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fijaem 's review for:
Metro 2033
by Dmitry Glukhovsky
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall, the author created an amazing post apocalyptic society, placed it in a greatly build world and dissected the way our current lifestyles would affect our lives after an atomic war. Simultaneously, he showed the horrors of having to fight beasts created by radiation and brought attention to the fact, that those creatures are simply the result of humans adapting to the world around them, as we did throughout history. And as throughout history, humans were the ones not willing to co-exist. (Although it doesn't really fit with the creatures repeatedly killing humans, but I can excuse it, as the characters in the book have the tendency to shoot immidiately, and there was no way for the creatures to communicate with them).
That being said, the author did however have a harder time coming up with a way to show the world in a fully captivating way.
Artyom started as a very passive character, and remained that way until the last third of the book. Rather than driving the story forward, as the main character should, he's simply reacting to it, rarely contributing beyond trying to get to the next station. His problems got solved by random people, who disappeared as soon as they no longer had a purpose, which got repetitive after a while. I can apprecieate subverting the expectation, by introducing a character, presenting them as if they'll play a big role in the book, and then killing them or leaveing their faith untold, but it's no longer subversive, when done so many times.
The suposedly suspensful moments hold no weight, when the previous ones got solved without any problem, or even effort required by Artyom. They feel like page-filler, which is another problem of the book.
The pacing is inconsistent. Fast, action packed moments were interrupted by redundant plots or info-dumps about the world. The two-page rambling about The Great Worm, as funny as it was, when being placed after the main character getting kidnapped felt simply frustrating. It was also extremly similiar to the lecture about God, which Artyom heard after being miraculously saved by the Jehova's witnesses. It felt as if the author thought he needed to give readers a breathing room, because he falsely assesed the intensity of the events. Or he simply needed more pages.
As good as the world building was, I felt lost when Artyom was travelling through different passages, as well as his journey to and beyond Park Pobedy. The author did a much better job explaining places on the ground. During the library scene, I truly felt like I was there with them. The same can be said about Artyom's journey on the ground to get back to the metro station.
The world was the best part of the book, and I could tell the author was truly fascinated by it. He clearly spent a lot of time coming up with the way the stations function and co-depend on each other. Each station decribed felt unique and alive, even if it was simply mentioned. There were many details, that made the world in the metro feel like it was truly a society, which clung to its fromer structure, like the fact you need a passport to travel, the clocks being preserved or the children being taught about a world that no longer exsists.
That being said, the author did however have a harder time coming up with a way to show the world in a fully captivating way.
Artyom started as a very passive character, and remained that way until the last third of the book. Rather than driving the story forward, as the main character should, he's simply reacting to it, rarely contributing beyond trying to get to the next station. His problems got solved by random people, who disappeared as soon as they no longer had a purpose, which got repetitive after a while. I can apprecieate subverting the expectation, by introducing a character, presenting them as if they'll play a big role in the book, and then killing them or leaveing their faith untold, but it's no longer subversive, when done so many times.
The suposedly suspensful moments hold no weight, when the previous ones got solved without any problem, or even effort required by Artyom. They feel like page-filler, which is another problem of the book.
The pacing is inconsistent. Fast, action packed moments were interrupted by redundant plots or info-dumps about the world. The two-page rambling about The Great Worm, as funny as it was, when being placed after the main character getting kidnapped felt simply frustrating. It was also extremly similiar to the lecture about God, which Artyom heard after being miraculously saved by the Jehova's witnesses. It felt as if the author thought he needed to give readers a breathing room, because he falsely assesed the intensity of the events. Or he simply needed more pages.
As good as the world building was, I felt lost when Artyom was travelling through different passages, as well as his journey to and beyond Park Pobedy. The author did a much better job explaining places on the ground. During the library scene, I truly felt like I was there with them. The same can be said about Artyom's journey on the ground to get back to the metro station.
The world was the best part of the book, and I could tell the author was truly fascinated by it. He clearly spent a lot of time coming up with the way the stations function and co-depend on each other. Each station decribed felt unique and alive, even if it was simply mentioned. There were many details, that made the world in the metro feel like it was truly a society, which clung to its fromer structure, like the fact you need a passport to travel, the clocks being preserved or the children being taught about a world that no longer exsists.