Scan barcode
A review by renuked
Catalyst by S.J. Kincaid
5.0
Let me get something out of the way. My younger brother is twelve years old. He loves playing video games and building things. I am a sixteen year old girl. I wear makeup and dresses and like shopping. We both love, love, love this series. This series is not for a particular group of people. It is for everyone because it is genius. Please do not be turned away because it is a science fiction series. It is genuinely a wonderful set of books.
First off, it is funny. I have laughed out loud in all three books. My sides actually hurt from laughing alone in my room. (I have also heard my brother doing this very same thing). It is rife with hilarity. This last book takes a much darker turn than I expected compared to the other two, but it was also filled with light moments and brilliant dialogue.
Why is it so funny? The characters of course! They are diverse, witty, and constantly teasing each other. They complement each other perfectly. There is our reckless protagonist, Tom. His best friend, Tiny Spicy Vikram. The Android (Yuri). And the brilliant, Man Hands (Wyatt). Their friendship gives me life, and I love the way they grow throughout the series. This last book showed me exactly how far they've come since starting out as naive little plebes.
Secondly, the plot. Everything twists around in this last book. It darkens to a point I did not ever consider this series would go. It deals with questions of identity, justice, sacrifice and humanity. Again, the difference from book one is astonishing in how much the characters need to deal with. Kincaid does not hesitate to develop real threats in this novel. Joseph Vengerov's twisted mind games frightened even me. He certainly ranks high on the evil-o-meter with his villainy and disregard for human life.
The romance. These books are pretty light on romance, but the relationships that grow certainly impact the book greatly. Tom and Medusa (not her real name obviously) have come a long way since beating each other up in simulations, and I loved how they didn't rush together. It was gradual and subtle throughout the series. It never overpowered the other friendships or the plot. Also, Wyatt and Yuri continue resolving their relationship which I loved.
And finally, the ending. I'm sure people will complain about the "neat" ending. We all know the world is far from perfect. But the beauty of science fiction is that, we can imagine the world to become a utopia. The science fiction elements are just plain exciting! It is the stuff of dreams: computers in brains, nanomachines, simulations, space warships. I'm tired of post apocalyptic societies that suffer rebellions and utterly collapse. Why not a rebellion that ends in the reconstruction of a world? Old movie science fiction is back, and there are finally flying cars. Why not, after all?
First off, it is funny. I have laughed out loud in all three books. My sides actually hurt from laughing alone in my room. (I have also heard my brother doing this very same thing). It is rife with hilarity. This last book takes a much darker turn than I expected compared to the other two, but it was also filled with light moments and brilliant dialogue.
Why is it so funny? The characters of course! They are diverse, witty, and constantly teasing each other. They complement each other perfectly. There is our reckless protagonist, Tom. His best friend, Tiny Spicy Vikram. The Android (Yuri). And the brilliant, Man Hands (Wyatt). Their friendship gives me life, and I love the way they grow throughout the series. This last book showed me exactly how far they've come since starting out as naive little plebes.
Secondly, the plot. Everything twists around in this last book. It darkens to a point I did not ever consider this series would go. It deals with questions of identity, justice, sacrifice and humanity. Again, the difference from book one is astonishing in how much the characters need to deal with. Kincaid does not hesitate to develop real threats in this novel. Joseph Vengerov's twisted mind games frightened even me. He certainly ranks high on the evil-o-meter with his villainy and disregard for human life.
The romance. These books are pretty light on romance, but the relationships that grow certainly impact the book greatly. Tom and Medusa (not her real name obviously) have come a long way since beating each other up in simulations, and I loved how they didn't rush together. It was gradual and subtle throughout the series. It never overpowered the other friendships or the plot. Also, Wyatt and Yuri continue resolving their relationship which I loved.
And finally, the ending. I'm sure people will complain about the "neat" ending. We all know the world is far from perfect. But the beauty of science fiction is that, we can imagine the world to become a utopia. The science fiction elements are just plain exciting! It is the stuff of dreams: computers in brains, nanomachines, simulations, space warships. I'm tired of post apocalyptic societies that suffer rebellions and utterly collapse. Why not a rebellion that ends in the reconstruction of a world? Old movie science fiction is back, and there are finally flying cars. Why not, after all?