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A review by dolaya
Archetype by M.D. Waters
4.0
This novel blew me away. The characters are excellent, the plot wonderful, and the world enthralling. Read. This. Book.
The first thing I’ll say is that MD Waters has done an excellent job. Her debut seems to me like something that an experienced and veteran novelist would have difficulty writing, much less a first time author. But of course I’m wrong because she’s the person I’m writing about. And frankly, having just read Prototype, I can say that her prowess was certainly not beginner’s luck.
I won’t bother giving you a synopsis of the book because the blurb does a plenty good job of that already. But I will say that the blurb was very effective in making me desperately want to read this book. And I was not disappointed. First, the plot. It was great. The plot was elegantly crafted so it led you nicely around the story, but firmly enough that as you passed those interesting windows with the answers you wanted, you could only get a glimpse. If the plot is the script then this one is a masterwork.
And another thing that makes this book so great is that I cannot for the life of me put it neatly into one genre. It is transcendent, with elements of mystery, science fiction, and romance. And all of it well thought out, so that the parts complement each other and don’t overdo themselves. Sci-Fi walks with Mystery, then sedes their dominance of the stage to Romance for a bit, before returning to both infuriate you and enthrall you with their puzzling dialogue.
A story always needs a stage, and Waters delivers wonderfully. All of the places that Emma, our main character, gets to know become familiar and almost tangibly real, described and developed in meticulous detail. Thanks to our author, we walk with Emma in her world, sharing her surroundings and to a certain degree, her experience.
And of course, the cast. The characters. The people who play out the story. The people who you either adore or tolerate or despise with your very being. And if feeling things about the characters is a sign of good writing then Waters is amazing. I could not read this book without feeling either animosity or friendship for the characters. And to some of the cast… go die. The people in the book are so well developed that they seem to me almost real. As if I could walk out on the street and meet Emma or Noah or Foster. Congratulations M.D. Waters.
So I think I’ve explained the reason for my rating well enough. But if there is still any doubt, I’ll say this. I rarely see a book that so effectively combines genres into a story that is told in a truly original and rather riveting way. Keep it up Waters, and to those who haven’t read Archetype yet: GO DO IT!
The first thing I’ll say is that MD Waters has done an excellent job. Her debut seems to me like something that an experienced and veteran novelist would have difficulty writing, much less a first time author. But of course I’m wrong because she’s the person I’m writing about. And frankly, having just read Prototype, I can say that her prowess was certainly not beginner’s luck.
I won’t bother giving you a synopsis of the book because the blurb does a plenty good job of that already. But I will say that the blurb was very effective in making me desperately want to read this book. And I was not disappointed. First, the plot. It was great. The plot was elegantly crafted so it led you nicely around the story, but firmly enough that as you passed those interesting windows with the answers you wanted, you could only get a glimpse. If the plot is the script then this one is a masterwork.
And another thing that makes this book so great is that I cannot for the life of me put it neatly into one genre. It is transcendent, with elements of mystery, science fiction, and romance. And all of it well thought out, so that the parts complement each other and don’t overdo themselves. Sci-Fi walks with Mystery, then sedes their dominance of the stage to Romance for a bit, before returning to both infuriate you and enthrall you with their puzzling dialogue.
A story always needs a stage, and Waters delivers wonderfully. All of the places that Emma, our main character, gets to know become familiar and almost tangibly real, described and developed in meticulous detail. Thanks to our author, we walk with Emma in her world, sharing her surroundings and to a certain degree, her experience.
And of course, the cast. The characters. The people who play out the story. The people who you either adore or tolerate or despise with your very being. And if feeling things about the characters is a sign of good writing then Waters is amazing. I could not read this book without feeling either animosity or friendship for the characters. And to some of the cast… go die. The people in the book are so well developed that they seem to me almost real. As if I could walk out on the street and meet Emma or Noah or Foster. Congratulations M.D. Waters.
So I think I’ve explained the reason for my rating well enough. But if there is still any doubt, I’ll say this. I rarely see a book that so effectively combines genres into a story that is told in a truly original and rather riveting way. Keep it up Waters, and to those who haven’t read Archetype yet: GO DO IT!