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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Try as I might, I just could not give a damn about these characters. No depth of personality.
I'd been looking forward to getting this ever since I realised I adored [b:Poison Study|60510|Poison Study (Study, #1)|Maria V. Snyder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388519019l/60510._SY75_.jpg|1180409]. Yelena in a sci-fi dystopia? Oh yes. Except this is not Poison Study level. Trella is not Yelena-worthy. And the story is you average young adult future dystopia. It feels so very sadly shallow compared with the complexities of Ixia, the close friendships and the believable romances. So Poison Study this ain't.
What it is involves a claustrophobia setting known only as Inside. Trella is a lowly scrub - effectively a maintenance worker in the pipes that support life Inside. There are also those known as uppers who do all the techy jobs, but they live, as the name suggests, higher up Inside and have cushy lifestyles. Or so the oppressed scrubs think. One day a "prophet" known as Broken Man shows up on the scrubs' level, spouting off about something known as Gateway. It's a mythical "way out" that gives scrubs hope... Only he claims it real, and needs Trella, the best pipe-climber out there, to help him collect some info from the upper levels. It's an offer she's more than willing to refuse, until curiosity gets the better of her.
So many questions I have relate to why Trella did what she did. Why help Broken Man when she wasn't interested in what he offered, be that false hope or information about her mysterious family (yes, that old chestnut)? She says she gravitates towards prophets to listen to them, but contradicts herself right away by saying she hates the prophets for spreading false hope and doesn't believe it. She illogically puts herself in danger to prove everyone wrong. She doesn't want to know about her family, and yet it's constantly dropped into conversations as an incentive for her despite her constant refusals. I just couldn't think of her as a stable character, let alone a potential leader of a rebellion.
Side characters don't feel fully formed, and relationships are unsatisfyingly shallow. They read like a list of names without faces (there's not a lot of description going on either). Romance rears is young adulty head, but feels contrived rather than natural. Why must boy and girl in proximity equal love without much development? Adults act like teens, older teens act like younger teens.
The actual action becomes like reading an MMO quest list: fetch the McGuffin, fetch another McGuffin so we can use the first McGuffin, take the McGuffin-burger somewhere/to someone else who can do a thing. Any problems? Oh, so-and-so just invented some new tech to overcome said problems (I couldn't help but compare how Ixia never relied on "because magic" to solve things even though it could have.)
I wanted to know what was the deal with Inside and Gateway and why the ruling elite were hiding things, but the pace meant any revelations (and there are very few) took a tediously long time to come to. Again, back to feeling like a video game where you have to work through everything no matter how pointless to get to the twist and the big boss fight. World building seemed pretty good to start with, but then started playing fast and loose with everything it established. It's not just characters being contradictory. There were times I'd compare the writing to moderately edited self published books.
Overall, if you're hoping for another Poison Study, this is not it. I found it impossible not to comapre them, especially given the writing tics such as the giving people odd nicknames and, if done by the main character, forcing eveyone else to use them as if they were real names. I still really want some answers to the dangling plot, so would try book two. If you like light young adult sci-fi you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.
What it is involves a claustrophobia setting known only as Inside. Trella is a lowly scrub - effectively a maintenance worker in the pipes that support life Inside. There are also those known as uppers who do all the techy jobs, but they live, as the name suggests, higher up Inside and have cushy lifestyles. Or so the oppressed scrubs think. One day a "prophet" known as Broken Man shows up on the scrubs' level, spouting off about something known as Gateway. It's a mythical "way out" that gives scrubs hope... Only he claims it real, and needs Trella, the best pipe-climber out there, to help him collect some info from the upper levels. It's an offer she's more than willing to refuse, until curiosity gets the better of her.
So many questions I have relate to why Trella did what she did. Why help Broken Man when she wasn't interested in what he offered, be that false hope or information about her mysterious family (yes, that old chestnut)? She says she gravitates towards prophets to listen to them, but contradicts herself right away by saying she hates the prophets for spreading false hope and doesn't believe it. She illogically puts herself in danger to prove everyone wrong. She doesn't want to know about her family, and yet it's constantly dropped into conversations as an incentive for her despite her constant refusals.
Spoiler
Yet she still introduces herself to Riley using those family names she's only heard once very recently and rejected? Why?Side characters don't feel fully formed, and relationships are unsatisfyingly shallow. They read like a list of names without faces (there's not a lot of description going on either). Romance rears is young adulty head, but feels contrived rather than natural. Why must boy and girl in proximity equal love without much development? Adults act like teens, older teens act like younger teens.
The actual action becomes like reading an MMO quest list: fetch the McGuffin, fetch another McGuffin so we can use the first McGuffin, take the McGuffin-burger somewhere/to someone else who can do a thing. Any problems? Oh, so-and-so just invented some new tech to overcome said problems (I couldn't help but compare how Ixia never relied on "because magic" to solve things even though it could have.)
I wanted to know what was the deal with Inside and Gateway and why the ruling elite were hiding things, but the pace meant any revelations (and there are very few) took a tediously long time to come to. Again, back to feeling like a video game where you have to work through everything no matter how pointless to get to the twist and the big boss fight. World building seemed pretty good to start with, but then started playing fast and loose with everything it established. It's not just characters being contradictory. There were times I'd compare the writing to moderately edited self published books.
Overall, if you're hoping for another Poison Study, this is not it. I found it impossible not to comapre them, especially given the writing tics such as the giving people odd nicknames and, if done by the main character, forcing eveyone else to use them as if they were real names. I still really want some answers to the dangling plot, so would try book two. If you like light young adult sci-fi you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.
Inside Out is a really cool book. I like the idea of inside versus outside and that everyone has their own duties and their place in this society.
I thought the characters were interesting, but I didn't care for most of them at first. I get why they acted the way they did, but they did start to grow on me as the book progressed.
I wasn't expecting them to be on a spaceship. Underground, maybe. But not on a spaceship. Which actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, with the pipes and how self-sustaining they are.
I'm curious as to how they ended up there, and what their history is. What'll happen Week # 1 million? What is outside? The world Snyder built is really interesting, and while there isn't a lot of backstory, inside felt like a real place.
It did take a while to get going, but once it did, it was hard to put down.
Some things- like Trella's family history or the romance- felt a little forced, and was the most predictable part of the book.
It gets a 4 out of 5. It could have had a few more details, but overall, it was a fun read.
I thought the characters were interesting, but I didn't care for most of them at first. I get why they acted the way they did, but they did start to grow on me as the book progressed.
I wasn't expecting them to be on a spaceship. Underground, maybe. But not on a spaceship. Which actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, with the pipes and how self-sustaining they are.
I'm curious as to how they ended up there, and what their history is. What'll happen Week # 1 million? What is outside? The world Snyder built is really interesting, and while there isn't a lot of backstory, inside felt like a real place.
It did take a while to get going, but once it did, it was hard to put down.
Some things- like Trella's family history or the romance- felt a little forced, and was the most predictable part of the book.
It gets a 4 out of 5. It could have had a few more details, but overall, it was a fun read.
3.5 stars
Not nearly as good as Maria's Study series, but this was an interesting book and I love the characters, although I was quite confused through a lot of the details about what Inside looked like. With all the information we get at the end of the book, I can't wait to see where the stores goes in Outside In.
Not nearly as good as Maria's Study series, but this was an interesting book and I love the characters, although I was quite confused through a lot of the details about what Inside looked like. With all the information we get at the end of the book, I can't wait to see where the stores goes in Outside In.
Deze dystopische yaffie leest lekker vlot weg. Leuke karakters, met wat weinig diepte. Maar dat wordt helemaal goed gemaakt door de vaart in het verhaal. Ben benieuwd hoe het verder gaat.
Although it was not the most original book, it was still fun to read. In my opinion it was a cross between the Hunger Games because of the rebellion aspect and something like Divergent or City of Ember because they could not get out. I disliked how much it talked about Tressa working even though I guess it was important to the story because it was her time to think, but I would have enjoyed a bit more action instead of reading about her crawling through the pipes. Over all I gave it three stars because it was barely above average in my opinion. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoyed Divergent, City of Ember, and the rebellion of the Hunger Games.
Eh.
I've really liked the other things I've read by Maria V. Snyder and actually just started [b: Poison Study|60510|Poison Study (Study, #1)|Maria V. Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388519019s/60510.jpg|1180409] again. This one is just... so abrupt. Not enough development and the sentences themselves are short. The sequel, [b: Outside In|12087624|Outside the Lines|Amy Hatvany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322519243s/12087624.jpg|17055804], too. I read both books together as one mega e-book so, reviewing together:
- Trella is only garners so much sympathy as a main character. I really liked her until she was suddenly the leader of a rebellion, along with a bunch of other children, and I'm sitting there thinking, "huh? There are 20,000 other people on this ship. Why is this loner Queen of the Pipes the best option for leading a rebellion?'
- Riley. In both books, their relationship is just nothing. In the end she agrees to "be his mate" (basically, marry him) which should be this great awesome thing but as far as it was described and written, she maybe sorta wanted to have sex with him, but she mostly just wanted his sheep stuffed animal. There was no development of their relationship at all. And I found it very hard to believe that they would have few to no problems based on the fact that she was raised in a breeding ground and Riley was not. Sure, the uppers weren't as privileged as the scrubs had been lead to believe, but still. The biggest problem in their relationship is that Riley thinks Trella should be captain of the ship?
- and again, huh? How does this epic loner end up as an integral part of the new world?
- I thought the deci system and hours/weeks was very clever, but it was impossible for me to keep track of what was happening when.
- the climaxes of both books were rapid and hard to follow. I had to go back and re-read the "takeover" in the control room in Inside Out because I was so perplexed on how Trella had gotten away alive (basically she pushes the admiral over, and then timing works in her favor). In [b: Outside In|12087624|Outside the Lines|Amy Hatvany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322519243s/12087624.jpg|17055804], I was equally confused and I don't think I'll bother re-reading; they steal the Outsiders' space suits, climb outside and up Inside, then into the ship bay, and with some miscellaneous weapons... trap the Outsiders in one of the ships? Or something? I dunno. The story arcs were all weird.
- LOGAN. WHY WAS THERE NO LOVE TRIANGLE AND SHE SHOULD BE WITH LOGAN.
- Anne-Jade's death also didn't make any sense to me.
Idk. This was a very interesting premise but I couldn't get into it.
I've really liked the other things I've read by Maria V. Snyder and actually just started [b: Poison Study|60510|Poison Study (Study, #1)|Maria V. Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388519019s/60510.jpg|1180409] again. This one is just... so abrupt. Not enough development and the sentences themselves are short. The sequel, [b: Outside In|12087624|Outside the Lines|Amy Hatvany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322519243s/12087624.jpg|17055804], too. I read both books together as one mega e-book so, reviewing together:
Spoiler
- Trella is only garners so much sympathy as a main character. I really liked her until she was suddenly the leader of a rebellion, along with a bunch of other children, and I'm sitting there thinking, "huh? There are 20,000 other people on this ship. Why is this loner Queen of the Pipes the best option for leading a rebellion?'
- Riley. In both books, their relationship is just nothing. In the end she agrees to "be his mate" (basically, marry him) which should be this great awesome thing but as far as it was described and written, she maybe sorta wanted to have sex with him, but she mostly just wanted his sheep stuffed animal. There was no development of their relationship at all. And I found it very hard to believe that they would have few to no problems based on the fact that she was raised in a breeding ground and Riley was not. Sure, the uppers weren't as privileged as the scrubs had been lead to believe, but still. The biggest problem in their relationship is that Riley thinks Trella should be captain of the ship?
- and again, huh? How does this epic loner end up as an integral part of the new world?
- I thought the deci system and hours/weeks was very clever, but it was impossible for me to keep track of what was happening when.
- the climaxes of both books were rapid and hard to follow. I had to go back and re-read the "takeover" in the control room in Inside Out because I was so perplexed on how Trella had gotten away alive (basically she pushes the admiral over, and then timing works in her favor). In [b: Outside In|12087624|Outside the Lines|Amy Hatvany|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322519243s/12087624.jpg|17055804], I was equally confused and I don't think I'll bother re-reading; they steal the Outsiders' space suits, climb outside and up Inside, then into the ship bay, and with some miscellaneous weapons... trap the Outsiders in one of the ships? Or something? I dunno. The story arcs were all weird.
- LOGAN. WHY WAS THERE NO LOVE TRIANGLE AND SHE SHOULD BE WITH LOGAN.
- Anne-Jade's death also didn't make any sense to me.
Idk. This was a very interesting premise but I couldn't get into it.
Non avevo grandi aspettative riguardo a questo libro, immaginandolo niente di più dell'ennesimo elemento nella corrente distopica YA "alla Hunger Games".
Tendenzialmente avevo ragione, ma forse proprio per questo, per le aspettative notevolmente basse, la lettura non è stata una delusione.
Intendiamoci, il libro ha molte pecche.
A partire dalla protagonista, che è l'elemento diverso in un mare di uniformità perenne e che alla fine si scopre essere l'unico elemento uniforme in un mare di spiriti ribelli che si fingono uniformi, che è quella che non si fida di nessuno ma si fida di tutti, che è quella che non sa niente ma sa tutto...
Poi abbiamo gli altri personaggi, spesso con conoscenze e capacità che vanno oltre tutto ciò che dovrebbero essere in grado di fare e sapere. Cioè, se vivi come uno schiavo e sei monitorato, se quello che impari è deciso dai controllori, come fai a diventare genio tecnologico superiore agli studiosi dei "piani superiori"? Dove trovi i libri, o anche solo i materiali per sperimentare?
Dove si creano certe reti?
E poi la sicurezza che, come puntualizza giustamente la protagonista stessa, è bucabilissima, inefficente, inutile.
I condotti dell'areazione che conducono ovunque e sono percorribili fanno pensare a un misto tra film d'azione anni novanta e videogioco. Troppo comodi e utili per essere realistici.
Alla fine in questo libro l'unico colpo di scena è stato la rivelazione sull'Outside e sulla milionesima settimana, tutto il resto è abbastanza piatto e prevedibile.
Ma il libro alla fine non è pessimo, perché se lo approcciamo consapevoli di cosa non sia, possiamo goderci una lettura veloce, leggera e senza pretese, grazie a una scrittura scorrevole e rapida. Sicuramente non sono interessato a leggerne il seguito, comunque.
Tendenzialmente avevo ragione, ma forse proprio per questo, per le aspettative notevolmente basse, la lettura non è stata una delusione.
Intendiamoci, il libro ha molte pecche.
A partire dalla protagonista, che è l'elemento diverso in un mare di uniformità perenne e che alla fine si scopre essere l'unico elemento uniforme in un mare di spiriti ribelli che si fingono uniformi, che è quella che non si fida di nessuno ma si fida di tutti, che è quella che non sa niente ma sa tutto...
Poi abbiamo gli altri personaggi, spesso con conoscenze e capacità che vanno oltre tutto ciò che dovrebbero essere in grado di fare e sapere. Cioè, se vivi come uno schiavo e sei monitorato, se quello che impari è deciso dai controllori, come fai a diventare genio tecnologico superiore agli studiosi dei "piani superiori"? Dove trovi i libri, o anche solo i materiali per sperimentare?
Dove si creano certe reti?
E poi la sicurezza che, come puntualizza giustamente la protagonista stessa, è bucabilissima, inefficente, inutile.
I condotti dell'areazione che conducono ovunque e sono percorribili fanno pensare a un misto tra film d'azione anni novanta e videogioco. Troppo comodi e utili per essere realistici.
Alla fine in questo libro l'unico colpo di scena è stato la rivelazione sull'Outside e sulla milionesima settimana, tutto il resto è abbastanza piatto e prevedibile.
Ma il libro alla fine non è pessimo, perché se lo approcciamo consapevoli di cosa non sia, possiamo goderci una lettura veloce, leggera e senza pretese, grazie a una scrittura scorrevole e rapida. Sicuramente non sono interessato a leggerne il seguito, comunque.
I am in love with this book. I cannot put into words how absolutely amazing Inside Out is. This book presented a concept that I haven't come across in other books that I have read. If you are reading this review and like fast-paced dystopian books, this book will definitely be one of your favorites. Before this book, I have never been able to say that I was panicked at the end of the book because I didn't know if there was a second book. I looked it up and was RELIEVED to find that there was a second book. This was also the only book where I felt the need to write a letter to the author and beg for another book if one hadn't been written. The writing is good and the storyline will definitely keep you guessing. The last thing I would use to describe this book is predictable. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK. I promise you won't regret it. Just to put this into perspective, this is the first book I've felt the need to write a review for. I really want others to read this book. XD
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Ryella forever <3
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Ryella forever <3
I really liked this book. Definitely kept me interested through the whole story.