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blackash13's review
2.0
I originally read this story when published in five separate parts:
Part 1 - The story revolves around a post apocalyptic society that is run by a group known as The Fatherhood, who has shunned the use of metal, as it is a substance responsible for the near destruction of humanity, and claims to uphold the word of God. The main character, Wills, is a timid kid who toes the line, for the most part, but deep down feels as though there is more going on than The Fatherhood is telling. His best friend, Maze, is a girl who does not hesitate to go against the tenets of this society, and will take risks to get at the truth.
The story is well written and I enjoyed the interaction between these two characters, especially Wills' uncertainty when it comes to following Maze as she runs head first into didn't situations. The author got right into the meat of the story, which I appreciated. As the first of five parts, this ended in a cliffhanger, but I didn't find this upsetting since the author did well to present enough of the story to pull me in and generate enough interest that I will absolutely continue on with the rest of the story.
Part 2 - Enjoyable reading. The action is fast-paced and constant. The author does well to keep up the suspense. The story suffers in that it is a little predictable at times, and the main character's obsession with a girl is pathetic and takes up too much of the story. In all, I liked the story and will definitely read the next installment.
Part 3 - Excellent installment on the Wipe series! One of the main weak points of the story the far has been the unreciprocated affection that the main character, Wills, has for the girl, Maze, week has led him on this adventure. In the installment, he begins to grow a bit of a backbone, albeit primarily because another female character has drawn his attention. Nevertheless less, his "lovesick puppy" yearnings begin to subside and distract less from what I've a very good story. Turkot shows great ability to keep the story interesting throughout. Wipe doesn't really suffer through those typical flat spots found in most stories. I look forward to part four!
Part 4 - Wipe continues to be more about the unrequited love the main character (Wills) holds in his heart (for Maze) than the post apocalyptic world that surrounds him. The very journey that these two have undertaken is more so about his desire to be close to the woman loves.
Part 4 of this story offers more insight into what happened to cause the "wipe", and why. I found this to be the most disappointing portion of the story. The reasons for the wipe and the explanation for Maze's tattoo seemed far fetched and not well executed.
One more part of this story remains, and I will read it because I have come this far, but I don't expect the conclusion to be anything more than just average.
Part 5 - The final part of what could have been an intriguing post-apocalyptic, dystopian story, but became way too much of a love story for my tastes.
The story seemed to lose a lot of its steam as Maze and Wills reach the Tower. There was so much anticipation built into them reaching it. Once they get there, and it's secrets are revealed, the rest is a letdown.
It felt as if the tower really ought to have been the conclusion of the story, but there's an additional story element that felt forced and didn't really go anywhere.
Part 1 - The story revolves around a post apocalyptic society that is run by a group known as The Fatherhood, who has shunned the use of metal, as it is a substance responsible for the near destruction of humanity, and claims to uphold the word of God. The main character, Wills, is a timid kid who toes the line, for the most part, but deep down feels as though there is more going on than The Fatherhood is telling. His best friend, Maze, is a girl who does not hesitate to go against the tenets of this society, and will take risks to get at the truth.
The story is well written and I enjoyed the interaction between these two characters, especially Wills' uncertainty when it comes to following Maze as she runs head first into didn't situations. The author got right into the meat of the story, which I appreciated. As the first of five parts, this ended in a cliffhanger, but I didn't find this upsetting since the author did well to present enough of the story to pull me in and generate enough interest that I will absolutely continue on with the rest of the story.
Part 2 - Enjoyable reading. The action is fast-paced and constant. The author does well to keep up the suspense. The story suffers in that it is a little predictable at times, and the main character's obsession with a girl is pathetic and takes up too much of the story. In all, I liked the story and will definitely read the next installment.
Part 3 - Excellent installment on the Wipe series! One of the main weak points of the story the far has been the unreciprocated affection that the main character, Wills, has for the girl, Maze, week has led him on this adventure. In the installment, he begins to grow a bit of a backbone, albeit primarily because another female character has drawn his attention. Nevertheless less, his "lovesick puppy" yearnings begin to subside and distract less from what I've a very good story. Turkot shows great ability to keep the story interesting throughout. Wipe doesn't really suffer through those typical flat spots found in most stories. I look forward to part four!
Part 4 - Wipe continues to be more about the unrequited love the main character (Wills) holds in his heart (for Maze) than the post apocalyptic world that surrounds him. The very journey that these two have undertaken is more so about his desire to be close to the woman loves.
Part 4 of this story offers more insight into what happened to cause the "wipe", and why. I found this to be the most disappointing portion of the story. The reasons for the wipe and the explanation for Maze's tattoo seemed far fetched and not well executed.
One more part of this story remains, and I will read it because I have come this far, but I don't expect the conclusion to be anything more than just average.
Part 5 - The final part of what could have been an intriguing post-apocalyptic, dystopian story, but became way too much of a love story for my tastes.
The story seemed to lose a lot of its steam as Maze and Wills reach the Tower. There was so much anticipation built into them reaching it. Once they get there, and it's secrets are revealed, the rest is a letdown.
It felt as if the tower really ought to have been the conclusion of the story, but there's an additional story element that felt forced and didn't really go anywhere.
krissy22247's review
2.0
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. The premise seemed interesting. I love a good post-apocalyptic story. This had all the right elements. Small societies living in the aftermath of some great and final conflict. A return to simpler times and ideals. A headstrong girl and the boy who adores her venturing boldly into the wreckage of human history. They seek out the truth of what really happened to mankind. Honestly, I wanted to love this book. There were some really great ideas and contrasts, but the execution didn’t hold up.
There was a lot of repetition. The main character goes through the same series of thoughts over and over again, showing resolve and losing the resolve again in a heartbeat. He has the same thoughts about Maze seemingly every other page, making him less sympathetic and more whiny. They escape absolutely certain death multiple times by miracles of coincidence that stretched the limits of suspended disbelief. Even the same phrases are repeated many times. I lost count of how many times i read “It was all I could do...”
There is a lack of solid explanation for a lot of things in the book. Why does the resistance have access to fuel, when it seems centuries have passed since The Wipe and all fuel would be useless? There’s no explanation of how the skin of the Nefandus is somehow like armor or how some of their tribe have antlers attached to their skulls. The story doesn’t seem as though so much time has passed that evolution would have allowed for these changes. I was also confused how the main characters had so much knowledge of the world before the Wipe. They knew what cars and skyscrapers were. They understood that vehicles used fuel and even that there were different kinds of metal such as steel. They even knew what computer circuitry looked like. However, all of these things were forbidden. So, where did they get all of this knowledge? These inconsistencies, among others, took me out of the story.
Overall it was a solid concept that needed a few really good editing passes. This would have helped alleviate the repetition and close up holes in the narrative.
There was a lot of repetition. The main character goes through the same series of thoughts over and over again, showing resolve and losing the resolve again in a heartbeat. He has the same thoughts about Maze seemingly every other page, making him less sympathetic and more whiny. They escape absolutely certain death multiple times by miracles of coincidence that stretched the limits of suspended disbelief. Even the same phrases are repeated many times. I lost count of how many times i read “It was all I could do...”
There is a lack of solid explanation for a lot of things in the book. Why does the resistance have access to fuel, when it seems centuries have passed since The Wipe and all fuel would be useless? There’s no explanation of how the skin of the Nefandus is somehow like armor or how some of their tribe have antlers attached to their skulls. The story doesn’t seem as though so much time has passed that evolution would have allowed for these changes. I was also confused how the main characters had so much knowledge of the world before the Wipe. They knew what cars and skyscrapers were. They understood that vehicles used fuel and even that there were different kinds of metal such as steel. They even knew what computer circuitry looked like. However, all of these things were forbidden. So, where did they get all of this knowledge? These inconsistencies, among others, took me out of the story.
Overall it was a solid concept that needed a few really good editing passes. This would have helped alleviate the repetition and close up holes in the narrative.
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