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mlwalker297's review against another edition
4.0
Set in East Asia, year 2199, this story follows a country split in two; Old Seoul and New Seoul. Lee Jaewon is a student that earns the internship coveted by many based on his simulation test scores. He meets Tera, a superhuman programmed to be a weapon, but then finds she is more human than he originally thought.
This YA sci-fi novel was really good! It had just the right amount of revolution and romance to make it a great war-time story.
This YA sci-fi novel was really good! It had just the right amount of revolution and romance to make it a great war-time story.
billblume's review against another edition
4.0
While I didn't get to this book within 2017, Rebel Seoul was one of my most anticipated books to read from last year. The book was compared a lot to Pacific Rim and K-Dramas, and it sounds like a damn good combo. So does it live up to that promise?
The book takes its time getting to the giant robots, which are called GMs (short for God Machines). The giant war machines first appear quite a few chapters into the book in a lengthy scene with the main character and several others participating in a virtual reality, training simulation. The simulation delivers some real-world stakes, because if any of them die in the simulation, they'll be shot and killed in the real world. I loved this part of the book. The training sequence offers some good action while providing useful insight into a lot of the world-building.
The world-building in this book is excellent. We're given a world that has suffered through a very long series of wars. Not only does Neo Seoul face threats from without, but the regime is struggling to pacify a growing uprising while keeping the magnitude of this threat hidden from the public.
For all the talk of war, though, the book doesn't include as many battles as I expected. That did disappointment me a bit. There's a good reason a lot of the combat is glossed over, though. I'll get to that in a moment.
That leads me to the characters. The book includes a great cast. Jaewon provides an interesting point-of-view for the book. He's just starting to earn a place in the military when he and his friend Alex are assigned to oversee a pair of young ladies who have been enhanced through a series of long and unethical experiments. But Jaewon has plenty of his own secrets that threaten his life as he gets more invested in and attracted to Tera, the enhanced "weapon" he's assigned to. Often, a main character with a lot of purposefully hidden secrets from the reader creates a problem, but Jaewon is the type of individual who is so focused on the moment, that it doesn't come across unnatural for him to leave out details about his past until they become immediately relevant. Jaewon and the revelations of his past provide the best drama within this book.
The only complaint I have about Jaewon is that he keeps missing key battle scenes. The big action sequence at the beginning of the book provides the best fight scenes involving the GMs, although, technically, they aren't real. They're part of a training simulation. Just as we're about to see most of the key conflicts, Jaewon is often conveniently knocked unconscious. He reminds me a bit of Bilbo Baggins at the end of [b:The Hobbit|5907|The Hobbit|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372847500s/5907.jpg|1540236], when he misses the entire big battle. I really would have loved to see Jaewon in one last big fight scene while operating a GM, but that never happens.
The plot includes many layers of conspiracy, and perhaps the most impressive thing Axie Oh accomplishes is making it easy to keep track of all those twists. She manages not to leave the reader confused as she pulls the threads apart.
Overall, I think the book delivers more on the K-Drama aspect than the Pacific Rim comparison. There's always a chance that the next book might deliver more of the action, but it's pretty clear that the real story for Rebel Seoul focuses on the personal conflicts of these characters and less on the political/military struggles of the world they inhabit. Fortunately, the cast is filled with some well-developed characters who keep the book entertaining and fast-paced for the entire ride. Definitely recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to see what Axie Oh has planned next.
The book takes its time getting to the giant robots, which are called GMs (short for God Machines). The giant war machines first appear quite a few chapters into the book in a lengthy scene with the main character and several others participating in a virtual reality, training simulation. The simulation delivers some real-world stakes, because if any of them die in the simulation, they'll be shot and killed in the real world. I loved this part of the book. The training sequence offers some good action while providing useful insight into a lot of the world-building.
The world-building in this book is excellent. We're given a world that has suffered through a very long series of wars. Not only does Neo Seoul face threats from without, but the regime is struggling to pacify a growing uprising while keeping the magnitude of this threat hidden from the public.
For all the talk of war, though, the book doesn't include as many battles as I expected. That did disappointment me a bit. There's a good reason a lot of the combat is glossed over, though. I'll get to that in a moment.
That leads me to the characters. The book includes a great cast. Jaewon provides an interesting point-of-view for the book. He's just starting to earn a place in the military when he and his friend Alex are assigned to oversee a pair of young ladies who have been enhanced through a series of long and unethical experiments. But Jaewon has plenty of his own secrets that threaten his life as he gets more invested in and attracted to Tera, the enhanced "weapon" he's assigned to. Often, a main character with a lot of purposefully hidden secrets from the reader creates a problem, but Jaewon is the type of individual who is so focused on the moment, that it doesn't come across unnatural for him to leave out details about his past until they become immediately relevant. Jaewon and the revelations of his past provide the best drama within this book.
The only complaint I have about Jaewon is that he keeps missing key battle scenes. The big action sequence at the beginning of the book provides the best fight scenes involving the GMs, although, technically, they aren't real. They're part of a training simulation. Just as we're about to see most of the key conflicts, Jaewon is often conveniently knocked unconscious. He reminds me a bit of Bilbo Baggins at the end of [b:The Hobbit|5907|The Hobbit|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372847500s/5907.jpg|1540236], when he misses the entire big battle. I really would have loved to see Jaewon in one last big fight scene while operating a GM, but that never happens.
The plot includes many layers of conspiracy, and perhaps the most impressive thing Axie Oh accomplishes is making it easy to keep track of all those twists. She manages not to leave the reader confused as she pulls the threads apart.
Overall, I think the book delivers more on the K-Drama aspect than the Pacific Rim comparison. There's always a chance that the next book might deliver more of the action, but it's pretty clear that the real story for Rebel Seoul focuses on the personal conflicts of these characters and less on the political/military struggles of the world they inhabit. Fortunately, the cast is filled with some well-developed characters who keep the book entertaining and fast-paced for the entire ride. Definitely recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to see what Axie Oh has planned next.
stressedspidergirl's review against another edition
4.0
I plan to read the other books in the series before I form too much of an opinion, but the whole Pacific Rim vibe is accurate.
I think I say this on most reviews, but I enjoyed this. I definitely wanted to read it all in one sitting, but sometimes you have to sleep -or work. So while it's disappointing I couldn't finish it the same night I started it, I picked it up the second I was awake. It's a compelling read.
And I appreciate the idea of humanity and what it means as a theme in the story. And nationalism etc. There was a lot going on, and I enjoyed all of it.
I think I say this on most reviews, but I enjoyed this. I definitely wanted to read it all in one sitting, but sometimes you have to sleep -or work. So while it's disappointing I couldn't finish it the same night I started it, I picked it up the second I was awake. It's a compelling read.
And I appreciate the idea of humanity and what it means as a theme in the story. And nationalism etc. There was a lot going on, and I enjoyed all of it.
lilyevangeline's review against another edition
3.0
Dystopian government? Enhanced humans? Big robot things? Childhood trauma? Sounds like it's time for the teenagers to save the world!!!
The romance is meh, but the friendship between Young/Jaewon was the secret heart of the story.
I looked long and hard, but still wasn't really able to find any personality for our female lead aside from being perpetually lonely and angsty, fighty-fighty invincible, and also pretty. Obviously Jaewon falls madly in love. I mean, he realizes he's the only one who can save her (emotionally)...and she's the only one who can save him (physically...literally so many times. Why is he always jumping and falling from heights?????). It was a little comical. Thankfully the romance wasn't the only plot line in the story, plus I'm sort of used to YA romances being a little hit or miss sooo nbd. Even if I don't think they're love?? If they think they're in love? Like, I guess that's all that matters???
On the plus side, though, the plot and worldbuilding was at least twice as complex as I expected it to be (actually pretty good? made up for lackluster relationship building?), and there were a few secondary characters who I thought I had pigeonholed who later on came back to surprise me.
As a YA novel, I really enjoyed this. I've complained a lot, but legit actually I had a good time here. Almost gave it four stars, actually (but there was too much romance in the last chapter so I had a bad taste in my mouth). Dystopian YA has been a little out of vogue lately, so it was fun to visit these tropes again (bringing me back to those Hunger Games days), but in a Korean setting which made it all feel fresh.
Considering that this is Axie Oh's debut novel, I'm really looking forward to reading some of her more recent novels! The moments of surprise and the way she surprised me with a few characterizations bodes well for her development as an author.
The romance is meh, but the friendship between Young/Jaewon was the secret heart of the story.
I looked long and hard, but still wasn't really able to find any personality for our female lead aside from being perpetually lonely and angsty, fighty-fighty invincible, and also pretty. Obviously Jaewon falls madly in love. I mean, he realizes he's the only one who can save her (emotionally)...and she's the only one who can save him (physically...literally so many times. Why is he always jumping and falling from heights?????). It was a little comical. Thankfully the romance wasn't the only plot line in the story, plus I'm sort of used to YA romances being a little hit or miss sooo nbd. Even if I don't think they're love?? If they think they're in love? Like, I guess that's all that matters???
On the plus side, though, the plot and worldbuilding was at least twice as complex as I expected it to be (actually pretty good? made up for lackluster relationship building?), and there were a few secondary characters who I thought I had pigeonholed who later on came back to surprise me.
As a YA novel, I really enjoyed this. I've complained a lot, but legit actually I had a good time here. Almost gave it four stars, actually (but there was too much romance in the last chapter so I had a bad taste in my mouth). Dystopian YA has been a little out of vogue lately, so it was fun to visit these tropes again (bringing me back to those Hunger Games days), but in a Korean setting which made it all feel fresh.
Considering that this is Axie Oh's debut novel, I'm really looking forward to reading some of her more recent novels! The moments of surprise and the way she surprised me with a few characterizations bodes well for her development as an author.
aneeqah's review against another edition
3.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
A very easily-devoured book packed with action and intricate and imaginative world-building. There were some weaker moments with the writing, and I sometimes felt disconnected from Jaewon, but otherwise, I solidly enjoyed this one.
A very easily-devoured book packed with action and intricate and imaginative world-building. There were some weaker moments with the writing, and I sometimes felt disconnected from Jaewon, but otherwise, I solidly enjoyed this one.
fl_riography's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
usandalgona's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is a great debut novel. It was relatively predictable for me, but I finally got a book about Koreans set in Korea that's a YA novel and also sci-fi, so I'm quite satisfied. And some incorporation of Korean slang and mannerisms. It's the thing I've been looking for for a long time.
The way Axie Oh navigates the woman-protecting-a-man thing is pretty impressive. And that Jaewon finds comfort in it. If that is not wholesome and mutually supportive, I don't know what is. It's not that women have to be physically superstrong to protect a male partner, but more like the mutual trust is essential. That got across very clearly.
I won't lie, it was nonsensical and unrealistic that Korea and Japan were in an alliance. That is not only very very implausible but overly idealistic and very romanticized. None of the history between the two countries was mentioned either. I'm not saying you should mention all the human experiments with STIs and the war crimes committed by Japan in a YA novel, but at least back up this alliance with some reasonable foundation. I suppose it was for combining the author's passions, but this just didn't work well with me. I'm not against the idea of an alliance, exactly, but I'm very skeptical about it ever happening in a just way even in a fictitious world. And it's hard to talk about Korea while almost completely removing its historical background. But you can only achieve so much well if you spread yourself thin with the messages you want to send across clearly.
On another note, I shipped Young and Jaewon so hard 😂😂 Their bromance is legit. I want to see Young and Daeho meeting Tera.
Also, Daeho? MVP. He's hands down my favorite character in the novel and kind of reminds me of Seungri (chewing gum and all), which was probably deliberate.
Again, I'm still worried about the uncredited Guilty Crown reference in that song...
The way Axie Oh navigates the woman-protecting-a-man thing is pretty impressive. And that Jaewon finds comfort in it. If that is not wholesome and mutually supportive, I don't know what is. It's not that women have to be physically superstrong to protect a male partner, but more like the mutual trust is essential. That got across very clearly.
I won't lie, it was nonsensical and unrealistic that Korea and Japan were in an alliance. That is not only very very implausible but overly idealistic and very romanticized. None of the history between the two countries was mentioned either. I'm not saying you should mention all the human experiments with STIs and the war crimes committed by Japan in a YA novel, but at least back up this alliance with some reasonable foundation. I suppose it was for combining the author's passions, but this just didn't work well with me. I'm not against the idea of an alliance, exactly, but I'm very skeptical about it ever happening in a just way even in a fictitious world. And it's hard to talk about Korea while almost completely removing its historical background. But you can only achieve so much well if you spread yourself thin with the messages you want to send across clearly.
On another note, I shipped Young and Jaewon so hard 😂😂 Their bromance is legit. I want to see Young and Daeho meeting Tera.
Also, Daeho? MVP. He's hands down my favorite character in the novel and kind of reminds me of Seungri (chewing gum and all), which was probably deliberate.
Again, I'm still worried about the uncredited Guilty Crown reference in that song...
readerpants's review against another edition
Too plot-driven for my tastes, just not for me. Skimmed the last half.
eternalcat's review against another edition
DNF at 20%. I couldn’t get into the story or the characters. I read somewhere to give books a chance and read the first 100 pages. I got to 84, close enough.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fast-paced adventure in a future Seoul. I enjoyed the characters and the machines too. The friendships were awesome. I appreciated the romance, but the friendships were actually more of a highlight for me.