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A review by philippam
The Hive by Barry Lyga, Morgan Baden
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
2.0
The premise of this book was interesting, and some of the worldbuilding had potential, but the execution falls flat. The narrative is clunky, filled with infodumping, and lacks any subtlety whatsoever. Despite having been published in 2019, set in a vague near future and featuring a protagonist who is still in high school, the way the characters behave and speak feels dated. It feels like it was written for millennial teens, so it's about fifteen years late on the draw, and I expect the target audience will find this book both out of date and out of touch.
The pacing was also pretty iffy and uneven. The first half of the book feels simultaneously too slow and too fast, and although it eventually does pick up to feel more even and interesting about halfway through, the ending felt rushed and a bit of a cop-out. I would have liked to have spent more time sitting in the characters emotional journeys as the story unfolded, especially unforseen consequences impacting the protagonist, rather than on the various unnecessary infodumps at the start of the book.
It was an otherwise entertaining read, although I found the resolution was a little too easy after all the hell that everyone goes through over the course of the novel, and ultimately it left me unsatisfied. I hope the authors are able to improve their pacing and clunkiness in future works, as their narrative style, while not particularly evocative, is otherwise enjoyable.
The pacing was also pretty iffy and uneven. The first half of the book feels simultaneously too slow and too fast, and although it eventually does pick up to feel more even and interesting about halfway through, the ending felt rushed and a bit of a cop-out. I would have liked to have spent more time sitting in the characters emotional journeys as the story unfolded, especially unforseen consequences impacting the protagonist, rather than on the various unnecessary infodumps at the start of the book.
It was an otherwise entertaining read, although I found the resolution was a little too easy after all the hell that everyone goes through over the course of the novel, and ultimately it left me unsatisfied. I hope the authors are able to improve their pacing and clunkiness in future works, as their narrative style, while not particularly evocative, is otherwise enjoyable.