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maxturner's reviews
95 reviews
After the Fear by Rosanne Rivers
4.0
First off, I need to acknowledge that this book feels like it owes a lot of inspiration to The Hunger Games. This is most definitely not a criticism, as I love THG and am happy to read something similar if it is well written and interesting, and this story most definitely is.
The overall similarities are there, albiet through a British view point (which being British - I loved), but from about half way through the story took on a life of it's own. With the inclusion of some interesting and shocking twists that make for compulsive reading.
I really enjoyed this book, but my only criticism would be that I wish we had had more time in Sola's life to get to know her better before she was chosen for demonstrations.
Looking forward to further stories from this author!
The overall similarities are there, albiet through a British view point (which being British - I loved), but from about half way through the story took on a life of it's own. With the inclusion of some interesting and shocking twists that make for compulsive reading.
I really enjoyed this book, but my only criticism would be that I wish we had had more time in Sola's life to get to know her better before she was chosen for demonstrations.
Looking forward to further stories from this author!
Rogue Genesis by Ceri London
4.0
Although I found that the story took a while to heat up and I struggled to get into the first half, by half way through I couldn't put it down. The premise is clever and original, the action really takes off in the second half and is riveting. The twist is a fabulous take on the Out of Africa Theory! At the end of the story I was keen to read what happens next and look forward to reading more.
Aberrant by Ruth Silver
4.0
I quite enjoyed this book, it was an interesting and original take on the YA dystopian theme.
My only criticism is that it felt like half a book - the ending was a little abrupt and highlighted how short this felt. I haven't read the second novel yet, but wonder if they would have been better served being put together as one volume.
I look forward to reading more from this author!
My only criticism is that it felt like half a book - the ending was a little abrupt and highlighted how short this felt. I haven't read the second novel yet, but wonder if they would have been better served being put together as one volume.
I look forward to reading more from this author!
Chance the Darkness by L.A. Wild
2.0
Somewhere in here is an interesting and compelling story. Unfortunately it is almost entirely buried until the last few chapters and I found it a bit of a struggle to get there.
The story starts fast and jumps straight to the action, which can sometimes be a good thing. In Chance the Darkness this results in finding out very little about the protagonist other than the fact that she likes stilettos. The story’s own mythos is poorly explained - for example she comments on the vampires not turning to dust when killed, but doesn't explain why she would expect this would happen in the first place. Despite the story being first person, and a lot of time spent between the characters, I still ended the book not knowing any of the characters in enough depth to connect with. Even so, about half way through, a glimpse of an interesting story starts to break through.
Summer Keese, the main character is flip and glib, and either overreacts or under reacts to any given situation - underreacting to something terrible and then overreacting to something mundane. This has the effect of creating inappropriate, and at times baffling, tones. She is a 2 dimensional character that is difficult to identify with - we are told things rather than them being demonstrated. For example, towards the end we discover that Keese has nightmares about her parents every night, but at no point before that do we experience her having those nightmares. With only superficial delving into who all the characters are and what drives them it is hard to understand their motivations. The male characters are even more shallow and all domineering, stalkerish and a little bit rapey, which isn’t my particular cup of tea.
There are some really great ideas in here - I love the idea of living tattoos - but the florid writing style and lack of character development holds them back.
The story starts fast and jumps straight to the action, which can sometimes be a good thing. In Chance the Darkness this results in finding out very little about the protagonist other than the fact that she likes stilettos. The story’s own mythos is poorly explained - for example she comments on the vampires not turning to dust when killed, but doesn't explain why she would expect this would happen in the first place. Despite the story being first person, and a lot of time spent between the characters, I still ended the book not knowing any of the characters in enough depth to connect with. Even so, about half way through, a glimpse of an interesting story starts to break through.
Summer Keese, the main character is flip and glib, and either overreacts or under reacts to any given situation - underreacting to something terrible and then overreacting to something mundane. This has the effect of creating inappropriate, and at times baffling, tones. She is a 2 dimensional character that is difficult to identify with - we are told things rather than them being demonstrated. For example, towards the end we discover that Keese has nightmares about her parents every night, but at no point before that do we experience her having those nightmares. With only superficial delving into who all the characters are and what drives them it is hard to understand their motivations. The male characters are even more shallow and all domineering, stalkerish and a little bit rapey, which isn’t my particular cup of tea.
There are some really great ideas in here - I love the idea of living tattoos - but the florid writing style and lack of character development holds them back.
Eve Brenner: Zombie Girl by A. Giacomi
3.0
I really wanted to love this novel, however, I give it only just three stars based on its interesting story and the strength of the last few chapters against the weaknesses I felt let it down. The story itself starts well, however the return home in the second third was a weak middle, thankfully redeemed by the strong ending.
The book starts with an introduction to Eve, she is glib and sassy - the kind of character and introduction that really isn't my particular cup of tea. That said, I immediately took a liking to the idea of her being called Eve. Although it could seem quite obvious, I liked the idea of her being the first (zombie) woman.
We first meet our three lead characters, Eve and her friends Cameron and Alexandra on an academic archaeological excavation in Egypt. As interesting as this setting and the story was I have to admit I possibly had a bias reaction to the portrayal of the dig - which in no way resembled any kind of dig, archaeologists or archaeology students I have ever encountered in the course of my own archaeological training or work in heritage. Even so, to the lay person I believe this would be an interesting and hooking introduction. The exposition we later learn - the idea of a "Mummy" as a zombie and an ancient Egyptian disease - is pretty interesting and definitely a concept not really touched on in much contemporary zombie fiction.
When the characters return home and to college the story picks up pace - we get to see the inevitable consequences of Eve’s actions and her attack whilst on the excavation. We learn more about the “disease” itself and the involvement of government agents, which is an interesting yarn. The lives and backgrounds of the characters are explored more in this home setting. However, the death of a family member and return home feels a bit too long and lacking in really gripping action.
This weak middle is definitely made up for in the strength of the last few chapters. Our characters return once more to college, as Eve’s condition both worsens and is better explored with the help of a professor at the college. The rise of college zombie hordes and inevitable appearance of the agents is where this story really finds its feet. It's a shame this comes so late, but for me it saves the story and piques my interest in the next installment.
I really loved the story being told, however there were weaknesses that let it down for me which lead me to giving it just three stars. The tone is often all over the place, the flip attitude of the characters not always quite adding up with the gore and violence.
Jumping into the different characters each chapter is quite a good way to expand a first person narrative, a drawback in this case being that the characters all trends to have, if not the same, very similar internal voices. Overall this ends up not being used as effectively as it could have been and it feels that the story would have been stronger if in the third person. Although we learn past events via this method I didn't find it gave me any greater connection to the characters and so still only know them superficially by the end of the novel. First person can be a great way to explore character thoughts and feelings but this wasn't used to the full potential that it could have been - a real missed opportunity in exploring deeper Eve's experience.
That said, the ending was gripping and the “two years later” final chapter building to the sequel takes us in an intriguing new direction that I will definitely be looking forward to reading more about.
The book starts with an introduction to Eve, she is glib and sassy - the kind of character and introduction that really isn't my particular cup of tea. That said, I immediately took a liking to the idea of her being called Eve. Although it could seem quite obvious, I liked the idea of her being the first (zombie) woman.
We first meet our three lead characters, Eve and her friends Cameron and Alexandra on an academic archaeological excavation in Egypt. As interesting as this setting and the story was I have to admit I possibly had a bias reaction to the portrayal of the dig - which in no way resembled any kind of dig, archaeologists or archaeology students I have ever encountered in the course of my own archaeological training or work in heritage. Even so, to the lay person I believe this would be an interesting and hooking introduction. The exposition we later learn - the idea of a "Mummy" as a zombie and an ancient Egyptian disease - is pretty interesting and definitely a concept not really touched on in much contemporary zombie fiction.
When the characters return home and to college the story picks up pace - we get to see the inevitable consequences of Eve’s actions and her attack whilst on the excavation. We learn more about the “disease” itself and the involvement of government agents, which is an interesting yarn. The lives and backgrounds of the characters are explored more in this home setting. However, the death of a family member and return home feels a bit too long and lacking in really gripping action.
This weak middle is definitely made up for in the strength of the last few chapters. Our characters return once more to college, as Eve’s condition both worsens and is better explored with the help of a professor at the college. The rise of college zombie hordes and inevitable appearance of the agents is where this story really finds its feet. It's a shame this comes so late, but for me it saves the story and piques my interest in the next installment.
I really loved the story being told, however there were weaknesses that let it down for me which lead me to giving it just three stars. The tone is often all over the place, the flip attitude of the characters not always quite adding up with the gore and violence.
Jumping into the different characters each chapter is quite a good way to expand a first person narrative, a drawback in this case being that the characters all trends to have, if not the same, very similar internal voices. Overall this ends up not being used as effectively as it could have been and it feels that the story would have been stronger if in the third person. Although we learn past events via this method I didn't find it gave me any greater connection to the characters and so still only know them superficially by the end of the novel. First person can be a great way to explore character thoughts and feelings but this wasn't used to the full potential that it could have been - a real missed opportunity in exploring deeper Eve's experience.
That said, the ending was gripping and the “two years later” final chapter building to the sequel takes us in an intriguing new direction that I will definitely be looking forward to reading more about.
The Kuthun by S.A. Carter
4.0
This is a very readable story, I had already read the first 5 chapters before I realised it, having just sat down to read the opening chapter.
The main character Elena is a sassy, quirky hipster. At first I was wary of this - I'm so fed up of sassy glib heroines. But actually Elena isn't overdone and her introduction doesn't consume the opening of the story. In fact the opening is very strong and places the reader immediately into Elena's life. My only criticism of the introduction is that I didn't feel it needed the mention of pop culture witches to frame it, it could have spoken as strongly for itself. In fact this was something that I felt throughout the story - the pop culture references were jarring for me and could end up dating the story.
We discover almost immediately that Elena is a witch in a long line of witches. I really love the other worldliness that is there from the beginning with her ghostly great grandmother, tales of the afterlife or "The Other Side" and her mother's missing spirit. Elena is given an unusual and mysterious birthday present - the Kuthun - and we learn more about her powers and the curse on her family - that they have all been hunted and killed by a group of Puritan hunters called the “Venators”. We learn of connections to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Salem witch trials, and the Native American old west and it all feels jumbled and too busy at first but by the halfway mark this starts to come together and is a well weaved tale.
The story is engaging throughout however there are a few weak parts, most of which are easy to let go - some details are glossed over or written off, for example as "certain documents", which requires the reader to just accept historical gaps. However, most would be happy to do so for the compelling story. That said I do feel that the story overall was missing the level of gravitas you might expect from a tale of a girl who knows that in her future lies a gruesome and unfair death, most especially during the trip to Egypt towards the end of the story. It also felt that there was an explanation missing as to why the Venators left her alone/were unable to find her for so long when there didn't appear to be much effort made to hide her.
The ending is strong - from Elena’s revelation of the roots of her family and her promises to her ancestor to the final confrontation with the Venator who has been hunting her - the story has a satisfactory conclusion but leaves another intriguing mystery to be solved in the sequel.
I really enjoyed this book, but can't help but feel it could have gone further. It often feels like it is on the verge of something great but never takes the next leap. I enjoyed the exploration of Ellie being the villain from another point of view and the Salem witch trials being a cover up. Would have loved to explore it more from the side of the Venators "baddies" and hope we learn more about them and their side of the story in the sequel, which I am looking forward to reading.
The main character Elena is a sassy, quirky hipster. At first I was wary of this - I'm so fed up of sassy glib heroines. But actually Elena isn't overdone and her introduction doesn't consume the opening of the story. In fact the opening is very strong and places the reader immediately into Elena's life. My only criticism of the introduction is that I didn't feel it needed the mention of pop culture witches to frame it, it could have spoken as strongly for itself. In fact this was something that I felt throughout the story - the pop culture references were jarring for me and could end up dating the story.
We discover almost immediately that Elena is a witch in a long line of witches. I really love the other worldliness that is there from the beginning with her ghostly great grandmother, tales of the afterlife or "The Other Side" and her mother's missing spirit. Elena is given an unusual and mysterious birthday present - the Kuthun - and we learn more about her powers and the curse on her family - that they have all been hunted and killed by a group of Puritan hunters called the “Venators”. We learn of connections to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Salem witch trials, and the Native American old west and it all feels jumbled and too busy at first but by the halfway mark this starts to come together and is a well weaved tale.
The story is engaging throughout however there are a few weak parts, most of which are easy to let go - some details are glossed over or written off, for example as "certain documents", which requires the reader to just accept historical gaps. However, most would be happy to do so for the compelling story. That said I do feel that the story overall was missing the level of gravitas you might expect from a tale of a girl who knows that in her future lies a gruesome and unfair death, most especially during the trip to Egypt towards the end of the story. It also felt that there was an explanation missing as to why the Venators left her alone/were unable to find her for so long when there didn't appear to be much effort made to hide her.
The ending is strong - from Elena’s revelation of the roots of her family and her promises to her ancestor to the final confrontation with the Venator who has been hunting her - the story has a satisfactory conclusion but leaves another intriguing mystery to be solved in the sequel.
I really enjoyed this book, but can't help but feel it could have gone further. It often feels like it is on the verge of something great but never takes the next leap. I enjoyed the exploration of Ellie being the villain from another point of view and the Salem witch trials being a cover up. Would have loved to explore it more from the side of the Venators "baddies" and hope we learn more about them and their side of the story in the sequel, which I am looking forward to reading.