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mirel's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book as a free digital download from storycartel.com in return for my honest review.
This sci-fi/mystery caught me up straight from the beginning and was hard to put down. Good plot; strong, well developed characters; well written: interesting premise in the hands of a talented writer. Much room for discussion about science and ethics.
The story takes place in an island school for 36 schoolchildren (aged 9-17)who are allegedly being raised to lead mankind in a post-apocalyptic world.
For more details about the story itself, see: http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Nothing-The-Scion-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00F7ROSHC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Straight to the end, the author has unexpected twists and turns in the plot, so that the more I read, the harder it was to put down. I basically read through it in 2 sittings...
While the book appears to be the start of a series, it works well as a stand alone, and is appropriate for teens and up.
This sci-fi/mystery caught me up straight from the beginning and was hard to put down. Good plot; strong, well developed characters; well written: interesting premise in the hands of a talented writer. Much room for discussion about science and ethics.
The story takes place in an island school for 36 schoolchildren (aged 9-17)who are allegedly being raised to lead mankind in a post-apocalyptic world.
For more details about the story itself, see: http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Nothing-The-Scion-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00F7ROSHC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Straight to the end, the author has unexpected twists and turns in the plot, so that the more I read, the harder it was to put down. I basically read through it in 2 sittings...
While the book appears to be the start of a series, it works well as a stand alone, and is appropriate for teens and up.
kailina's review against another edition
First off I would like to say that this was a fantastic read. Mr. Edstrom you have completed a fantastic book that is well rounded and exciting and that is something to be extremely proud of.
The entire book is full of well written characters. That is probably the first thing I noticed about this writing, is how detailed these characters personality's are. It lets you get attached to certain characters (and despise others) but that's exactly how it should be. The "villain" was extremely well written and had a very intriguing personality
Over all I would recommend this book, its a pretty quick read (especially when you cant put it down haha)and entirely worth your time. The one thing that you might want to be aware of before reading this though is that its pretty easy for the reader to guess the general plot (but don't worry I can almost guarantee you wont guess how it ends), which means through the whole book you have to struggle with the main character because she is oblivious to what you already know (but with good reason) this doesn't change my view on the book at all though, because I like how it brings the reader closer to the character when you cant directly tell them what's going on.
I defiantly would recommend reading this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Have a great day Readers :)
The entire book is full of well written characters. That is probably the first thing I noticed about this writing, is how detailed these characters personality's are. It lets you get attached to certain characters (and despise others) but that's exactly how it should be. The "villain" was extremely well written and had a very intriguing personality
Spoiler
The Character Mr.Carlhagen was written very nicely. I really liked how he kept his demeanor throughout the book. He begins to slip into a state of insanity until his original intent is almost entirely obscured by his own desires. It makes for a very believable character development but also kept me loathing him through out the entire book (nice call on the addiction too, it made his madness feel more like a byproduct of his own doing rather than just happening)Over all I would recommend this book, its a pretty quick read (especially when you cant put it down haha)and entirely worth your time. The one thing that you might want to be aware of before reading this though is that its pretty easy for the reader to guess the general plot (but don't worry I can almost guarantee you wont guess how it ends), which means through the whole book you have to struggle with the main character because she is oblivious to what you already know (but with good reason) this doesn't change my view on the book at all though, because I like how it brings the reader closer to the character when you cant directly tell them what's going on.
Spoiler
there is a plot twist at the end that I think will get everybody though, you never see it coming and that is what makes the whole thing work out I thinkI defiantly would recommend reading this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Have a great day Readers :)
lovesbooksandtea's review against another edition
3.0
I’m going through a phase of cleaning out my ereader of discount books I’ve purchased off of kobo over the years, and this was one of them. It was ok overall but I won’t be continuing the series. Not sure why I didn’t get into the story, maybe because a lot of the plot wasn’t driven by the MC’s actions, but rather by circumstances beyond her control, or because most of the characters seemed flat, or that the twists were so easy to spot a mile away. If you’re willing to get into a series of books, this may be for you? Like I said, I won’t be continuing the series.
simsian's review against another edition
3.0
(Disclosure: I met Eric Edstrom at WorldCon 71 and received a free copy of his most recent novel, Daughter of Nothing, from Story Cartel in exchange for an unbiased review.)
I was initially quite skeptical of the novel. The underlying nefarious nature of St. Vitus became clear to me very early on as a voracious reader of dystopian sf. Other reviewers have likened it to the 2005 film, The Island, though I somewhat more optimistically thought of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, Never Let Me Go, published the same year. Truth be told, one of the underlying premises of Daughter of Nothing is one I've seen many times. That's no reason to expect a wholly derivative work, but the author truly set himself a difficult task.
And then he pulled it off nicely. The story's central trope is of far less importance than I initially expected. This is very much a character driven YA novel with an empathetic protagonist and a well-paced plot. At times, it felt a tad predictable but in the end I have to write that off due to my own familiarity with this particular sub-genre.
One element of the novel that was of particular interest to me came from the unexpected cut off which really allows the novel to stand on its own while not precluding sequels. I would expect very different follow up novels as the author explores the wide swath of the world that was, of necessity, left out of this centrally located and terribly oppressive first volume.
I was initially quite skeptical of the novel. The underlying nefarious nature of St. Vitus became clear to me very early on as a voracious reader of dystopian sf. Other reviewers have likened it to the 2005 film, The Island, though I somewhat more optimistically thought of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, Never Let Me Go, published the same year. Truth be told, one of the underlying premises of Daughter of Nothing is one I've seen many times. That's no reason to expect a wholly derivative work, but the author truly set himself a difficult task.
And then he pulled it off nicely. The story's central trope is of far less importance than I initially expected. This is very much a character driven YA novel with an empathetic protagonist and a well-paced plot. At times, it felt a tad predictable but in the end I have to write that off due to my own familiarity with this particular sub-genre.
One element of the novel that was of particular interest to me came from the unexpected cut off which really allows the novel to stand on its own while not precluding sequels. I would expect very different follow up novels as the author explores the wide swath of the world that was, of necessity, left out of this centrally located and terribly oppressive first volume.
errantdreams's review against another edition
3.0
The characters are… okay. I felt that many of them could have had more depth, particularly among the adults. Even Jacey felt as though she was held at a little bit of a distance, and thus made somewhat bland. The ultimate bad guy was one-dimensionally evil.
I wish we’d been able to pick up a bit more of what the outside world is like. We have the barest outline of what the students have been taught, with little reality to hold up to it by the end. I guess we’re supposed to want to read further books in the series in order to find out, but without that context I don’t find that I particularly care that much about the world and what happens to it next.
It took a while for me to get into the book. For quite a while the pace is fairly consistently slow. Eventually it did catch my interest, and the plot managed to deliver a surprise or two for brief periods of time. I also appreciate that Jacey was allowed to retain her strong individuality without being required to romantically pair up with either of the obvious choices.
Ultimately, while I enjoyed reading Daughter of Nothing, I don’t plan to read any follow-ons.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/08/review-daughter-of-nothing-eric-kent-edstrom/
I wish we’d been able to pick up a bit more of what the outside world is like. We have the barest outline of what the students have been taught, with little reality to hold up to it by the end. I guess we’re supposed to want to read further books in the series in order to find out, but without that context I don’t find that I particularly care that much about the world and what happens to it next.
It took a while for me to get into the book. For quite a while the pace is fairly consistently slow. Eventually it did catch my interest, and the plot managed to deliver a surprise or two for brief periods of time. I also appreciate that Jacey was allowed to retain her strong individuality without being required to romantically pair up with either of the obvious choices.
Ultimately, while I enjoyed reading Daughter of Nothing, I don’t plan to read any follow-ons.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2018/08/review-daughter-of-nothing-eric-kent-edstrom/
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