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A review by mehsi
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
4.0
This was a pretty OK book, but I didn't love it to bits as I did the other book.
Also, no this is not a sequel. It is more of a prequel, taking place years before the events of the Girl with all the gifts.
The blurb sounded amazing, it was what made me want to pre-order the book. Sadly, the blurb was a big lie.
"Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy. The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world. To where the monsters lived." <- The land is indeed blighted by terror. There is a smart boy, but they didn't think he could save them, if anything the only reason he got on the trip was thanks to Dr. Khan. Everyone pretty much hates him/finds him weird. Plus the blurb makes it sound like the boy goes on his own jolly way. Which is not true. He is part of a mission and the only way he goes outside is illegally and while endangering his other team-members. *sighs* Is blurb writing that hard? Can't people just make a fun, good, truthful, and not spoiler-filled (since that also happens) blurb?
The book is told from a lot of POVs. I can tell you that at times I was just utterly confused at who was talking when. It also didn't help that I hated everyone. Yep. Everyone. Well, OK, Khan was a bit hit and miss, but generally I didn't like her.
There is SO MUCH dialogue. There is some action (especially near the middle/end), but not that much, and that is what I loved about the other book. Even back in the classroom and all that happened there, it had more action and excitement than this book had.
The book really picked up when we met with the kid hungries. The smart hungries. Like Melanie from the previous book. That is also why I rated this one so high. I just loved those hungries in the previous book. How they were so smart, but still dangerous, how they were almost truly human, but then also not due to their instincts and hunger for meat. How they were a new generation.
Since the blurb is what it is, I will put this one under a spoiler tag, even though it is something that happens at the beginning.
Plus I disliked how she kept protecting Greaves. How she never truly got angry with him.
Greaves, or Grieves/Grief as I call him, as he brought grief to everyone. Really, that kid was not only highly annoying, but also an even bigger liability than Khan. Oh hey, let me just walk out during night and stand between a few zombies. Because, yay, science.... Or, let me just do that while we are on a mission so that people get worried (well, only Khan), and people have to find me, thus endangering everything and thus being the catalyst for a lot of shit happening. I just kept hoping he would get eaten. I even dubbed him Caldwell 2.0 after a while. He was just so focused on his own shit that he didn't see how much danger he was in or how much danger he brought to the others.
I also was slightly pissed at the stupid morons who would just shoot at everything, regardless of the situation.
Not to mention the whole army/military crap, and the spying, and other stuff that just made me yawn and roll my eyes.
The ending was perfection though, even though it was a bit over the top.
I LOVED LOVED the epilogue though. It was absolutely brilliant and I was so happy with it. It concluded several things, brought some older characters back, and I was just crying in happiness.
But all in all, this was still a disappointment. :( It had good parts, but I had expected much more from it, especially with that blurb.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Also, no this is not a sequel. It is more of a prequel, taking place years before the events of the Girl with all the gifts.
The blurb sounded amazing, it was what made me want to pre-order the book. Sadly, the blurb was a big lie.
"Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy. The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world. To where the monsters lived." <- The land is indeed blighted by terror. There is a smart boy, but they didn't think he could save them, if anything the only reason he got on the trip was thanks to Dr. Khan. Everyone pretty much hates him/finds him weird. Plus the blurb makes it sound like the boy goes on his own jolly way. Which is not true. He is part of a mission and the only way he goes outside is illegally and while endangering his other team-members. *sighs* Is blurb writing that hard? Can't people just make a fun, good, truthful, and not spoiler-filled (since that also happens) blurb?
The book is told from a lot of POVs. I can tell you that at times I was just utterly confused at who was talking when. It also didn't help that I hated everyone. Yep. Everyone. Well, OK, Khan was a bit hit and miss, but generally I didn't like her.
There is SO MUCH dialogue. There is some action (especially near the middle/end), but not that much, and that is what I loved about the other book. Even back in the classroom and all that happened there, it had more action and excitement than this book had.
The book really picked up when we met with the kid hungries. The smart hungries. Like Melanie from the previous book. That is also why I rated this one so high. I just loved those hungries in the previous book. How they were so smart, but still dangerous, how they were almost truly human, but then also not due to their instincts and hunger for meat. How they were a new generation.
Since the blurb is what it is, I will put this one under a spoiler tag, even though it is something that happens at the beginning.
Spoiler
The whole baby/pregnancy mess. Dear Lord woman. OMG I have been selected, let me just have unprotected sex with someone random on the team and oh, dear, now I am pregnant. *sighs* Really. This was just too stupid for me. She is a frigging scientist, she knew the risks, but apparently didn't care enough. And then she thought she could just hide it, so she didn't tell anyone until it was way too obvious. Plus, while I did admire her going on missions even though she was very far along in her pregnancy, I also found her a risk. Can she really run as fast as everyone else? What if the baby comes while she is out on a mission? She is a liability in the field. :| Also, I definitely could see what was going to happen at the end, it was just that obvious. *sighs*Plus I disliked how she kept protecting Greaves. How she never truly got angry with him.
Greaves, or Grieves/Grief as I call him, as he brought grief to everyone. Really, that kid was not only highly annoying, but also an even bigger liability than Khan. Oh hey, let me just walk out during night and stand between a few zombies. Because, yay, science.... Or, let me just do that while we are on a mission so that people get worried (well, only Khan), and people have to find me, thus endangering everything and thus being the catalyst for a lot of shit happening. I just kept hoping he would get eaten. I even dubbed him Caldwell 2.0 after a while. He was just so focused on his own shit that he didn't see how much danger he was in or how much danger he brought to the others.
I also was slightly pissed at the stupid morons who would just shoot at everything, regardless of the situation.
Not to mention the whole army/military crap, and the spying, and other stuff that just made me yawn and roll my eyes.
The ending was perfection though, even though it was a bit over the top.
I LOVED LOVED the epilogue though. It was absolutely brilliant and I was so happy with it. It concluded several things, brought some older characters back, and I was just crying in happiness.
But all in all, this was still a disappointment. :( It had good parts, but I had expected much more from it, especially with that blurb.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/