Tag: dystopian

YA

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Under the Never Sky #1

under the never sky -veronica rossi

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered.

This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland–known as The Death Shop–are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild–a savage–and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile–everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

3 Drink Me Potions

Let me be honest upfront. I started this book when it first came out and only now decided to finish it. And let me tell you, the beginning is downright confusing.

Aria and Perry are our two alternating protagonists. Don’t get me wrong, they both are very interesting people to follow along. But as you’ll see, some terminology and background on this strange world is kind of hard to understand at first (because Rossi doesn’t explicitly tell you in a straightforward manner), and may not even be explained at all by the end of the novel.

First up, Aria gets punished and left to die in the “Outside” after a prank goes wrong. What is this “Outside”, you ask? Uh, well her people, the Dwellers, have lived in this dome-like building for over 3 centuries and have never come out of it due to the terrible atmosphere on Earth. Wouldn’t they get bored? Apparently not when you have tech that transports you to this virtual reality known as the Realms. They spend all their time there doing whatever the heck you can possibly imagine. So Aria I had to admire for her guts in handling banishment like that. ‘Cause honestly, I don’t think most spoiled kids who’s never walked farther than their one building would be able to survive a freak storm.

And that brings me to explain what the heck is wrong with the Earth. In this world setting, there are strange storms that shoot out funnels of electricity or something from the sky. These currents of electricity roam in clouds above the Earth and occasionally touch down to burn up the land beneath it. This was known as Aether, a word taken from ancient times that represented a 5th element (besides earth, air, water and fire) they couldn’t quite describe. Now, HOW does this thing really work or where it came from? That, my friend, I cannot answer for you as of right now. So you see? Confusing.

BUT that’s not all. There are people like Perry, the Outsiders, who weren’t as fortunate to be trapped – I mean, to live – in the Pods, aka the dome. (See, the terminology is confusing in itself? Can’t it just be referred as the Dome? Much simpler?) Anyway, I digress. Apparently, due to living in such harsh weather conditions, these storms have produced mutations in the people where they now have enhanced Senses. That’s right. Senses with a capital S.

ROSSI DIDN’T EXPLAIN IT VERY WELL AT FIRST. So if you were like me, scratching my head at what the heck was going on, well here’s the pointers. People can have enhanced sight (Seers), hearing (Audiles) or Smell (Scires). Rarely, they can have two Senses, like Perry. So I guess he’s an anomaly – I mean, special? Lucky us. And boy are these people clique-ish. They hang with people of similar Senses, and even marry them in order to maintain “pure bloodlines”. ‘Cause apparently, your offspring or whatever will be cursed if you try to mate with some other Sense. Or, gasp, someone who’s Unmarked (aka has no Sense).

So does this mean Perry won’t even look at Aria?

The romance wasn’t really hitting it for me for a long while. I liked the way Aria and Perry interacted. Their tension at being Dweller vs. Outsider was hilarious and entertaining. Perry, being a Scire, hated her scent for a long time, to the point he had to stay upwind of her so he wouldn’t have to smell her. So romantic, right? Don’t worry, you romance lovers. It doesn’t stay awful forever, but I did wish the transition from “You smell bad and I see you as a Dweller” to “You have a heavenly scent and I see you as a girl” was a little more smooth. It felt a little rushed/choppy. Like, one instant Perry barely tolerated her, and the next, he was starting to notice everything.

Okay, so as it stands here, it seems this review is going pretty down south. But hey, my rating isn’t so bad. What’s with that?

There IS redemption. Under the Never Sky may have been as confusing as crap for like the first half of the book, but you eventually get immersed into the world (or at least, I hope so if you can last that long).

How was it redeemed?
1. Roar
He’s Perry’s bestie and I love him dearly. He becomes a really good friend to Aria as well, and he definitely added some comic relief with his fun and charming self in this dark world of cannibalism, freak storms and fights-to-the-death. And no, he’s never portrayed as a potential love interest for Aria (thank God) as his heart is already taken by some other lovely girl…who actually never appears in this novel.

2. Fights-to-the-death & Archaic rituals
Under the Never Sky seems to have built an Outside world where people survive in tribes or as lonely lost people who don’t belong anywhere (and probably end up dying quickly). Perry’s brother is a tribe leader, known as the Blood Lord. Gruesome sounding already, isn’t it? Well, to usurp present Blood Lord, gotta have those fights-to-the-death or else surrender to me kinda fights. People give oaths to follow a leader, and other tribes can try to attack and raid each other to expand their followers and/or land. It’s starting to sound like we’re back in the old ages. It was occasionally amusing to see how a futuristic setting (come on, they have tech that makes virtual EVERYTHING) also draws such huge similarities to how ancient civilizations lived.

3. Originality
I guess being confused does have ONE good thing. Means that I’ve never read anything quite like it that upon first glance, I already understood what the author’s ideas were. Well done, Rossi.

Anyway, this novel had its up and downs, but by the end, I was hooked onto the overall plot and setting. This wasn’t the strongest first book in a trilogy, as that’s where you really want to draw in readers, but if you can last a bit of confusion until it reaches the exciting, action parts, I’d say you’re good to go with the series.

Overall Recommendation:
Under the Never Sky was not the strongest contender for the first book in a trilogy, nor an easy book to initially understand. Random terminology in a dystopian setting that wasn’t explained all too clearly can cause a lot of confusion. However, with help of reviews (like this one!), confusion can be easily erased to bring forth an interesting plot following two protagonists who are courageous, determined and willing to sacrifice everything for someone they love. The romance could use a bit of umph, but I swear, you’ll be hooked in with Perry and Aria’s adventures as I have by the end.

 

YA

Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Matched #2

crossed -ally condie

The Society chooses everything.

The books you read.
The music you listen to.
The person you love.

Yet for Cassia the rules have changed. Ky has been taken and she will sacrifice everything to find him.

And when Cassia discovers Ky has escaped to the wild frontiers beyond the Society there is hope.

But on the edge of society nothing is as it seems…

A rebellion is rising

Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky–taken by Society to his certain death–only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons.  On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life . . . and the enthralling promise of rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices everything to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game.  On the edge of Society, nothing is as expected, and crosses and double crosses make Cassia’s path more twisted than ever.

3 Drink Me Potions

After having read Matched not all that long ago, I can’t say I was absolutely dying to read its sequel. And although this book was by far not any better than its predecessor, it wasn’t as terrible as it could have been.

My first concern was that it would be a truly boring tale. And it could have very much been just that. Extremely boring. Yes, Cassia comes across certain hardships on her road in chasing down Ky in the Outer Provinces where he was sent at the end of Matched. But were they necessarily exciting? Or just realistic challenges that she probably had to face trekking through these barren lands that no one’s really been living on in a while.

What made it bearable was Ky’s point of view. It kept the pace feeling less like it was dragging on and on because it switched to what he was doing and facing rather quickly, giving an air of illusion that the pace was quicker than it honestly was, when I look back on it.

I’ll be honest with you. The romance was not too heavy in this book either. Sure, Cassia is going after Ky because of her love for him, yet I still feel like she could turn towards Xander at any point. I’m not exactly against that. He’s a great guy too, a rather strange stance as I normally am on some “team” or other. But seeing the world through Ky’s eyes was a smart move on Condie’s part because it made me understand and possibly even like Ky more. He felt kind of distant and surreal in the first book to me. Like I couldn’t understand why he loved Cassia, and only glimpsed who he was through the strips of his life story that he gave her to read. He sounded like a nice guy who went through a ton of hardships at such an early point in life, but did I really understand him all that much? Nah, not really.

Plus, honestly? I think I like Ky’s narrative voice better than Cassia’s. Sometimes I find her a little naive, like she doesn’t really understand the scope of the world outside the Society’s imprint on her life.

To keep this review short, Crossed can at best be described as a mediocre book that somewhat carries the plot further. Imagine it as the line that connects the first dot (aka Matched) to a second dot (aka the third book Reached). It helps to understand how one thing connected to the other, but I don’t think it was absolutely amazing or anything.

It could be just Condie’s writing. You can tell she taught and loved English. Her writing style is somewhat poetic and descriptive in that sense. Chapters can be occasionally very short and scenes easily and rather abruptly change from one to another. It’s not my particular cup of tea, but it’s not to say it wasn’t nice at times. Just…not for the whole length of the book.

Overall Recommendation:
Cassia has embarked on her journey to the Outer Provinces to find her beloved Ky, although her heart seems to have the potential to still love another. With a pace that’s deceptively decent due to the alternating POVs between Ky and Cassia, Crossed introduces life outside of the Society and its control of the people trying to survive there. The plot may further the storyline, but besides giving us an amazing glimpse into Ky and who he is, it doesn’t do much more besides make us wait for whatever conclusion Condie is setting up for in the final book.

 

YA

Review: The Corridor by A.N. Willis

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Corridor Series #1

the corridor -a.n. willisInfinite worlds. Endless possibilities . . .

Stel Alaster has never known life without the Corridor. It appeared suddenly seventeen years ago, the only portal to a parallel version of our world—Second Earth. Everyone on First Earth fears Mods, the genetically modified Second Earthers who built the Corridor. They are too smart, too strong, and have powers that can’t be controlled. Any Mod found on First Earth is branded, then detained in the Corridor’s research labs.

Only Stel has a dangerous secret. She has a power, too: She can open a portal to Second Earth . . . and several other parallel universes she’s discovered. If anyone ever finds out, she’ll be imprisoned, no better than a Mod or common lab rat.

But when the Corridor starts to fail, emitting erratic bursts of energy that could destroy First Earth, Stel must risk everything to save the people and world she loves. With the help of an escaped Mod and an infuriatingly arrogant boy from a third universe, Stel sets out to unravel the mysteries of the Corridor and stabilize it before it’s too late. The fate of every world lies in the balance. . . .

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Thank you Netgalley and Alloy Entertainment for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

In some ways, The Corridor surprised my expectations from the synopsis. First, it’s only set in 2032? Really? Portals exist so close in the future? I was really thinking more like…at least a century past that. Also, having just read a recent novel on parallel worlds (Parallel by Lauren Miller), I wasn’t quite as mindblown by the concept in this book. Let me break down my thoughts into simpler categories.

The concept and overall world building
I’m a little picky when it comes to world building, especially for dystopian worlds where things can get a little confusing. And in this case, I’m still scratching my head at some things that were literally dumped on my head at the very beginning of the book.

#1. I’m still a little lost as to what exactly the Corridor Facility entails. It has a mall and residence buildings? But also house the lab and offices that look after this portal to Second Earth known as The Corridor? Uh, so it doesn’t just relate to the Corridor itself? Is it like some small community area that’s fenced in? Then why do they take a light rail train to get to some Peak to view the Corridor? So confused…

#2. How BIG is this Corridor? I know it has lights shining through and metal framework to hold it up. But I’m imagining a gigantic rectangular…doorway thing. I don’t know about you, but that’s the best my imagination could come up with

#3. Uh, I’m guessing their technology advanced only in a minor way from ours? A Panel seems to be akin to a tablet/iPad? But who knows ’cause we sure don’t get much of an explanation. And IF it’s practically a tablet – why the heck do we not just call it that?

Anyway, besides confusion at certain things to orient myself in this moderately futuristic setting, the world building wasn’t really solid enough. Besides the presence of the Corridor and genetically modified people (aka Mods) that came from Second Earth, it almost seemed like every day life as it is now. I guess 17 years can only change a community so much, huh?

The concept, however, was intriguing. Maybe the setting wasn’t as well thought out or anything, but the premise was still compelling to continue. With our protagonist Estele (aka Stel) immediately gaining her freaky portal-making powers right from the get-go, the plot is boom-boom-boom. She finds herself in another world that’s separate from First and Second Earth. Uh oh. How many parallel universes are in this book? The pace picks itself up after a while, though I will admit it was a little slow at first while Estele was trying to figure out what to do with her freaky new secret.

The characters
Stel made a decent protagonist, although she initially annoyed me. She did nothing about her situation, going about life as if everything was still normal for her. She entrusted this secret to no one, not even her bestie for life Lissa. So much for besties for life. And not even to her brother Justin, although he never seemed like a viable person to trust such a harsh secret to. She eventually gained some guts and I admire her spunk to stick up for her father, a scientist who had taken a reputation beating. Scratch that. A reputation that turned him into someone people didn’t believe anymore. I was glad she wasn’t going to let people attack her dad like that, even the criticism coming from his own son.

Speaking of Justin. Urgh. That boy. I want to strangle him. From the start, he was distant and only mildly polite to their father. He took the side of the one person solely responsible for his dad’s reputation downfall, who also happened to have usurped him from the prominent position as Chair of the research facility. Like, WHY? How could he do such a thing to his own DAD? Especially when it’s clear he was the victim. Anyway. I don’t know if the author meant for us to hate him so much, but I’m not sure I want him to be redeemed so easily.

And relating to that, the male protagonist was kind of an ass too. Initially at least. Why do all the boys seem so rude? When I first met Cohl, I honestly thought his much nicer, friendlier and overall cool guy of a brother was gonna be the guy Stel falls for. Talk about a strange introduction. Am I supposed to like him afterwards? He spied on his brother and Stel, for goodness sakes. I’m not sure I fully understand his 180 change in attitude towards her when he seemed to honestly despise her very presence at their first meeting. This makes for a weird romantic chemistry between them. Not sure I fully believe in it.

However, thankfully, Willis keeps the romance limited so it doesn’t take away from the central plot focused on the Corridor and its possible horrendous side effects for the people on First Earth. For that reason, the latter third of the book really built up and left me wishing there was more after the last words had come and gone. The Corridor may be many things, but it took the idea of parallel worlds in a different direction than most people may initially consider, and the hint of conspiracy tied it all into a book that is definitely worth checking out at least.

Overall Recommendation:
Although the world building wasn’t particularly strong for a dystopian novel, the concept behind the Corridor and travelling between parallel worlds made it an interesting read. Mildly well-paced, Stel makes for a headstrong protagonist as she steps into her role and accepts the abilities she received. Other male characters were not as fun to read about and romance is far and few between, but The Corridor holds enough substance to carry through a worthwhile read even with these minor annoyances.