Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
It had a okay idea but utterly failed in execution. I pretty much hated it. The only semi-ish worth while character was Riff and that was just in the beginning. She got worse towards the end. Everyone was annoying and made stupid choices. The plot itself didn't really make sense and was basically worthless. They have the equivalent of slaves that live in the "Filthy" section below decks. Didn't we get past the whole slave thing? So we reverted. Okay, tell me why! And I had a lot more questions while actually reading it. And the end, oh the horror! He gets stuck into an arranged marriage...and doesn't really seem to care one way or the other. But he still kinda likes Riff and wants to be with her. What? Man up and make a freaking decision. Wrong decision! Rubbish bin for me. I do NOT recommend!
Als ich 14 war, habe ich Worldshaker geliebt. Jetzt, zehn Jahre später, gibt es einige Dinge, die ich am Buch bemängeln würde und werde, aber das Rating bleibt auf vier Sternen.
Vor allem Col ging mir in der zweiten Runde gehörig auf den Zeiger. Er liest sich eher wie ein 11/12-Jähriger als ein 16-Jähriger, der er angeblich ist. Natürlich kann man jetzt sagen, er sei in einer sehr behüteten Welt aufgewachsen, als Enkel des Oberbefehlshabers der Worldshaker. Aber wir wissen alle, dass die Kinder von sehr einflussreichen Leuten meistens die schlimmsten sind. Das merkt man an den Klassenkameraden von Col, und ich denke es wäre sicher spannender gewesen, wenn Col ebenfalls so einer gewesen wäre.
Aber das Worldbuilding finde ich auch heute noch hochspannend. Es lässt sich wohl ganz gut mit Mortal Engines vergleichen. Riesige Weltenschiffe, die über alles auf dem Boden hinwegwälzen, Viktorianische Briten(TM) die sich für die Krone der Schöpfung halten, eine Romeo-und-Julia-gleiche Beziehung die aber nicht der Hauptaugenmerk der ganzen Sache ist... Ist halt doch ein spannender Teen-Roman, auch wenn er einige Schwächen hat.
Vor allem Col ging mir in der zweiten Runde gehörig auf den Zeiger. Er liest sich eher wie ein 11/12-Jähriger als ein 16-Jähriger, der er angeblich ist. Natürlich kann man jetzt sagen, er sei in einer sehr behüteten Welt aufgewachsen, als Enkel des Oberbefehlshabers der Worldshaker. Aber wir wissen alle, dass die Kinder von sehr einflussreichen Leuten meistens die schlimmsten sind. Das merkt man an den Klassenkameraden von Col, und ich denke es wäre sicher spannender gewesen, wenn Col ebenfalls so einer gewesen wäre.
Aber das Worldbuilding finde ich auch heute noch hochspannend. Es lässt sich wohl ganz gut mit Mortal Engines vergleichen. Riesige Weltenschiffe, die über alles auf dem Boden hinwegwälzen, Viktorianische Briten(TM) die sich für die Krone der Schöpfung halten, eine Romeo-und-Julia-gleiche Beziehung die aber nicht der Hauptaugenmerk der ganzen Sache ist... Ist halt doch ein spannender Teen-Roman, auch wenn er einige Schwächen hat.
A re-read of a story I had enjoyed in my childhood. While still fascinating, it was evidently aimed at a younger age bracket. The themes around caste systems, slavery and segregating humanity into the haves and have nots had been unbelievable as a child and are now just saddening to read as an adult who views this divide within the world
I didn't find this steampunk juggernaut adventure as exciting as Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy (also first published in 2009)--maybe it's the oppression narrative aspect of this. I got a bit tired of everyone, including Col, repeatedly saying/thinking "Filthies are horrible." It was a relief when we finally get to meet some of them! Also not sure about the economic system I don't see how the Worldshaker would continue to receive supplies regularly, as it tramples villages and leaves only statues of its royal family in trade, especially since we're led to believe that the former colonies have revolted, leaving only a few colonial cities as "coal stops"
There was maybe one moment in the book when I actually cared about what was happening, but other than that...? Nada. Two stars for that moment and for being a quick read.
To be honest i was disappointed...the whole idea of the story was great and I would have loved to read about a world like that but it just wasn`t described in a way where the reader could really "disappear" into the book and feel like they`re a part of the story. Maybe Im being too critical but that`s kind of important to me in books that explore a world that isn`t like ours. I also felt like the actual interesting and exciting parts were way too short while the more boring parts were stretched out to the point where you lost interest (for example the part where Col fell into the Below Decks...you could have explored that whole idea a lot more instead of describing the stupid teacher wayyyy too detailed and wayyy too much. Also the final conflict between the Filthies and the people from the upper decks was only like 50 pages long??). Another thing was that the different relationships between the characters just weren`t written in a way where the reader would have felt attached to any other person than Col or Riff. When Fossie died I felt like I was supposed to be sad about it but when you only really know a character for one chapter you can`t really feel anything about them when they die.
I loved the dynamic between Col and Riff but that was literally the only thing that kept it somewhat interesting for me.
I probably won`t read the sequel.
I loved the dynamic between Col and Riff but that was literally the only thing that kept it somewhat interesting for me.
I probably won`t read the sequel.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Boy this book took me ages to read, and it feels great having finished it. My thoughts:
~The story took place in such a rich steampunk centric sort of setting with juggernauts and steam engines and tailcoats and was a lovely mash of traditional and technological which is fabulous.
~However the things that let me down was the characters. The characters I did like were barely in the story. Col was just such a bland character and because the story was told through his voice I was just constantly bored with his vanilla brain.
~The book has so much potential, I absolutely LOVE steampunk and the setting was wonderful but
I couldn't get into it, or frankly, care about the characters much.
~It was also massively predictable, so the exciting bits just weren't exciting, it was a massive let down.
~One thing i did love, however, was the weaving of the history of the juggernaut and its backstory with our history. It was done really well and was quite interesting with how it was constructed.
~Towards the end, however, the pace of the story did pick up and I did enjoy myself. I feel like younger Sana would have definitely loved the whole story. If I had read the story, say about 5 to 6 years ago, I would have DEFINITELY rated it much higher.
Boy this book took me ages to read, and it feels great having finished it. My thoughts:
~The story took place in such a rich steampunk centric sort of setting with juggernauts and steam engines and tailcoats and was a lovely mash of traditional and technological which is fabulous.
~However the things that let me down was the characters. The characters I did like were barely in the story. Col was just such a bland character and because the story was told through his voice I was just constantly bored with his vanilla brain.
~The book has so much potential, I absolutely LOVE steampunk and the setting was wonderful but
I couldn't get into it, or frankly, care about the characters much.
~It was also massively predictable, so the exciting bits just weren't exciting, it was a massive let down.
~One thing i did love, however, was the weaving of the history of the juggernaut and its backstory with our history. It was done really well and was quite interesting with how it was constructed.
~Towards the end, however, the pace of the story did pick up and I did enjoy myself. I feel like younger Sana would have definitely loved the whole story. If I had read the story, say about 5 to 6 years ago, I would have DEFINITELY rated it much higher.
Studied it for school. A lot of people find it a horrible book but I actually enjoyed it, has some good ideas.
I really liked what Harland did by twisting steampunk and dystopia together. The caste system is also an interesting addition that is not always present in dystopian sci-fi/fantasy. One character (not the main antagonist) gives me chills whenever I stop to really think about how subtly evil they were.
For more reviews, check out http://vivaladolcevita14.blogspot.com/
Honestly, I'm a bit conflicted about this book. On one hand, it had some excellent character development, with villains that angered me in a good way (nearly making me want to chuck my Nook at the nearest wall), and some sweet action. On the other hand, the story sagged a LOT half of the time, and I just was not interested at those momements. The characters and dialogue did not live up to snuff in that half of the book I disliked. Also there was a bit of stereotyping which I hated. But I do like the story overall, and like I said, great character development, with allegories to racism, in general using imperialism, etc.
Col was a decent character. I liked how he developed from a sheltered, self-superior kid to a more mature, kick ass revolutionizer who stands up for what he believes in and won't back down. I loved seeing this world from his eyes, although I do admit her personality overall was pretty bland. Also, his side of the romance felt too quickly developed. I mean he went from being totally disgusted by Riff to liking her to loving her EXTREMELY quick in my opinion. I know that love can happen and develop quickly, like I said in my review of The Statisical Probablility of Love at First Sight, but that relationship had wonderful development, despite the time frame. Col's romantic timeline felt like whiplash. Then there's Riff. I loved Riff. She was kick ass, funny and snarky, yet had a sweet side to her. She is definitely a character you root for, wanting her to succeed and kick more butt. I wonder what would happen if this book was told from Riff's point of view. It would definitely have been interesting. Now onto Col's sister, Gillabeth. Ugh, remember that stereotyping I mentioned earlier? Well she is it, she's that stereotype I hated in this book. I won't go into spoilers, but her whole character, her actions and motivations bothered the hell out of me. She felt like a stick in villain, that's all I'll say about her. I did really like Septimus a lot, he was wonderful and I wish he was in this book more than he was. The villains, other than Gillabeth, were completely interesting and touched a nerve in me that made me want to join Riff and Col in their quest.
I feel like Mr. Harland has a mish-mash style of writing. On one hand, he knows how to build his world, and fill it with interesting fact/details that bring you in. He knows how to write, for the most part, great characters and give them good growth. On the other hand, it felt like he wasn't even trying with some characters and plotlines, and just stuck them in there to pad out the novel. That was just a shame. I know there's a sequel, Liberator, but I doubt I'll read it, because despite the good parts, the bad parts far outweighed this time :(
Honestly, I'm a bit conflicted about this book. On one hand, it had some excellent character development, with villains that angered me in a good way (nearly making me want to chuck my Nook at the nearest wall), and some sweet action. On the other hand, the story sagged a LOT half of the time, and I just was not interested at those momements. The characters and dialogue did not live up to snuff in that half of the book I disliked. Also there was a bit of stereotyping which I hated. But I do like the story overall, and like I said, great character development, with allegories to racism, in general using imperialism, etc.
Col was a decent character. I liked how he developed from a sheltered, self-superior kid to a more mature, kick ass revolutionizer who stands up for what he believes in and won't back down. I loved seeing this world from his eyes, although I do admit her personality overall was pretty bland. Also, his side of the romance felt too quickly developed. I mean he went from being totally disgusted by Riff to liking her to loving her EXTREMELY quick in my opinion. I know that love can happen and develop quickly, like I said in my review of The Statisical Probablility of Love at First Sight, but that relationship had wonderful development, despite the time frame. Col's romantic timeline felt like whiplash. Then there's Riff. I loved Riff. She was kick ass, funny and snarky, yet had a sweet side to her. She is definitely a character you root for, wanting her to succeed and kick more butt. I wonder what would happen if this book was told from Riff's point of view. It would definitely have been interesting. Now onto Col's sister, Gillabeth. Ugh, remember that stereotyping I mentioned earlier? Well she is it, she's that stereotype I hated in this book. I won't go into spoilers, but her whole character, her actions and motivations bothered the hell out of me. She felt like a stick in villain, that's all I'll say about her. I did really like Septimus a lot, he was wonderful and I wish he was in this book more than he was. The villains, other than Gillabeth, were completely interesting and touched a nerve in me that made me want to join Riff and Col in their quest.
I feel like Mr. Harland has a mish-mash style of writing. On one hand, he knows how to build his world, and fill it with interesting fact/details that bring you in. He knows how to write, for the most part, great characters and give them good growth. On the other hand, it felt like he wasn't even trying with some characters and plotlines, and just stuck them in there to pad out the novel. That was just a shame. I know there's a sequel, Liberator, but I doubt I'll read it, because despite the good parts, the bad parts far outweighed this time :(