Scan barcode
A review by crosswarrior7
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
3.0
I think I'm going to give this book a 3.25 out of 5 rating. Overall, this is a book I'm very back and forth on. And I think the reason for that falls under the fact this book goes back and forth.
Let's start with what I like. Marissa Meyer has some simpler writing that knows how to leave a punch at the right spots. I also adore her world, much like I tend to with her writing. She likes these sort of modern yet sci-fi worlds that feel like they're close enough to what we know that we can easily understand.
With the Lunar Chronicles, you get the Lunar human situation.
With Renegades, you get superheros. Part of me feels like she could better expand on what made the powers start to manifest, but the fact that powers can be gained from various ways -- genetics or life events -- is amazing. Hearing about the horrible events that triggers powers was one of the few recently I was like "I would enjoy creating a character for this world."
The powers that we do see in our main cast doesn't fit what would normally be used for the main cast, and it is implemented in a fun and creative way.
To address a complain I see often, and I don't consider this a spoiler because it's revealed very quickly in the book: Adrian, one of the main characters, has a sort of vigilante alter ego that uses his powers very creatively. I have seen many reviews ask how nobody realizes Adrian is this vigilante, but every time the vigilante him is there, Adrian has a legitimate excuse for not being around. I can see why people would be tricked, especially since it doesn't happen overly often.
However, my main complaints I never actually saw people address.
The story is written with dual PoV: Nova and Adrian.
Nova's story is awesome to read. She has a clear goal, she has clear stakes, there is a clear growing path for her to go on. She is motivated and has a voice, and even if you don't agree with her views, the amount of belief she has in them gives her character an appeal.
Adrian... I like the dude, I really do. He is our view into the Renegades whereas Nova is our view into the villains/Anarchists. It's cool getting the human look at superheroes. There's the nice vigilante secret, and there is mystery with his mother's death. It's just... His motivations and drives feel so much less present in his story arc. Why? Because it doesn't feel like he has one. He is a fun character. He is there. He is pure and heroic.
But I feel like any interesting plot for him is shoved away by another aspect: the romance.
This is weird to say because the romance is prevalent, but it doesn't consume the plot. It just seems like a more full-fledged Adrian plot was sacrificed in order to keep in chapters about the book romance.
Which sucks... Because the romance was blah. I understood why Nova, someone so devoid of hope, would be drawn to Adrian, someone who exudes hope and heroism. Adrian seemed to like Nova... Just because she was the female mc. It felt like the Adrian PoV focused more on "oooh, I like her, and my PoV is here to prove it" more than it should have been.
Adrian's seemingly lack of contribution is probably why this book felt more filler-y. The amount of Nova filler made absolute sense, but when the second half of the dual PoV felt like pure filler... Too many pages/words for too little happening.
Am I going to read the following books? Yes. Do I wish that Adrian had more substance to his part of his story? Sure. Just seeing more of the vigilante stuff with him maybe doing more unauthorized investigation into his mother's death -- not at all involving Nova or any romance aspect -- would have made the story better to me.
Let's start with what I like. Marissa Meyer has some simpler writing that knows how to leave a punch at the right spots. I also adore her world, much like I tend to with her writing. She likes these sort of modern yet sci-fi worlds that feel like they're close enough to what we know that we can easily understand.
With the Lunar Chronicles, you get the Lunar human situation.
With Renegades, you get superheros. Part of me feels like she could better expand on what made the powers start to manifest, but the fact that powers can be gained from various ways -- genetics or life events -- is amazing. Hearing about the horrible events that triggers powers was one of the few recently I was like "I would enjoy creating a character for this world."
The powers that we do see in our main cast doesn't fit what would normally be used for the main cast, and it is implemented in a fun and creative way.
To address a complain I see often, and I don't consider this a spoiler because it's revealed very quickly in the book: Adrian, one of the main characters, has a sort of vigilante alter ego that uses his powers very creatively. I have seen many reviews ask how nobody realizes Adrian is this vigilante, but every time the vigilante him is there, Adrian has a legitimate excuse for not being around. I can see why people would be tricked, especially since it doesn't happen overly often.
However, my main complaints I never actually saw people address.
The story is written with dual PoV: Nova and Adrian.
Nova's story is awesome to read. She has a clear goal, she has clear stakes, there is a clear growing path for her to go on. She is motivated and has a voice, and even if you don't agree with her views, the amount of belief she has in them gives her character an appeal.
Adrian... I like the dude, I really do. He is our view into the Renegades whereas Nova is our view into the villains/Anarchists. It's cool getting the human look at superheroes. There's the nice vigilante secret, and there is mystery with his mother's death. It's just... His motivations and drives feel so much less present in his story arc. Why? Because it doesn't feel like he has one. He is a fun character. He is there. He is pure and heroic.
But I feel like any interesting plot for him is shoved away by another aspect: the romance.
This is weird to say because the romance is prevalent, but it doesn't consume the plot. It just seems like a more full-fledged Adrian plot was sacrificed in order to keep in chapters about the book romance.
Which sucks... Because the romance was blah. I understood why Nova, someone so devoid of hope, would be drawn to Adrian, someone who exudes hope and heroism. Adrian seemed to like Nova... Just because she was the female mc. It felt like the Adrian PoV focused more on "oooh, I like her, and my PoV is here to prove it" more than it should have been.
Adrian's seemingly lack of contribution is probably why this book felt more filler-y. The amount of Nova filler made absolute sense, but when the second half of the dual PoV felt like pure filler... Too many pages/words for too little happening.
Am I going to read the following books? Yes. Do I wish that Adrian had more substance to his part of his story? Sure. Just seeing more of the vigilante stuff with him maybe doing more unauthorized investigation into his mother's death -- not at all involving Nova or any romance aspect -- would have made the story better to me.