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A review by hazelstaybookish
The Body Electric by Beth Revis
4.0
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I have to admit I was nervous about The Body Electric as I first started reading it. I’ve never read anything by Beth Revis before and I really have never been known for reading sci-fi novels. That contributed to a very slow start for me. It took time for me to fully take in the completely high-tech post-war world of New Venice as Revis introduced it through the eyes of Ella Shepherd.
“The sea is a dangerous place because it makes you believe in forever.”
But then I started to finally absorb the world-building several chapters in because it was seriously vividly put and well-imagined. Also, the story started getting good. Like, suddenly swept away kind of good. Before I knew it, I devoured the book in a sitting and was thinking, woah that was fantastic.
“If I can only see him in madness, is it worth trying to hold onto sanity?”
Usually, I find that I like to focus on characters when I read- getting to really know the characters inside out- but I found that I wasn’t doing that with Ella or any of the characters. It was the plot that truly had me enamoured. It had twist and turns- not exactly surprising revelations (although there were a few) but turnabouts that made me eager to know more and find out what will happen next. Revis sure knows how to tell an interesting tale and keep it at a satisfying pace.
“What if eternity is nothing more than me, alone, in the darkness?”
More than that, the writing in The Body Electric was totally compelling. And oh goodness, the romance. It was pretty low-key but I absolutely lived (liked/loved) Ella and Jack together. The angst because of their to-be-discovered-further-in-the-story past (feels agh) and the fun banter just got to me. I’m a sucker for those things.
“He will never stand down. He will never give up. Not on the war. Not on me.”
This one was undeniably pretty awesome. Again, I don’t read much science fiction but I’ll be sure to pick up any of Revis’s books now and possibly read more books from the genre. The Body Electric was impressive and thrilling- overall a great read.
I have to admit I was nervous about The Body Electric as I first started reading it. I’ve never read anything by Beth Revis before and I really have never been known for reading sci-fi novels. That contributed to a very slow start for me. It took time for me to fully take in the completely high-tech post-war world of New Venice as Revis introduced it through the eyes of Ella Shepherd.
“The sea is a dangerous place because it makes you believe in forever.”
But then I started to finally absorb the world-building several chapters in because it was seriously vividly put and well-imagined. Also, the story started getting good. Like, suddenly swept away kind of good. Before I knew it, I devoured the book in a sitting and was thinking, woah that was fantastic.
“If I can only see him in madness, is it worth trying to hold onto sanity?”
Usually, I find that I like to focus on characters when I read- getting to really know the characters inside out- but I found that I wasn’t doing that with Ella or any of the characters. It was the plot that truly had me enamoured. It had twist and turns- not exactly surprising revelations (although there were a few) but turnabouts that made me eager to know more and find out what will happen next. Revis sure knows how to tell an interesting tale and keep it at a satisfying pace.
“What if eternity is nothing more than me, alone, in the darkness?”
More than that, the writing in The Body Electric was totally compelling. And oh goodness, the romance. It was pretty low-key but I absolutely lived (liked/loved) Ella and Jack together. The angst because of their to-be-discovered-further-in-the-story past (feels agh) and the fun banter just got to me. I’m a sucker for those things.
“He will never stand down. He will never give up. Not on the war. Not on me.”
This one was undeniably pretty awesome. Again, I don’t read much science fiction but I’ll be sure to pick up any of Revis’s books now and possibly read more books from the genre. The Body Electric was impressive and thrilling- overall a great read.