So I read Everfree, the third episode in Nick Sagan's dystopian series which began with Idlewild.
My overall thoughts were that it was a little disappointing. I'm not sure if it's because I was younger when I read the first two or because the author had a lot of plot to fit into a single novel (the entire reconstruction of humanity no less), but it seemed a little two-dimensional. The amount of things that happened left little space for character development - arguably not as necessary since they have all been introduced previously, but still extremely important I feel. This also resulted in the action feeling a bit rushed and lacking in impact.
On the plus side, the book does wrap up the story pretty well. It wasn't a struggle to get through and my prior attachment to the characters and knowledge of their history carried me through, making me care about their fates. It isn't a terrible book, nor is it a great one. I was as whelmed as whelmed can be.
This is just a short post as I don't like to slate things - the point of this blog is to big up little known but accomplished artists, but I hinted that I would report back on this novel so I thought I would follow through - this also serves to prove that I can be discerning (I don't just love everything!), so it might lend my taste some integrity.
Stay tuned for a proper post soon :)
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Monday, 7 October 2013
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Idlewild and Edenborn
I'm not sure if Nick Sagan's dystopian trilogy technically falls into the 'young-adult' category. I read them when I was quite young but I don't set much store by those age restrictions in literature - if it's good it's good. Actually that goes for anything really, I mean everyone likes Toy Story, right? Why should you feel guilty or 'uncultured' just because it's animated and there aren't any naughty words?
Idlewild does revolve around a group of teenagers - set in the near future, they attend a school where virtual reality is used as a teaching tool and also by the students to create their own little worlds in which to socialise and/or reflect. The interactions within the group are realistic and relatable; prejudices and tiffs amongst the boys and girls blown up into dramatic rivalries that seem like the be all and end all of existence - just like real high school. However, they are to find out that they are woefully mistaken, and not in any kind of easy or gradual way.
The narrator is Halloween, one of the teenagers who wakes one day with no memory, only the certainty that someone has tried to murder him. His attempts to remember who he is and what happened aren't helped by the insane virtual environment he has created for himself over the years, or by their seemingly sadistic tutor Maestro.
I'm hesitant to give out spoilers (although the blurb does hint at the story's trajectory) so if you want to go into these books blind, STOP READING NOW.
... so around 20 years before we join Halloween and his friends, a plague has wiped out all of mankind. The ten teenagers were genetically modified and placed inside a virtual reality designed to condition them into perfect pillars of a new human race. It doesn't quite go to the dead scientists' plan though and their release from the computer world becomes fraught with danger and fear.
I think what I like about this book, aside from its gothic and sci-fi overtones, is that at its heart it is a classic whodunnit. A mysterious crime, a limited number of suspects and a cool narrator, determined to get to the truth. And he is pretty cool, our Halloween. I used to have a bit of a crush on him, insofar as you can fancy a written description of a fictional person.
The second book in the series, Edenborn, follows the characters as they attempt to restart society on an empty Earth. They have split into two camps: one believes they should just rebuild humanity as it was and the other that the people they create should be improved genetically. I actually read this second installment first, because I was a strange child. A maverick some might say. I still enjoyed both books although I think the first one would have been more surprising and the second would have made more sense if I'd come to them in the correct order.
Perhaps my favourite element of Edenborn is the girls' sociopathic daughter Penny and her relationship with Halloween's misanthropic son, their teenage angst leading them to disaster whilst the grown-ups remain distracted by the bigger picture.
Both novels are very good, with three-dimensional characters and interesting concepts at their heart. I only recently found out that the third book, Everfree, exists and I plan to read it soon, so I may review it here. Watch this space you lucky people!
Idlewild does revolve around a group of teenagers - set in the near future, they attend a school where virtual reality is used as a teaching tool and also by the students to create their own little worlds in which to socialise and/or reflect. The interactions within the group are realistic and relatable; prejudices and tiffs amongst the boys and girls blown up into dramatic rivalries that seem like the be all and end all of existence - just like real high school. However, they are to find out that they are woefully mistaken, and not in any kind of easy or gradual way.
The narrator is Halloween, one of the teenagers who wakes one day with no memory, only the certainty that someone has tried to murder him. His attempts to remember who he is and what happened aren't helped by the insane virtual environment he has created for himself over the years, or by their seemingly sadistic tutor Maestro.
I'm hesitant to give out spoilers (although the blurb does hint at the story's trajectory) so if you want to go into these books blind, STOP READING NOW.
... so around 20 years before we join Halloween and his friends, a plague has wiped out all of mankind. The ten teenagers were genetically modified and placed inside a virtual reality designed to condition them into perfect pillars of a new human race. It doesn't quite go to the dead scientists' plan though and their release from the computer world becomes fraught with danger and fear.
I think what I like about this book, aside from its gothic and sci-fi overtones, is that at its heart it is a classic whodunnit. A mysterious crime, a limited number of suspects and a cool narrator, determined to get to the truth. And he is pretty cool, our Halloween. I used to have a bit of a crush on him, insofar as you can fancy a written description of a fictional person.
The second book in the series, Edenborn, follows the characters as they attempt to restart society on an empty Earth. They have split into two camps: one believes they should just rebuild humanity as it was and the other that the people they create should be improved genetically. I actually read this second installment first, because I was a strange child. A maverick some might say. I still enjoyed both books although I think the first one would have been more surprising and the second would have made more sense if I'd come to them in the correct order. Perhaps my favourite element of Edenborn is the girls' sociopathic daughter Penny and her relationship with Halloween's misanthropic son, their teenage angst leading them to disaster whilst the grown-ups remain distracted by the bigger picture.
Both novels are very good, with three-dimensional characters and interesting concepts at their heart. I only recently found out that the third book, Everfree, exists and I plan to read it soon, so I may review it here. Watch this space you lucky people!
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