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A review by penultimately
Code by Kathy Reichs
5.0
This review is cross-posted to Audible listener reviews
Code, the 3rd book in the Virals series, did not disappoint as a story or as a continuation. By itself, Code is a whirlwind thriller full of science, deduction, betrayal, danger, and frighteningly real characters. As a continuation, Code fed just enough new information into the ongoing mystery of the Virals' existence to keep me interested without leaving me hanging (much).
What I liked the best about the Virals series is that Kathy Reichs (and now helped by Brendan Reichs) is not afraid to take risks with the main characters. They are mercilessly put through trials by fire, trials by emotional ruin, and trials of conscience, and each time, they rise to the occasion and deliver amazingly.
My favorite part of Code itself...? The Gamemaker. Without revealing too many spoilers, the Gamemaker was fascinatingly cunning, ruthlessly determined, and psychologically terrifying. He wasn't your typical YA villain who pushes the young protagonists into a dark closet, leaving them plenty of time to escape. Not at all. He was evil and dark and hunted his prey like a wolf hunts a rabbit.
I also really enjoyed getting to see the Virals all growing up a little. That must be a very hard trick to pull, because very few authors do it well, if they do it at all. But the authors of Code did it very well, blending newfound maturity with expanded responsibility and newfound feelings that are very real and well-known to anyone who's ever been a teenager.
Didn't like? There wasn't a whole lot to dislike. However, I didn't appreciate Tory's attitude toward her friends. Just because she is the pack leader shouldn't mean that she can force her friends into doing whatever she wants them to do, with no consideration of what they want to do. That's just a good way to lose friends, and it worries me a little, because I can see it being an issue in future books. But maybe the authors have a perfectly reasonable plan in mind to take care of that, so I'm just going to buckle down here and not complain anymore.
The return of narrator Cristin Milioti to narrate the audiobook also makes me very happy. She reads the voice of Tory perfectly, and I love the well-planned special effect that are thrown in at just the right moment.
5/5 would listen again.
Code, the 3rd book in the Virals series, did not disappoint as a story or as a continuation. By itself, Code is a whirlwind thriller full of science, deduction, betrayal, danger, and frighteningly real characters. As a continuation, Code fed just enough new information into the ongoing mystery of the Virals' existence to keep me interested without leaving me hanging (much).
What I liked the best about the Virals series is that Kathy Reichs (and now helped by Brendan Reichs) is not afraid to take risks with the main characters. They are mercilessly put through trials by fire, trials by emotional ruin, and trials of conscience, and each time, they rise to the occasion and deliver amazingly.
My favorite part of Code itself...? The Gamemaker. Without revealing too many spoilers, the Gamemaker was fascinatingly cunning, ruthlessly determined, and psychologically terrifying. He wasn't your typical YA villain who pushes the young protagonists into a dark closet, leaving them plenty of time to escape. Not at all. He was evil and dark and hunted his prey like a wolf hunts a rabbit.
I also really enjoyed getting to see the Virals all growing up a little. That must be a very hard trick to pull, because very few authors do it well, if they do it at all. But the authors of Code did it very well, blending newfound maturity with expanded responsibility and newfound feelings that are very real and well-known to anyone who's ever been a teenager.
Didn't like? There wasn't a whole lot to dislike. However, I didn't appreciate Tory's attitude toward her friends. Just because she is the pack leader shouldn't mean that she can force her friends into doing whatever she wants them to do, with no consideration of what they want to do. That's just a good way to lose friends, and it worries me a little, because I can see it being an issue in future books. But maybe the authors have a perfectly reasonable plan in mind to take care of that, so I'm just going to buckle down here and not complain anymore.
The return of narrator Cristin Milioti to narrate the audiobook also makes me very happy. She reads the voice of Tory perfectly, and I love the well-planned special effect that are thrown in at just the right moment.
5/5 would listen again.