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anastasija_101's review
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
foxyreadings's review
2.0
I can't say I wasn't expecting this book to be action-packed, because the blurb made it clear: it narrates a race against time, the only asset of the protagonist being a seven second delay before the images recorded by the phone implanted in her brain are broadcasted to her pursuers. Yet, I am certain that you can perfectly write a book that has both action, world building and character development. Seven second delay only has the first one. And while I like a good action, too much of it gets me bored.
Feeling something for the protagonist (be it positive or negative feelings) is essential for me to enjoy a book. Here, I only felt indifference towards Mila. She doesn't really have a background story, nor is her personality much developed. Also, this girl has WAY too much luck for her story to be realistic. I mean, she's a teen, she's alone, and she never had enough to eat in her entire life (so her health condition must be quite poor). She has dozens of trained and armed Special Agents after her, her only asset is a seven second delay (that is, nothing). All odds are against her, and yet, she wins ALL THE TIME! She barely gets hurt.
Also, the world created by the author is interesting: Europe is devastated, only the Isles are eldorados with abundance, wealth and technology. Everyone from the continent therefore dreams of reaching the Isles, which brings to topic of migration, such a trending question nowadays. I'd love a good dystopian novel about migration, but I'll have to look for another one - this one barely skims over it. It's the reason for the action taking place that's all.
I wouldn't recommend Seven second delay if you like your dystopian novels to be as much (if not more) about reflexion than action. However, if you're after entertainment only, it might be the book for you.
Feeling something for the protagonist (be it positive or negative feelings) is essential for me to enjoy a book. Here, I only felt indifference towards Mila. She doesn't really have a background story, nor is her personality much developed. Also, this girl has WAY too much luck for her story to be realistic. I mean, she's a teen, she's alone, and she never had enough to eat in her entire life (so her health condition must be quite poor). She has dozens of trained and armed Special Agents after her, her only asset is a seven second delay (that is, nothing). All odds are against her, and yet, she wins ALL THE TIME! She barely gets hurt.
Also, the world created by the author is interesting: Europe is devastated, only the Isles are eldorados with abundance, wealth and technology. Everyone from the continent therefore dreams of reaching the Isles, which brings to topic of migration, such a trending question nowadays. I'd love a good dystopian novel about migration, but I'll have to look for another one - this one barely skims over it. It's the reason for the action taking place that's all.
I wouldn't recommend Seven second delay if you like your dystopian novels to be as much (if not more) about reflexion than action. However, if you're after entertainment only, it might be the book for you.
tyler_zakiyareadsbooks_'s review
4.0
Exciting and thrilling chase scenes!
Mila, you are one badass character!!!
Mila, you are one badass character!!!
alwyshaveabook82's review
5.0
The premise has stuck with me years after I read this. Dystopian future, refugee, uses her only advantage (the video feed is delayed by 7 seconds) to survive (maybe win?).
reluming's review
4.0
(Find the original review and more at Jellyfish Reads.)
**I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.**
I had no idea what to expect with this book, since there are no reviews on Goodreads or anything, and it was published just last week. And what I got was a highly readable and entertaining novel, fast-paced and packed with action, with just the slightest taste of romance.
This book is set in a world not too far in the future, with the European Union and the British Isles as the backdrop, now known as the U and the Isles. The story starts when Mila is crossing the bridge from the continent into the Isles, with a man called Julian, who dies when he falls from the bridge. Mila comes from somewhere in the Eastern U, from a dying city known as Köls, where she struggled to make a living. We find out her backstory through frequent flashbacks: how she grew up in poverty, how she met Julian, how she travelled to the Isles.
Whereas the U is in a state of constant civil war and life there is grim and harsh, everyone in the Isles lives a life of comparative bliss. Everything basic is available for free. And everyone has a phone implanted in their heads, constantly broadcasting their feeds to anyone who wants to watch. Mila travels to the Isles to find peace; but when she loses Julian, she is on her own and left with the mystery of Julian's dying words. Captured by Agents, she's interrogated and implanted with a phone. But as they're implanting the phone, they notice that there's another device in her head – and they think it's a bomb.
Mila's only option is to run.
I thought this book was really elegantly written, especially all the action scenes. And there are plenty of those! This is a book with lots and lots of car chases, chases in general, hand-to-hand combat, explosions, etc, with some pretty gruesome scenes occasionally. The action scenes were just so easy to visualise – the writing glided smoothly along, helping to maintain the heart-thumping pace of the novel.
The pace was slowed by the flashbacks, which made me a bit impatient at times as I was eager to jump back into the action, but I was glad to learn more about Mila's past and gain information about the world that this novel is set in. A world not so different from ours, and not entirely unimaginable. A world where countries like Britain and the US take everything from less wealthy countries, pretending to give them aid that only further benefits their own people instead. There was some interesting social commentary.
I was pleasantly surprised by the characters in this action novel. Mila is awesome. She's intelligent and extremely good at fighting and she's got a sense of humour. She loves doughnuts. She makes a new friend along the way called Holly, who helps her and sees the good in Mila even after she realises that Mila's been labelled a terrorist by the government. I really enjoyed this touch of female friendship in this novel. It was unexpected and refreshing.
Then there's Adam. An Agent, who finds himself wanting Mila to survive against his better judgement. He was a very interesting character, with his own personal conflict and history, and I liked watching the curious relationship between him and Mila slowly develop. It was odd, and I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but as it turns out, it was oddly perfect.
If you're looking for lots of action and a kick-ass heroine, Seven Second Delay might just be the thing you're looking for. I wouldn't say it was particularly memorable, but it's certainly a well-crafted novel in this genre (with the exception of a handful of illogical moments which are not too important in the long run) and a fun way to spend a few hours. For all its scenes of violence, this is a novel filled with humanity and kindnesses and unexpectedly heartwarming moments. It left me smiling and satisfied.
thedaylighter's review
2.0
I felt like this book was a little too confusing when it started - it was pretty fast-paced even from the beginning, and while this suited the plot, it was difficult keeping up with the new world we'd just been put in. Most of the world and the way it worked was usually explained through monologues from the characters and flashbacks. The monologues worked fine most of the time since Mila, the main character, didn't always have all the information but the flashbacks weren't always relevant to what was happening in the present.
The most interesting thing about this book though was its characters. While I didn't develop much of an attachment to Mila at first, I now admire her instincts and intelligence and strong moral compass. It was nice to read about a character dealing with a corrupted government still being able to appreciate the genuinely kind people she encountered and feeling remorse over the destruction she - directly or indirectly - caused. Usually protagonists in these kinds of books have very little faith in ordinary citizens, believing them naïve and unaware of what was going on or completely aware and therefore cruel, but Mila honestly trusted the people she'd met even if she didn't know much about them.
Once you became really engaged in the book's plot, it was a quick read. I was always interested in what was going on and even the flashbacks - which I thought were clumsily done at first - were okay once I'd gotten to know the characters involved. The only other thing to point out was the romance brought in seemed a little out-of-place. I had kind of seen it coming from one of the characters involved, but it was a little sudden from the other. This was a nice enough read, but not the best, so 2 stars.
The most interesting thing about this book though was its characters. While I didn't develop much of an attachment to Mila at first, I now admire her instincts and intelligence and strong moral compass. It was nice to read about a character dealing with a corrupted government still being able to appreciate the genuinely kind people she encountered and feeling remorse over the destruction she - directly or indirectly - caused. Usually protagonists in these kinds of books have very little faith in ordinary citizens, believing them naïve and unaware of what was going on or completely aware and therefore cruel, but Mila honestly trusted the people she'd met even if she didn't know much about them.
Once you became really engaged in the book's plot, it was a quick read. I was always interested in what was going on and even the flashbacks - which I thought were clumsily done at first - were okay once I'd gotten to know the characters involved. The only other thing to point out was the romance brought in seemed a little out-of-place. I had kind of seen it coming from one of the characters involved, but it was a little sudden from the other. This was a nice enough read, but not the best, so 2 stars.
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