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A review by adamantly_andrea
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton
4.0
When I first heard about Seeker, I went back and forth about whether I wanted to read it. I sat on it for a few days and then read the synopsis again immediately wondering what my hesitation in the first place was. (Still don't know.) When I had read the synopsis I thought Seeker to be a fantasy novel, but it is actually a science fiction story. While this did surprise me, I enjoyed it because I don't normally read science fiction and it took me out of my comfort zone.
Seeker is an interesting new story. Growing up in a small village, Quin has been taught from a young age to be a Seeker, an individual who goes out into the world and dispatches of those who have wronged the innocent and need to be stopped. Of course, nothing in this world is what it seems and despite a vague warning from her mother, Quin takes her oath and learns the horrifying secrets.
Arwen spans her story over the course of two years so we see development within our characters. Quin, who doesn't start out as a strong character, eventually becomes someone who fights and stands up for what she believes. Shinobu, who initially comes across and more of a "sidekick" turns into a rather impressive front man. And John . . . okay, John didn't really evolve in my opinion. He pretty much stuck to one course and that's that. Outside of these three, I love Maud/Young Dread but I won't go into detail about her because I love the surprises that came with her story and honestly, she's probably my favorite.
I've seen people reference a love triangle between Quin, Shinobu, and John but I wouldn't classify it as one. The relationship between these three characters evolve in such a fashion that it's not an instance of "Oh whoa is me - who do I pick?! I love you both so much, please stop fighting over me." Besides, John sucks. I don't mean as a character, but as a person, he sucks.
The beginning of Seeker started out a bit slow and it took me a bit to understand what was going on. The beginning also has a feel of taking place in the past, but then there was talks of guns and television. I would have appreciated more background and world building in the first half of the book as well. Once I understood what a Seeker was and what was going on . . . Oh, wait. Maybe this is the English teacher in me, but now I'm wondering if this was intentional. Quin doesn't really know all that being a Seeker entails, only what her father has told her, until it's too late. So she's pretty much in the dark about everything and while we know something bad is going to happen we don't exactly know what the deal is until Quin does. In a way, Arwen is getting us to connect with her characters by putting us in their shoes. Allowing both us and these character to misunderstand and be confused with the world around us and introducing us to the lies and reality of the situation, along with these characters, until it's too late to turn back. Clever little author.
Seeker has the markings as the first in what will be an intriguing series. I found myself wholly wrapped up in the story once things started moving, the battle at the end is a real page turner!, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next in Traveler.
Seeker is an interesting new story. Growing up in a small village, Quin has been taught from a young age to be a Seeker, an individual who goes out into the world and dispatches of those who have wronged the innocent and need to be stopped. Of course, nothing in this world is what it seems and despite a vague warning from her mother, Quin takes her oath and learns the horrifying secrets.
Arwen spans her story over the course of two years so we see development within our characters. Quin, who doesn't start out as a strong character, eventually becomes someone who fights and stands up for what she believes. Shinobu, who initially comes across and more of a "sidekick" turns into a rather impressive front man. And John . . . okay, John didn't really evolve in my opinion. He pretty much stuck to one course and that's that. Outside of these three, I love Maud/Young Dread but I won't go into detail about her because I love the surprises that came with her story and honestly, she's probably my favorite.
I've seen people reference a love triangle between Quin, Shinobu, and John but I wouldn't classify it as one. The relationship between these three characters evolve in such a fashion that it's not an instance of "Oh whoa is me - who do I pick?! I love you both so much, please stop fighting over me." Besides, John sucks. I don't mean as a character, but as a person, he sucks.
The beginning of Seeker started out a bit slow and it took me a bit to understand what was going on. The beginning also has a feel of taking place in the past, but then there was talks of guns and television. I would have appreciated more background and world building in the first half of the book as well. Once I understood what a Seeker was and what was going on . . . Oh, wait. Maybe this is the English teacher in me, but now I'm wondering if this was intentional. Quin doesn't really know all that being a Seeker entails, only what her father has told her, until it's too late. So she's pretty much in the dark about everything and while we know something bad is going to happen we don't exactly know what the deal is until Quin does. In a way, Arwen is getting us to connect with her characters by putting us in their shoes. Allowing both us and these character to misunderstand and be confused with the world around us and introducing us to the lies and reality of the situation, along with these characters, until it's too late to turn back. Clever little author.
Seeker has the markings as the first in what will be an intriguing series. I found myself wholly wrapped up in the story once things started moving, the battle at the end is a real page turner!, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next in Traveler.