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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
1.5
This book took me forever to get through, because I just wasn't motivated about it. It's definitely my least favorite of Wooding's works that I've read so far.
I just didn't really connect with the characters. They never felt fully fleshed out, really... just sort of tropes filling roles.
And just when I thought things were going to get interesting, when they're getting ready to enter the place with the Chaos Machine, it fizzled into weirdly placed exposition and more pointless chase scenes.
Just really meh overall. So meh I can't even be bothered to write a proper review.
This book took me forever to get through, because I just wasn't motivated about it. It's definitely my least favorite of Wooding's works that I've read so far.
I just didn't really connect with the characters. They never felt fully fleshed out, really... just sort of tropes filling roles.
And just when I thought things were going to get interesting, when they're getting ready to enter the place with the Chaos Machine, it fizzled into weirdly placed exposition and more pointless chase scenes.
Just really meh overall. So meh I can't even be bothered to write a proper review.
Orokos is a crumbling city built on a plateau in the middle of the ocean. Probability storms strike at random. as the storms blow through the city, things change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, but always at random. The government, bent on fighting the chaos of the probability storms, keeps an iron control of the city. People who break the rules disappear.
Rail was once a normal boy, but was left unable to breathe on his own after a storm. Now he must wear a respirator. Of course, in order to get the respirator that keeps him alive, he had to agree to serve the thief-mistress. While on an errand with Moa, a young orphan girl he saved during her first night in the ghetto, he steals a valuable artifact that will change both of their lives forever.
They go on the run with the artifact and meet Vago, a golem, on the way. Vago is part man, part machine and reminded me of Frankenstein. They eventually discover the answer to the probability storms, but will it be in time to save the city?
Rail was once a normal boy, but was left unable to breathe on his own after a storm. Now he must wear a respirator. Of course, in order to get the respirator that keeps him alive, he had to agree to serve the thief-mistress. While on an errand with Moa, a young orphan girl he saved during her first night in the ghetto, he steals a valuable artifact that will change both of their lives forever.
They go on the run with the artifact and meet Vago, a golem, on the way. Vago is part man, part machine and reminded me of Frankenstein. They eventually discover the answer to the probability storms, but will it be in time to save the city?
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was recommended to me by a student. I am so glad for the recommendation. I had been helping her find Dystopian novels for upper elementary school levels. She in turn told me about this one. Moa and Rail are two Ghetto children in a world where there is a Protectorate (Government Police Entity) and differing levels of society down to the ghetto. Those in the ghetto aren't helped at all. They are looked upon as the lowest level of society and are forced to steal and hide to survive a harsh world. This is a world where strange storms come quickly that change the entire makeup of a person, place, or thing. Revenants (Ghosts of a sort) take over bodies of living beings. Moa and Rail have discovered an artifact. They don't understand the significance of it until they are sought after by different people. This brings them to meet Vago, a golem who seemed to be born of the strange storms. The story is a great one for those who are seeking novels that combine science fiction and a bit of steampunk.
From the very beginning of this book it is awesome. My first impression was that it was kinda like a mixture between The Hunger Games and The City of Ember. It is set into the future where the city, Orokos, is the only known civilization. And, in this future, the rich people are separated from the poor. In this future, people forgot how to use technology. But, this book has more of a fantasy feeling then Hunger Games. I love the creativity that Mr. Wooding put into this book. Very early on in this book, I read a part about an evil kind of creature called Mozgas. The only thing I can say about this scene is that it was very... odd. And a book like this great when there are many oddities in it.
Also, a very imaginative part of this book is the concept of Probability Storm. When one of these storms happen, very strange things occur. A new race can be born, you could wake up blind, North and South can reverse. My only problem with this though was that there could've been more info about this. There could have been a lot more to go off of with this.
I really enjoyed the characters also. But, right now I must express my nerdishness. The main character, Rail, stopped breathing due to a Probability Storm. So, he now wears a mask over his jaw (as you can see in the cover art) and I think this was very similar to the mask Darth Malak wears in the video game Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic. Although, Rail's character was nothing like the evil Malak's. I would have to say, though, that my favorite character was the golem, Vago. I love how his character developed. I love the mystery of it all. Mr. Woodings did a masterful job of making you want to know more about his characters. And this makes the Storm Thief just that much better.
This is a great book. Like I said before, it is like a mixture between The Hunger Games and The City of Ember. I highly recommend this book to fans of either of these books. It is truly a great book.
Austin (http://ReadingTeen.net/)
Also, a very imaginative part of this book is the concept of Probability Storm. When one of these storms happen, very strange things occur. A new race can be born, you could wake up blind, North and South can reverse. My only problem with this though was that there could've been more info about this. There could have been a lot more to go off of with this.
I really enjoyed the characters also. But, right now I must express my nerdishness. The main character, Rail, stopped breathing due to a Probability Storm. So, he now wears a mask over his jaw (as you can see in the cover art) and I think this was very similar to the mask Darth Malak wears in the video game Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic. Although, Rail's character was nothing like the evil Malak's. I would have to say, though, that my favorite character was the golem, Vago. I love how his character developed. I love the mystery of it all. Mr. Woodings did a masterful job of making you want to know more about his characters. And this makes the Storm Thief just that much better.
This is a great book. Like I said before, it is like a mixture between The Hunger Games and The City of Ember. I highly recommend this book to fans of either of these books. It is truly a great book.
Austin (http://ReadingTeen.net/)
An excellent book, though by the end all the twists made me feel like I'd been punched in the stomach.
This book had a very interesting premise. Look at that description--how can you go wrong with a setting like that?
I guess you can. Despite the intriguing setting, this book was beyond blah. The author had a very mundane writing style that never managed to make this otherwise promising world real enough for me to care about it. And the characters were just disappointing. Rail was supposed to be this cool thief, and the author always SAID that he was sarcastic, mostly uncaring, whatever, but I never saw any proof of this claim. The one facet of his personality was his protectiveness over Moa.
Mos was another disappointment. I want characters with flaws and personalities, not fairytale-style so-sweet-and-innocent-that-my-goodness-of-heart-melts-the-most-evil-of-villains characters. I expect better of a sophisticated world like that of Storm Thief. Honestly, the only characters that were even remotely interesting were Vago and Lelek.
Four stars for setting and premise, two stars for characters, two stars for writing.
I guess you can. Despite the intriguing setting, this book was beyond blah. The author had a very mundane writing style that never managed to make this otherwise promising world real enough for me to care about it. And the characters were just disappointing. Rail was supposed to be this cool thief, and the author always SAID that he was sarcastic, mostly uncaring, whatever, but I never saw any proof of this claim. The one facet of his personality was his protectiveness over Moa.
Mos was another disappointment. I want characters with flaws and personalities, not fairytale-style so-sweet-and-innocent-that-my-goodness-of-heart-melts-the-most-evil-of-villains characters. I expect better of a sophisticated world like that of Storm Thief. Honestly, the only characters that were even remotely interesting were Vago and Lelek.
Four stars for setting and premise, two stars for characters, two stars for writing.
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Woodings' world in "Storm Thief" is one I wish to return to all the time. I kept a powerful quote from this book on my bedroom door for years as a child, and have gifted it (or at the least, recommended it) to many others over the years. It has reread value, and explores important subjects such as disability.