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novelbloglover's review
4.0
I think the tagline for this book was perfect Lost meet the 100 it definitely is. The fantasy and sci-fi elements of the book were perfectly written with characters that really root for especially when things get tough.
thatreadhead's review
4.0
The beginning of this book was insane! Jumped right into the action, nice and gory XD It wasn't as hard-core sci-fi as I was led to believe, and I'm really grateful for that. The only down-side for me was how much concentration it needed, and as I did this on audiobook I got lost somewhere in the middle as I tend to get a little distracted and then was off for the whole end of the book. I tried picking it up but couldn't connect all of the threads and characters and stuff. I loved the whole idea of them journeying to another planet, only to get stranded on a moon! And then the introduction of Tunic made me really uncomfortable. The narrator did a really good job of acting out his crazy voice. So life-like. I'm really glad I requested this book and read it, it was amazing.
pixiejazz's review
4.0
Achilles is the first book in a sci-fi trilogy by Greg Boose.
Set in the year 2221, Earth is basically being ravaged by war. However, scientists have discovered a wormhole in space, which lead them to the discovery of a new galaxy, complete with a habitable planet called Thetis.
The first attempt to populate Thetis goes horribly wrong, and the teenage colonists are killed in an accident. So the Mayflower 2 sets off for Thetis with a new set of teenagers and adults. Unfortunately for them, they don't quite reach Thetis. Instead, they crash land on Achilles, one of the moons of Thetis.
Achilles is not a friendly place to be, and the group has to try and figure out how they're going to get rescued and eventually get to Thetis. Too bad things don't goes as planned. Once the adults disappear, things get crazy.
I really quite enjoyed Achilles. It was fast paced and fun, with lots of crazy twists and turns. The characters were developed well, although there were some I would have liked to have fleshed out a little more.
Jonah, the main character, has had a hard life. Orphaned and put into foster care, he's had to learn to survive. Mostly because all of his foster families were craptastic. Seriously, they're awful. The mission to Thetis is a chance for him to start over and have a new life. But landing on Achilles only brings about more bad news for Jonah. Like, this kid just cannot win. At all.
There are other characters you'll find yourself liking and rooting for, too. Like Brooklyn and Vespa. I really liked those characters. Vespa was strong, determined, and smart. Brooklyn was kind of sassy, but also smart and kind.
Then you have characters you'll find yourself annoyed by. Hopper is one of them. As is Tunick. To be fair, though, Tunick has serious issues. There's a reason he's like that, but I won't spoil anything.
And then you have some characters who are sort of vague. You won't know if they're good and trustworthy, or if they're complete and utter trash. You'll just have to read through to discover their secrets and what type of person they really are.
The world building is really well done. I quite liked all the interesting flora and fauna found on Achilles. There's jungles, bodies of water... stuff like that. I suppose certain aspects of Achilles could have been described a little more thoroughly, but overall, I had a really good picture of what the moon was supposed to look like.
The plot chugs along at a decent pace, and there's enough going on to keep you, the reader, turning those pages, eager to find out how everything will play out. At least it was that way for me.
Like I said before, I really enjoyed Achilles, and I can't wait to read the second book in the series. Definitely looking forward to that one!
I give the book 4.5 stars. Highly recommend if you enjoy sci-fi similar to Lost (the TV show).
**Thanks to Diversion Books for sending me a paperback copy to read and review**
Set in the year 2221, Earth is basically being ravaged by war. However, scientists have discovered a wormhole in space, which lead them to the discovery of a new galaxy, complete with a habitable planet called Thetis.
The first attempt to populate Thetis goes horribly wrong, and the teenage colonists are killed in an accident. So the Mayflower 2 sets off for Thetis with a new set of teenagers and adults. Unfortunately for them, they don't quite reach Thetis. Instead, they crash land on Achilles, one of the moons of Thetis.
Achilles is not a friendly place to be, and the group has to try and figure out how they're going to get rescued and eventually get to Thetis. Too bad things don't goes as planned. Once the adults disappear, things get crazy.
I really quite enjoyed Achilles. It was fast paced and fun, with lots of crazy twists and turns. The characters were developed well, although there were some I would have liked to have fleshed out a little more.
Jonah, the main character, has had a hard life. Orphaned and put into foster care, he's had to learn to survive. Mostly because all of his foster families were craptastic. Seriously, they're awful. The mission to Thetis is a chance for him to start over and have a new life. But landing on Achilles only brings about more bad news for Jonah. Like, this kid just cannot win. At all.
There are other characters you'll find yourself liking and rooting for, too. Like Brooklyn and Vespa. I really liked those characters. Vespa was strong, determined, and smart. Brooklyn was kind of sassy, but also smart and kind.
Then you have characters you'll find yourself annoyed by. Hopper is one of them. As is Tunick. To be fair, though, Tunick has serious issues. There's a reason he's like that, but I won't spoil anything.
And then you have some characters who are sort of vague. You won't know if they're good and trustworthy, or if they're complete and utter trash. You'll just have to read through to discover their secrets and what type of person they really are.
The world building is really well done. I quite liked all the interesting flora and fauna found on Achilles. There's jungles, bodies of water... stuff like that. I suppose certain aspects of Achilles could have been described a little more thoroughly, but overall, I had a really good picture of what the moon was supposed to look like.
The plot chugs along at a decent pace, and there's enough going on to keep you, the reader, turning those pages, eager to find out how everything will play out. At least it was that way for me.
Like I said before, I really enjoyed Achilles, and I can't wait to read the second book in the series. Definitely looking forward to that one!
I give the book 4.5 stars. Highly recommend if you enjoy sci-fi similar to Lost (the TV show).
**Thanks to Diversion Books for sending me a paperback copy to read and review**
christie's review
4.0
I think I'd rate this 3.5 stars, if Goodreads let us do that.
I found this to be a pretty engaging read. I especially sped through the last half just to figure out what was going on. A blurb somewhere said it's like the tv show Lost, and I'll agree with that--a bunch of kids stuck on a moon most of them know almost nothing about, with lots of strange creatures, and symbols in rocks that open up portals, and other interesting things. It seems like a pretty good start to a series that I'd keep reading just to know what the heck's going on. It is a bit violent, in a pretty graphic way, so that made it a little less enjoyable at times for me.
I found this to be a pretty engaging read. I especially sped through the last half just to figure out what was going on. A blurb somewhere said it's like the tv show Lost, and I'll agree with that--a bunch of kids stuck on a moon most of them know almost nothing about, with lots of strange creatures, and symbols in rocks that open up portals, and other interesting things. It seems like a pretty good start to a series that I'd keep reading just to know what the heck's going on. It is a bit violent, in a pretty graphic way, so that made it a little less enjoyable at times for me.
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