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A review by bookph1le
Ruins by Dan Wells
4.0
It took me a while to get into this book. A lot of that is due, I think, to the long stretch of time between my reading of the previous book and this one; I had to bring myself back up to speed about the events in the previous books, which is always the downside to reading a series as it's coming out. I'm starting to think I might hold off on starting any new series until all the books are out, as this drives me nuts every time.
Some spoilers ahead.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there with this novel. The one downside to this series that I can think of is that it sometimes gets so technical that it slows the narrative and makes some sections a chore to get through. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to read a YA post-apocalyptic novel where the characters actually use some form of science, but sometimes I think it's used to excess in these books, getting more technical than it needs to and at times getting repetitive.
My fondness for the characters is unsurpassed. I have a fierce love for Samm, which certainly didn't go away while reading this book. I'm impressed by the nuances with which Wells paints him. It certainly helps that we get to be inside his head at times, but I like how Samm's behavior sometimes alienates him from others--Kira chief amongst them--and how the books have always explored that drawback. The idea of having emotions but not being able to express them is an interesting one, and I like the nuanced portrait of Samm and of the Partials as a whole. Even as humans and Partials are killing one another, I could feel my sympathies swinging back and forth between them.
That's one of the most impressive things about this series, really. In so many ways, it's an allegory for the conflicts that affect the world on a daily basis. Fear and a need for vengeance lead to so many of the conflicts in these books, just as they do in the real world. Wells's exploration of this is interesting to read, and through the use of his large cast of characters, he's able to explore the various degrees of people's need to control, to exact revenge, and to strive for peace. The inclusion of the Blood Man in this book added another nuance to this aspect of the book, as did the conflict between Ariel and Nandita.
What ultimately made me well up about this book was Heron. I didn't much like her at first because she seemed like a one-dimensional psychopath--and then I read Isolation, Wells's novella that explores Heron's background. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It gave me a whole new perspective on Heron that influenced how I saw her for the rest of the series, including with this book. She's a complex character whose motivations are sometimes unknowable. I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that I found the completion of her story arc to be one of the most satisfying in the series.
The only real downside for me, aside from sometimes finding the technical aspects of the novel tedious, was Marcus. That guy drives me nuts. He starts off with a spectacularly boneheaded move in this book and just goes on from there. I found myself wondering if I'd disliked him so strongly in the previous books, but I'm not sure. I know I didn't care for him much, but there were many times when he did things in this book that made me think he was the biggest moron of all the survivors. I like snark, but Marcus is so over the top that he delves into the realm of idiocy. I remember wondering earlier in the series what Kira saw in him, and that question definitely wasn't resolved by his behavior in this book.
In all, I was very satisfied with the ending of this book and of the series as a whole. Many of the lingering questions are answered in this book, and the plot is tied up pretty nicely while resisting the urge to spell out everything that comes next, which is something I appreciate. I will miss this series, and finishing this book feels something like the end of an era.
Some spoilers ahead.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there with this novel. The one downside to this series that I can think of is that it sometimes gets so technical that it slows the narrative and makes some sections a chore to get through. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to read a YA post-apocalyptic novel where the characters actually use some form of science, but sometimes I think it's used to excess in these books, getting more technical than it needs to and at times getting repetitive.
My fondness for the characters is unsurpassed. I have a fierce love for Samm, which certainly didn't go away while reading this book. I'm impressed by the nuances with which Wells paints him. It certainly helps that we get to be inside his head at times, but I like how Samm's behavior sometimes alienates him from others--Kira chief amongst them--and how the books have always explored that drawback. The idea of having emotions but not being able to express them is an interesting one, and I like the nuanced portrait of Samm and of the Partials as a whole. Even as humans and Partials are killing one another, I could feel my sympathies swinging back and forth between them.
That's one of the most impressive things about this series, really. In so many ways, it's an allegory for the conflicts that affect the world on a daily basis. Fear and a need for vengeance lead to so many of the conflicts in these books, just as they do in the real world. Wells's exploration of this is interesting to read, and through the use of his large cast of characters, he's able to explore the various degrees of people's need to control, to exact revenge, and to strive for peace. The inclusion of the Blood Man in this book added another nuance to this aspect of the book, as did the conflict between Ariel and Nandita.
What ultimately made me well up about this book was Heron. I didn't much like her at first because she seemed like a one-dimensional psychopath--and then I read Isolation, Wells's novella that explores Heron's background. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It gave me a whole new perspective on Heron that influenced how I saw her for the rest of the series, including with this book. She's a complex character whose motivations are sometimes unknowable. I don't want to give anything away, so suffice it to say that I found the completion of her story arc to be one of the most satisfying in the series.
The only real downside for me, aside from sometimes finding the technical aspects of the novel tedious, was Marcus. That guy drives me nuts. He starts off with a spectacularly boneheaded move in this book and just goes on from there. I found myself wondering if I'd disliked him so strongly in the previous books, but I'm not sure. I know I didn't care for him much, but there were many times when he did things in this book that made me think he was the biggest moron of all the survivors. I like snark, but Marcus is so over the top that he delves into the realm of idiocy. I remember wondering earlier in the series what Kira saw in him, and that question definitely wasn't resolved by his behavior in this book.
In all, I was very satisfied with the ending of this book and of the series as a whole. Many of the lingering questions are answered in this book, and the plot is tied up pretty nicely while resisting the urge to spell out everything that comes next, which is something I appreciate. I will miss this series, and finishing this book feels something like the end of an era.