find her brother Jori and rescue them from “the fearless”. In doing so she is very vulnerable. She doesn’t completely buy Myo’s story but has to trust him in order to survive. She’s lived in isolation so long and being on land is dangerous territory. Meanwhile, Myo is hiding secrets of his own, readers are unsure of what is motive is so we have to rely on snippets of his and Cass’s alternating POV.
This story had a really great premise with the concept of the fearless and this interesting, but very scary world that Pass has created. Ultimately it fell flat for me though due to its clichés and it’s predictability of the plot. There is not a lot of guess-work for the reading audience. Another aspect I was dissatisfied with is that while some of the characters were intriguing, others fell flat due to a lack of back story and they also felt one-dimensional. On top of that, the insta-love was quite irritating.
All in all, I’m on the fence about this book. It’s an exciting action pack story, but I feel that some of the characters and the plot needed more work.
The Fearless is a dystopian YA novel that deals with an aftermath of a virus outbreak gone wrong. The virus was a result of a drug that was supposed to help soldiers recovering from PTSD, but ended up turning them into zombie-like aggressive humans. Going into this novel I’ve seen and read stories similar to this before so I was a bit worried if I would like it and if would stand out among other dystopian reads.
The story starts out where the first major outbreak happens worldwide as Cass is a young child, then jumps into present day where Cass is now a teenager. She lives on an isolated island with a community of people where they find some kind of normal life after the outbreak. One day an outsider named Myo breaches security on the pretense of needing medicine and it causes a ruckus on top of “the fearless” kidnapping Cass’s brother Jori.
After the general refuses to search for Jori, Cass decides to go on her own rescue mission. She trusts Myo on a whim, breaks him out of the island’s prison and they leave to escape the island. Cass wants desperately to find her brother Jori and rescue them from “the fearless”. In doing so she is very vulnerable. She doesn’t completely buy Myo’s story but has to trust him in order to survive. She’s lived in isolation so long and being on land is dangerous territory. Meanwhile, Myo is hiding secrets of his own, readers are unsure of what is motive is so we have to rely on snippets of his and Cass’s alternating POV.
This story had a really great premise with the concept of the fearless and this interesting, but very scary world that Pass has created. Ultimately it fell flat for me though due to its clichés and it’s predictability of the plot. There is not a lot of guess-work for the reading audience. Another aspect I was dissatisfied with is that while some of the characters were intriguing, others fell flat due to a lack of back story and they also felt one-dimensional. On top of that, the insta-love was quite irritating.
All in all, I’m on the fence about this book. It’s an exciting action pack story, but I feel that some of the characters and the plot needed more work.
Having previously read [b:Acid|13062484|Acid|Emma Pass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1359232967l/13062484._SX50_.jpg|18227944] by Emma Pass for the first Sci-Fi Month in 2013, and enjoying it much more than expected, I had quite high hopes for The Fearless. Sadly, these hopes were not met.
The Fearless brings us a world where a serum has been developed for the military, a serum that removes all fear from the user. Unfortunately, as meddling with things like this often goes, the serum has adverse side effects and turns the user into a zombie type creature, although more aware than your typical zombie. Cities and towns are overrun by ultraviolent army types, who start to convert civilians. The book opens with Cass aged eleven, escaping some of the Fearless with her parents, and heading to live on an isolated island society.
Initially, I did not realise that the book used multiple points of view. I do not mind this at all, apart from when the voices are not distinct, or it is not particularly obvious when the POV switches. This was an issue with The Fearless. Part of the blame lies on the formatting of the eARC, where the name of the character narrating the chapter was not immediately obvious, and this will not be an issue with the final publication. However, the voices of the three characters were so similar, that sometimes I had to go back and double check whose point of view I was reading.
I didn’t particularly think much of any character. Cass did not stand out, her childhood best friend Sol was petty and jealous. Of course, her childhood best friend is in love with her and Cass does not return these affections. Sol becomes abusive and violent, and Cass doesn’t seem to think until much later on that his reactions were unusual. Then there is Myo, the mysterious outsider whom Cass falls for, but isn’t quite who he seems. This relationship was just so… predictable, again. The romance had zero chemistry and no other reason but two teenagers thrown together. They even talk of love after less than a week has passed. Relationships are a deal breaker for me in books – they need chemistry, they need to feel genuine. I don’t just cheer for couples just for the sake of it, and Cass and Myo made no sense – particularly when Myo revealed his ‘big secret’ (that was also easy to guess).
This was quite a major disappointment after Acid, and at over halfway through I felt like barely anything had happened. Boring and undeveloped characters, a predictable plot and a ‘romance’ that lacks any real feeling. If you’re going to read some of Emma Pass’ work, I would definitely recommend you try Acid instead of this.
I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Originally posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
The Fearless brings us a world where a serum has been developed for the military, a serum that removes all fear from the user. Unfortunately, as meddling with things like this often goes, the serum has adverse side effects and turns the user into a zombie type creature, although more aware than your typical zombie. Cities and towns are overrun by ultraviolent army types, who start to convert civilians. The book opens with Cass aged eleven, escaping some of the Fearless with her parents, and heading to live on an isolated island society.
Initially, I did not realise that the book used multiple points of view. I do not mind this at all, apart from when the voices are not distinct, or it is not particularly obvious when the POV switches. This was an issue with The Fearless. Part of the blame lies on the formatting of the eARC, where the name of the character narrating the chapter was not immediately obvious, and this will not be an issue with the final publication. However, the voices of the three characters were so similar, that sometimes I had to go back and double check whose point of view I was reading.
I didn’t particularly think much of any character. Cass did not stand out, her childhood best friend Sol was petty and jealous. Of course, her childhood best friend is in love with her and Cass does not return these affections. Sol becomes abusive and violent, and Cass doesn’t seem to think until much later on that his reactions were unusual. Then there is Myo, the mysterious outsider whom Cass falls for, but isn’t quite who he seems. This relationship was just so… predictable, again. The romance had zero chemistry and no other reason but two teenagers thrown together. They even talk of love after less than a week has passed. Relationships are a deal breaker for me in books – they need chemistry, they need to feel genuine. I don’t just cheer for couples just for the sake of it, and Cass and Myo made no sense – particularly when Myo revealed his ‘big secret’ (that was also easy to guess).
This was quite a major disappointment after Acid, and at over halfway through I felt like barely anything had happened. Boring and undeveloped characters, a predictable plot and a ‘romance’ that lacks any real feeling. If you’re going to read some of Emma Pass’ work, I would definitely recommend you try Acid instead of this.
I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Originally posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
Is it a Dystopian? Is it a Post-Apocalyptic? Is it a Zombie novel?
Answer: yes!
Whatever you do, don't dismiss FEARLESS as "just another YA dystopian" to be added to the ginormous pile currently littering the shelves, thanks largely to people like Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, with their massive successes and movie deals. Because although they are abundantly plentiful right now, many of them are only "okay", and some not even that. But I feel there are a few things that separate FEARLESS from the rest of the mush, and I'ma tell you what they are!
Thing one - it's set in the UK! Wahoo!
Call me biased about my own fair isle if you want, but I found it very refreshing and a real pleasure to be able to more easily imagine the basic scenery. But, that might not be a big selling point for most people reading this review, so for you guys I'll say it will be a chance for you to strengthen those imagination molecules a bit! Air them out, take them for a walk around the block and come and visit my side of the pond for a change! :)
Thing two - it's unpredictable and daring.
I was having wee flashbacks during parts of FEARLESS to a certain fantastic debut by another author you should know - Miss Susan Ee. Emma Pass, it seems, has a similar level of fearlessness (shnarf) when it comes to violence, gore and torturing her characters to within an inch of their sanity! Yay! I love a brave author. I love being shocked witless, and I love it when the stakes are so high I can't relax for a single second into thinking I can predict how the rest of the story will play out, because no one is safe under her pen. Don't you love it? Yah, me too!
Thing three - Cass!
As a main character, Cass was pretty fantastic. She is single-minded and steadfast throughout in her mission to retrieve her brother, and nothing - not growing romantic feelings or any other kind of testing loyalties - will stand in the way of her achieving that end. He is all that matters to her, the only family she has left, and I admired the heck out of her for that tenacity. Jori should count himself extremely lucky to have a big sis' like her!
Thing four - Myo!
Possibly my favourite thing about this book was the characterisation for Myo. He's a character that's introduced early on under a shroud of mystery, and getting to know him, particularly how different his life has been from Cass's on the island, and how he learned to cope, was completely compelling. As a potential love interest character, he is about as far from the stereotype for a YA "hero" as you can get. There is no alphanesss here, and he doesn't rely on a flawless hot bod to draw readers in, but that doesn't mean his character lacks strength. Or not to me, anyway. Strength can look different to different people, I suppose, but a survivor is a survivor no matter which way you cut it, and that sums up Myo's character perfectly. I loved him!
I haven't talked synopsis much - or, you know, at all - and it would be hard to do so without spoilers anyway, but I don't think I need to. The blurb tells you all you need to know about the scientifically screwed-over soldiers called the Fearless to get you started, and the rest I think you should experience for yourself.
A highly recommended 4 Stars! ★★★★
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Answer: yes!
Whatever you do, don't dismiss FEARLESS as "just another YA dystopian" to be added to the ginormous pile currently littering the shelves, thanks largely to people like Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, with their massive successes and movie deals. Because although they are abundantly plentiful right now, many of them are only "okay", and some not even that. But I feel there are a few things that separate FEARLESS from the rest of the mush, and I'ma tell you what they are!
Thing one - it's set in the UK! Wahoo!
Call me biased about my own fair isle if you want, but I found it very refreshing and a real pleasure to be able to more easily imagine the basic scenery. But, that might not be a big selling point for most people reading this review, so for you guys I'll say it will be a chance for you to strengthen those imagination molecules a bit! Air them out, take them for a walk around the block and come and visit my side of the pond for a change! :)
Thing two - it's unpredictable and daring.
I was having wee flashbacks during parts of FEARLESS to a certain fantastic debut by another author you should know - Miss Susan Ee. Emma Pass, it seems, has a similar level of fearlessness (shnarf) when it comes to violence, gore and torturing her characters to within an inch of their sanity! Yay! I love a brave author. I love being shocked witless, and I love it when the stakes are so high I can't relax for a single second into thinking I can predict how the rest of the story will play out, because no one is safe under her pen. Don't you love it? Yah, me too!
Thing three - Cass!
As a main character, Cass was pretty fantastic. She is single-minded and steadfast throughout in her mission to retrieve her brother, and nothing - not growing romantic feelings or any other kind of testing loyalties - will stand in the way of her achieving that end. He is all that matters to her, the only family she has left, and I admired the heck out of her for that tenacity. Jori should count himself extremely lucky to have a big sis' like her!
Thing four - Myo!
Possibly my favourite thing about this book was the characterisation for Myo. He's a character that's introduced early on under a shroud of mystery, and getting to know him, particularly how different his life has been from Cass's on the island, and how he learned to cope, was completely compelling. As a potential love interest character, he is about as far from the stereotype for a YA "hero" as you can get. There is no alphanesss here, and he doesn't rely on a flawless hot bod to draw readers in, but that doesn't mean his character lacks strength. Or not to me, anyway. Strength can look different to different people, I suppose, but a survivor is a survivor no matter which way you cut it, and that sums up Myo's character perfectly. I loved him!
I haven't talked synopsis much - or, you know, at all - and it would be hard to do so without spoilers anyway, but I don't think I need to. The blurb tells you all you need to know about the scientifically screwed-over soldiers called the Fearless to get you started, and the rest I think you should experience for yourself.
A highly recommended 4 Stars! ★★★★
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I... I only meant to read the first page. Then the first chapter. Then the first section. Next thing I knew it was way past my bedtime and I had devoured this book in one sitting. So good.
I wasn't a huge fan of how much jumping from character to character we see, but, for the most part, it went well. I probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't all in first person! Either way, it was a compelling story that wouldn't let me go.
Read this if you like zombies, and YA dystopian novels with a hint of romance and a lot of familial love.
I wasn't a huge fan of how much jumping from character to character we see, but, for the most part, it went well. I probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't all in first person! Either way, it was a compelling story that wouldn't let me go.
Read this if you like zombies, and YA dystopian novels with a hint of romance and a lot of familial love.
Emma Pass's debut was great - from the strong cover, to a strong (in name and character) female protagonist, to a strong dystopian setting and story.
Her second book is another stand-alone story, not in a future dystopia but set, like 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead, today. I mention those TV shows because it has similarities - not zombies, but a worldwide catastrophe starts when a chemical formula designed to help soldiers suffering PTSD symptoms is instead used to create an all-encompassing army of Fearless - people who feel no fear, no remorse, no empathy. The same fallout ensues as if they were zombies.
Cass is 10 when the Fearless swarm. Her family are caught up and changed forever, her brother being born as they desperately make their way to a sanctuary. The story then picks up 7 years later, with Cass and her brother Jori living on a isolated island community, where one day a Fearless infiltrates and Jori is kidnapped.
I have nothing but praise to offer on the writing style. It's fast moving, engaging and will definitely spark the interest of teenage readers. There's a love triangle between Cass and two young men that moves at a good pace - Sol has been in love with Cass since they were children, Myo is the mysterious stranger who promises to help her find her stolen brother (though Sol for me isn't as strongly written as Myo).
I think fans of Emma won't be disappointed with her second. And those new to her will enjoy this, if the subject is something that they like: apocalyptic YA fiction.
For me, Jori is underused, it would have been nice to hear from him more, he's more a plot device to get Cass off the island than a fully-fledged character. And Sol acts in ways I didn't find believable, especially towards the end, he is meant to be intensely in love with Cass and also rather violent but this aspect doesn't play out much in scenes, in his interaction with other people, until one final act.
I did enjoy this, but must say I prefer ACID - I love the world it created, one I could picture quite vividly and found original. Cass isn't as strong a heroine as Jenna was, but is still one you're prepared to follow. Even to Meadowhall Shopping Centre, which, as a local, I loved seeing make an appearance (being a fellow Derbyshire library assistant, as is the author). A great setting for an apocalypse, just as George A. Romero discovered.
It's one to recommend to teenage readers who like dystopia/apocalypse stories.
Review of a Netgalley advance copy.
Her second book is another stand-alone story, not in a future dystopia but set, like 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead, today. I mention those TV shows because it has similarities - not zombies, but a worldwide catastrophe starts when a chemical formula designed to help soldiers suffering PTSD symptoms is instead used to create an all-encompassing army of Fearless - people who feel no fear, no remorse, no empathy. The same fallout ensues as if they were zombies.
Cass is 10 when the Fearless swarm. Her family are caught up and changed forever, her brother being born as they desperately make their way to a sanctuary. The story then picks up 7 years later, with Cass and her brother Jori living on a isolated island community, where one day a Fearless infiltrates and Jori is kidnapped.
I have nothing but praise to offer on the writing style. It's fast moving, engaging and will definitely spark the interest of teenage readers. There's a love triangle between Cass and two young men that moves at a good pace - Sol has been in love with Cass since they were children, Myo is the mysterious stranger who promises to help her find her stolen brother (though Sol for me isn't as strongly written as Myo).
I think fans of Emma won't be disappointed with her second. And those new to her will enjoy this, if the subject is something that they like: apocalyptic YA fiction.
For me, Jori is underused, it would have been nice to hear from him more, he's more a plot device to get Cass off the island than a fully-fledged character. And Sol acts in ways I didn't find believable, especially towards the end, he is meant to be intensely in love with Cass and also rather violent but this aspect doesn't play out much in scenes, in his interaction with other people, until one final act.
I did enjoy this, but must say I prefer ACID - I love the world it created, one I could picture quite vividly and found original. Cass isn't as strong a heroine as Jenna was, but is still one you're prepared to follow. Even to Meadowhall Shopping Centre, which, as a local, I loved seeing make an appearance (being a fellow Derbyshire library assistant, as is the author). A great setting for an apocalypse, just as George A. Romero discovered.
It's one to recommend to teenage readers who like dystopia/apocalypse stories.
Review of a Netgalley advance copy.
(I won a copy of this book from Emma Pass' solo giveaway during YASH 2015.)
Actual rating- 3.5
The whole book had a "The Hunger Games"/"World War Z" hybrid feel to it. The characters were all right, but my favorite was Lochie, the wolfhound. :)
As a stand-alone novel, the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger. I hope we get a sequel someday!
Actual rating- 3.5
The whole book had a "The Hunger Games"/"World War Z" hybrid feel to it. The characters were all right, but my favorite was Lochie, the wolfhound. :)
As a stand-alone novel, the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger. I hope we get a sequel someday!
I loved this book. It gets more intriguing the deeper I go into it that u just don’t want to put it down.
Reasons it only got four stars
1. Not my style of book
2. The parts where most of the action takes place is a bit too fast and I think more detail could have been added
3. Some parts were a bit boring
Reasons it only got four stars
1. Not my style of book
2. The parts where most of the action takes place is a bit too fast and I think more detail could have been added
3. Some parts were a bit boring