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A review by gingerbread_void
The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
4.0
“the apocalypse began at Starbucks,” that was all it took to sell me on this book. I loved Hutchinson pervious work “We are the Ants” and I was eager for this book. He always does a good job of creating a world like ours but somehow so much more magical, so very mysteries. This book was no exception to that.
The character of Elena is both unique yet somehow so very familiar. She is unique in the way all of Hutchinson’s characters are but she also holds a sense of selfish familiarity that anyone can relate to. She is angry and selfish and in denial of both these facts. She is kind and giving as well. She is layered in a way all humans are. She is not a perfect hero, she may not even be a hero at all but she is a fantastic character all things consider.
Just as his main character is both unique and familiar so is the world he creates. He crafts a world that feels so much like our own yet has a sense of uniqueness and magic. The worlds he crafts feels like it could or even is happening and unfolding around the reading without them even realizing it.
Hutchinson’s true gift though does not lie in his ability to make unique characters and worlds but his ability to make you doubt everything you reading. He give you just enough proof to make you want to believe the things the narrator says are true but he also provides plenty of reasons to doubt them as well. See the story though the eyes of his character’s can either make you feel like you are seeing the world as miracles and the fantastical unfold all around you or it can make you feel like you are seeing the would though the eyes of someone who can not handle the world and is creating this fanatics world around them cope. Either way you read the book weather you believe the narrator is telling the truth, or things they are, or even if they are just plain lying you are in for a wild ride.
Though I can not point out all of Hutchinson’s good qualities without stating the one major thing that bothered me about this book. The ending felt like it was a just a clever rewrite of the ending to his previous work. The book had the same structure as the previous work only with a different character and he replaced his aliens with “magical” voices or gods as they called it. Yes he did add a few things here and there and to change the story o to flesh it out but it was the sam basics and the ending was nearly identical like he couldn’t be bothered to create a new so he just recycled it. Despite the similarities or maybe become of them I still loved this book.
The character of Elena is both unique yet somehow so very familiar. She is unique in the way all of Hutchinson’s characters are but she also holds a sense of selfish familiarity that anyone can relate to. She is angry and selfish and in denial of both these facts. She is kind and giving as well. She is layered in a way all humans are. She is not a perfect hero, she may not even be a hero at all but she is a fantastic character all things consider.
Just as his main character is both unique and familiar so is the world he creates. He crafts a world that feels so much like our own yet has a sense of uniqueness and magic. The worlds he crafts feels like it could or even is happening and unfolding around the reading without them even realizing it.
Hutchinson’s true gift though does not lie in his ability to make unique characters and worlds but his ability to make you doubt everything you reading. He give you just enough proof to make you want to believe the things the narrator says are true but he also provides plenty of reasons to doubt them as well. See the story though the eyes of his character’s can either make you feel like you are seeing the world as miracles and the fantastical unfold all around you or it can make you feel like you are seeing the would though the eyes of someone who can not handle the world and is creating this fanatics world around them cope. Either way you read the book weather you believe the narrator is telling the truth, or things they are, or even if they are just plain lying you are in for a wild ride.
Though I can not point out all of Hutchinson’s good qualities without stating the one major thing that bothered me about this book. The ending felt like it was a just a clever rewrite of the ending to his previous work. The book had the same structure as the previous work only with a different character and he replaced his aliens with “magical” voices or gods as they called it. Yes he did add a few things here and there and to change the story o to flesh it out but it was the sam basics and the ending was nearly identical like he couldn’t be bothered to create a new so he just recycled it. Despite the similarities or maybe become of them I still loved this book.