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A review by liz_ross
Ariadnis by Josh Martin
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"Back then I thought that if it weren't for that cliff our cities would be one and there would be no need for all this fierceness towards each other. But then I learned about pride and tradition and prophecy, and those things are harder than rock."
The world as we know it is gone. There's only an island left. And in that island two cities that are the completly opposite of each other. One believing the technology should not be forgotten, the other believing we should live in connection with the nature. As they couldn't reach an agreement, the divinity of the island solved the problem, creating a competion where the Chosen Ones must fight and this way decide which city must rule the island. Aula from Athenas, that wants the technology to continue to be used, is stronger and faster than anyone. Joomia from Metis, that wants humans to live in connection with the nature, seems to have no special quality except for the fact that only a few people can hear her.
I must start by saying that I love the whole concept of the story. The competion where the Chosen Ones must participate is not the usual one. It was created by a divinity and no one knows what exactly it is. No one knows what will happen, how will the girls be able to show that they are the ones representing the best city, which makes everything more mysterious and therefore more interesting.
And the world Martin created, with one city literally on the top of the other, each one in a side of a cliff is undoubtely original and nicely described. However, that originality has a bad side. He created a world so unlikely and different that it is almost impossible to really imagine it. I mean, we are talking about cities that are each one is a side of a cliff, both built on the same trees, that grow in each side of the cliff. It is not exactly the easiest thing to imagine.
Unfortunatelly, a good concept and an original world is not enough to create a good story. And where the plot is concerned, I can't say it is as good as I was expecting considering the idea. The pace is so, so slow in the beginning that it's hard to keep reading, to find the strenght to do not drop the book. Multiple times I found myself skipping parts, hoping I would find one with a little more action that could convince me to do not stop reading. And I guess that it is a good thing that I didn't. The ending is quite amazing and with way more action, making it really good and easier to read and enjoy.
The characters too are a part of the story I didn't enjoy as much as I would like. I simply couldn't connect with Aula and Joomia and, honestly, I really can't understand why. The story is written alternating between Joomia and Aula's points of view, giving the reader plenty of time to fully connect with both. And yet I couldn't do it. Something about them was off, something I can't classify or explain, but that made it impossible for me to connect with them. On the other hand, Taurus, Joomia's best friend, was one of the easiest characters to connect with that I've ever read about. He sounded so incredibly real and such a nice person, despite his flaws, that I couldn't help but like him. And yes, I said flaws. Flaws as in the character was not perfect, flaws as in the character was human. That's something I noticed in all the characters and admire about Martin. He created <i>human</i> characters with behaviours that fit their ages. And that's so, so nice. To see Chosen Ones that did not behave as middle-aged adults but as teenagers (which is what they are), that had their flaws and strenghts just like anyone else. It is good to have characters like this for a change.
And other thing I definitely loved about this story was the love relationships. And no, this is not a romance. It's far from that. But through little details we can clearly understand that Taurus is a playboy. And bissexual. And that many of the charactares are also not straight. But Martin showed us that through little details, sentences said so casually we could understand that it was the normal and not something that caused problems among the people. He referred those characters and their sexual orientation as they should always be referred - as a normal thing about which no one needs to make a scene. Because it is a normal thing, everyone is free to be with whoever they want to be and no one else must have anything to say about that.
Overall, I think this book has some good things and could be an interesting read (to read slowly, stopping from time to time, because there's no other way you would be able to read it), but it could also be way better than it is, namely where the pace and the main characters are concerned.
The world as we know it is gone. There's only an island left. And in that island two cities that are the completly opposite of each other. One believing the technology should not be forgotten, the other believing we should live in connection with the nature. As they couldn't reach an agreement, the divinity of the island solved the problem, creating a competion where the Chosen Ones must fight and this way decide which city must rule the island. Aula from Athenas, that wants the technology to continue to be used, is stronger and faster than anyone. Joomia from Metis, that wants humans to live in connection with the nature, seems to have no special quality except for the fact that only a few people can hear her.
I must start by saying that I love the whole concept of the story. The competion where the Chosen Ones must participate is not the usual one. It was created by a divinity and no one knows what exactly it is. No one knows what will happen, how will the girls be able to show that they are the ones representing the best city, which makes everything more mysterious and therefore more interesting.
And the world Martin created, with one city literally on the top of the other, each one in a side of a cliff is undoubtely original and nicely described. However, that originality has a bad side. He created a world so unlikely and different that it is almost impossible to really imagine it. I mean, we are talking about cities that are each one is a side of a cliff, both built on the same trees, that grow in each side of the cliff. It is not exactly the easiest thing to imagine.
Unfortunatelly, a good concept and an original world is not enough to create a good story. And where the plot is concerned, I can't say it is as good as I was expecting considering the idea. The pace is so, so slow in the beginning that it's hard to keep reading, to find the strenght to do not drop the book. Multiple times I found myself skipping parts, hoping I would find one with a little more action that could convince me to do not stop reading. And I guess that it is a good thing that I didn't. The ending is quite amazing and with way more action, making it really good and easier to read and enjoy.
The characters too are a part of the story I didn't enjoy as much as I would like. I simply couldn't connect with Aula and Joomia and, honestly, I really can't understand why. The story is written alternating between Joomia and Aula's points of view, giving the reader plenty of time to fully connect with both. And yet I couldn't do it. Something about them was off, something I can't classify or explain, but that made it impossible for me to connect with them. On the other hand, Taurus, Joomia's best friend, was one of the easiest characters to connect with that I've ever read about. He sounded so incredibly real and such a nice person, despite his flaws, that I couldn't help but like him. And yes, I said flaws. Flaws as in the character was not perfect, flaws as in the character was human. That's something I noticed in all the characters and admire about Martin. He created <i>human</i> characters with behaviours that fit their ages. And that's so, so nice. To see Chosen Ones that did not behave as middle-aged adults but as teenagers (which is what they are), that had their flaws and strenghts just like anyone else. It is good to have characters like this for a change.
And other thing I definitely loved about this story was the love relationships. And no, this is not a romance. It's far from that. But through little details we can clearly understand that Taurus is a playboy. And bissexual. And that many of the charactares are also not straight. But Martin showed us that through little details, sentences said so casually we could understand that it was the normal and not something that caused problems among the people. He referred those characters and their sexual orientation as they should always be referred - as a normal thing about which no one needs to make a scene. Because it is a normal thing, everyone is free to be with whoever they want to be and no one else must have anything to say about that.
Overall, I think this book has some good things and could be an interesting read (to read slowly, stopping from time to time, because there's no other way you would be able to read it), but it could also be way better than it is, namely where the pace and the main characters are concerned.