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naphthalene's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ngallion's review against another edition
4.0
Simply put: If you’ve loved Stroud’s other work, you’ll love this, too. Stroud has a gift for creating worlds that are recognizable enough to immediately make sense, yet different enough from our own that learning about them is intriguing. Post-apocalyptic England? He’s up for making it believable. The only slight issue with it is that this feels like the first book of a series rather than a standalone - and apparently that’s the case. A few mysteries are teased out that clearly have tantalizing answers, but this book isn’t interested in them beyond making you interested in them. It works, but it’s a tad frustrating nonetheless. I’ll likely revisit this in the future once there are more entries in the series to rate it more highly, but until this threads are resolved it’s hard to say this book is a full five stars.
Despite that, if you think you even may be interested in this book, you’re probably correct. Pick it up!
Despite that, if you think you even may be interested in this book, you’re probably correct. Pick it up!
katemarie99's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
So so so so so good. Easiest five stars of all time.
adelle_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Jo, tak tohle mě bavilo. :) Je to svižné, přestřelky mezi hlavními postavami fungují na výbornou a jejich vývoj je taky zvládnutý dobře. Bavila mě autorova práce se symboly. Přiznám se, neuhlídala jsem si, že to je série, takže jsem místy byla trochu rozpačitá z toho, že tam je pár nedořešených náznaků, ale k tomu nejspíš dojde v dalším dílu (ačkoli bych si byla schopná představit si to jako stand-alone). U některých zásadních věcí to ale mohlo být aspoň trochu naznačeno. Ale připouštím, že představit hlavní hrdinku, jíž od začátku fandíme, ale nevíme o ní vlastně vůbec nic, má něco do sebe. A ostatně, nespolehliví hrdinové mě asi budou bavit vždycky.
Každopádně to bylo lepší, než jsem myslela, že to bude. Takové tradiční post-apo, kde trochu chybí sonda do historie, ale i tak to byla zábava.
Každopádně to bylo lepší, než jsem myslela, že to bude. Takové tradiční post-apo, kde trochu chybí sonda do historie, ale i tak to byla zábava.
ineslts's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the premise of the story and the development of the partnership of Scarlett and Albert.
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
Both contemporary and Western... mismatched pair in comedic-chase fantasy.
With elements of several genres here, Scarlett and Albert make a very typical and yet unusual pairing. A teenager who can take care of herself, a bank robber no less. The other a naïve yet mysterious and secretive adolescent who clearly has more to him than it would appear.
In a world of bank safes and religious zealots, there's also 'trainers'... it felt like Back to the Future III at times.
But it's still a land of fear and hunger, where those that don't fit in are cast out. With zombie-like Tainted, shotgun wielding marshals/theists, and pursuers...
Albert seems rather innocent and harmless, but Scarlett, hardened to a life alone and not wanting a stone around her neck, realises he is hiding talents and a history.
This is full of humour, wisecracks, banter (especially when an old boatman called Joe enters the story), as well as darkness and glimpses of a dystopic world of environmental disaster and lawlessness.
I warmed to both the main characters straightaway and very much enjoyed both the rare action scenes and the discussions they have, building backstory and mystery - some of which aren't fully explained.
A bit of everything, YA readers will enjoy this hard-to-pin-down narrative. But I must say, I'd love to see it on screen!
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
With elements of several genres here, Scarlett and Albert make a very typical and yet unusual pairing. A teenager who can take care of herself, a bank robber no less. The other a naïve yet mysterious and secretive adolescent who clearly has more to him than it would appear.
In a world of bank safes and religious zealots, there's also 'trainers'... it felt like Back to the Future III at times.
But it's still a land of fear and hunger, where those that don't fit in are cast out. With zombie-like Tainted, shotgun wielding marshals/theists, and pursuers...
Albert seems rather innocent and harmless, but Scarlett, hardened to a life alone and not wanting a stone around her neck, realises he is hiding talents and a history.
This is full of humour, wisecracks, banter (especially when an old boatman called Joe enters the story), as well as darkness and glimpses of a dystopic world of environmental disaster and lawlessness.
I warmed to both the main characters straightaway and very much enjoyed both the rare action scenes and the discussions they have, building backstory and mystery - some of which aren't fully explained.
A bit of everything, YA readers will enjoy this hard-to-pin-down narrative. But I must say, I'd love to see it on screen!
With thanks to Walker Books for providing a sample reading copy.
cmbohn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Cannibalism and Child death
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
2.0
The moment I got this book in my Book Box Club I already knew reading this book would become a struggle. Literally all the elements in this story are not my thing. However, the main reason I will absolutely miss Book Box Club is that they forced me once in a while to get out of my comfort zone, to read books I normally wouldn't care about. And sometimes those books surprised and turned out to be amazing. Maybe this book would be such a book, right?
However, in the end it turns out that nothing in this book really worked for me. The only storyline I cared about a little was Albert's, but it feels like the true point of that storyline is never made. We never see enough of it to make it more than a little promising. We meet some of its key characters and we get a few flashbacks, but it still all feels so vague. I assume that maybe in the next books it will come back to haunt him, but I won't be there to read it.
Mostly it felt like the author came up with an awesome world (which didn't really work for me either, because I feel we never really saw enough of it to understand it) and just wanted to show us. He therefore invented a few characters and let them go from place to place so he could show us this awesome world. The point of the journey I couldn't discover. When I closed the book it didn't feel like the story had some epic conclusion.
And sometimes characters can make up for all that, but in this case that didn't happen either. I liked Albert's story, but as a character he was just like Scarlett simply not interesting enough. Both of them didn't really grow or change much. Both of them are quite guarded when it comes to their emotions and feelings, which means I didn't feel a thing while reading this book. It's quite hard to care about characters who never really come alive.
I'm sure there are people out there who will enjoy this book (I will certainly meet them in the author chat this Thursday), but not one element in this book was for me.
However, in the end it turns out that nothing in this book really worked for me. The only storyline I cared about a little was Albert's, but it feels like the true point of that storyline is never made. We never see enough of it to make it more than a little promising. We meet some of its key characters and we get a few flashbacks, but it still all feels so vague. I assume that maybe in the next books it will come back to haunt him, but I won't be there to read it.
Mostly it felt like the author came up with an awesome world (which didn't really work for me either, because I feel we never really saw enough of it to understand it) and just wanted to show us. He therefore invented a few characters and let them go from place to place so he could show us this awesome world. The point of the journey I couldn't discover. When I closed the book it didn't feel like the story had some epic conclusion.
And sometimes characters can make up for all that, but in this case that didn't happen either. I liked Albert's story, but as a character he was just like Scarlett simply not interesting enough. Both of them didn't really grow or change much. Both of them are quite guarded when it comes to their emotions and feelings, which means I didn't feel a thing while reading this book. It's quite hard to care about characters who never really come alive.
I'm sure there are people out there who will enjoy this book (I will certainly meet them in the author chat this Thursday), but not one element in this book was for me.