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A review by nickcarravay
Angelfall by Susan Ee
3.0
This book is like the creatures in it, half human and half monster.
Part one is, seemingly, filled with exposition and lots of bonding while traveling with the enemy. Part two takes an unexpected turn for the grotesque. There is the element of surprise and it is definitely achieved as Pernyn and her mom search for Paige. In this case however that element is bordering, if not crossing over into, WTF category. Very little is explained as to the rationale behind the Angel invasion, their existence, their purpose or even their relevance. For all I know by the end of this book, they could have been aliens, or creatures from a parallel universe. No reason is given for them to be Angels. It is clear that they had to be different from humans, but that is where is stops.
The world of the book is still very limited, even at the end of 284 pages. In a world where electricity is sparse and the invasion only happened six weeks ago, there is far too much degradation of resources and spirits in the lead characters and far too good of an countermovement. No resistance mobilizes that fast, unless there was prior knowledge and there could have been, as readers we don't know. Like most of the story that information is shrouded in so much mystery that it is no longer interesting, but rather confusing. It is like blowing smoke rings on a very foggy day, it's fun, but it seems unnecessary to hide so much of the world from the reader.
The characters themselves seem similarly cloudy. Pernyn is a bit dull. Her little sister's past is unclear. Their mom has a mental disorder, maybe. Their dad is gone, somehow. There is nothing certain. Which is similarly applicable to Raffe, about whom very little is cleared up by the end of the book.
Sometimes filling in the audience on the details, is very important to our devotion to the series. I am far more likely to care about a second installment if the first one made sense. In this case, it's hard to say if a second book is worth my time, maybe only in hopes of clearing up at least some of the many questions I currently have.
Part one is, seemingly, filled with exposition and lots of bonding while traveling with the enemy. Part two takes an unexpected turn for the grotesque. There is the element of surprise and it is definitely achieved as Pernyn and her mom search for Paige. In this case however that element is bordering, if not crossing over into, WTF category. Very little is explained as to the rationale behind the Angel invasion, their existence, their purpose or even their relevance. For all I know by the end of this book, they could have been aliens, or creatures from a parallel universe. No reason is given for them to be Angels. It is clear that they had to be different from humans, but that is where is stops.
The world of the book is still very limited, even at the end of 284 pages. In a world where electricity is sparse and the invasion only happened six weeks ago, there is far too much degradation of resources and spirits in the lead characters and far too good of an countermovement. No resistance mobilizes that fast, unless there was prior knowledge and there could have been, as readers we don't know. Like most of the story that information is shrouded in so much mystery that it is no longer interesting, but rather confusing. It is like blowing smoke rings on a very foggy day, it's fun, but it seems unnecessary to hide so much of the world from the reader.
The characters themselves seem similarly cloudy. Pernyn is a bit dull. Her little sister's past is unclear. Their mom has a mental disorder, maybe. Their dad is gone, somehow. There is nothing certain. Which is similarly applicable to Raffe, about whom very little is cleared up by the end of the book.
Sometimes filling in the audience on the details, is very important to our devotion to the series. I am far more likely to care about a second installment if the first one made sense. In this case, it's hard to say if a second book is worth my time, maybe only in hopes of clearing up at least some of the many questions I currently have.