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patchworkbunny's Reviews (2.12k)
Allie has been arrested. Again. Her school has politely asked her parents to transfer her to another school. Again. She is being packed off to Cimmeria Academy, a boarding school no one has ever heard of before. Separated from technology, Allie is cut off from her old life and begrudgingly settles into studying. There is something strange about Cimmeria, where a select group of students attend Night School, not that anyone will tell her what it is.
One of the things I really enjoyed about Night School was the fact that Allie is on the outside of the secret stuff. Usually the new girl gets drawn into whatever is going on in books and quickly becomes the centre, but here Allie is as clueless as the rest of us. It veers dangerously close to love triangle territory but a key event soon sorts that and the relationships and friendships develop at a natural pace.
I think I have said before that I love boarding school settings. There’s always a great cast of teachers and rules yet a certain independence allowed the teens due to living away from home. Usually, school is something that is left behind each day but living their forces them to readdress their attitudes of adults. It also means there’s no escaping the bitchy girls or the gossip.
There are so many unanswered questions. And you know what? That’s fine by me, just makes me want to read the rest of the series, and quickly. Although it does mean I have no idea what to categorize it as…aren’t those the best kind of books?
One of the things I really enjoyed about Night School was the fact that Allie is on the outside of the secret stuff. Usually the new girl gets drawn into whatever is going on in books and quickly becomes the centre, but here Allie is as clueless as the rest of us. It veers dangerously close to love triangle territory but a key event soon sorts that and the relationships and friendships develop at a natural pace.
I think I have said before that I love boarding school settings. There’s always a great cast of teachers and rules yet a certain independence allowed the teens due to living away from home. Usually, school is something that is left behind each day but living their forces them to readdress their attitudes of adults. It also means there’s no escaping the bitchy girls or the gossip.
There are so many unanswered questions. And you know what? That’s fine by me, just makes me want to read the rest of the series, and quickly. Although it does mean I have no idea what to categorize it as…aren’t those the best kind of books?
The first wave crippled power and communications. The second wave destroyed cities. The third wave, a cruel plague and four billion dead. By the fourth wave, all trust is gone. Is the soldier a fellow survivor or the enemy? When they look like us, there is no way to tell. Cassie’s father had told her how to spot an enemy in wartime but now he is dead and she is alone. Surviving one day at a time, sixteen-year-old Cassie has one goal; to find her little brother. She promised him she would return.
The 5th Wave is brilliant. If you only read one young adult book this year, make it this one. A real page turner, it kept me up reading well past my bed time and now I seriously want alien invasions to be the next big thing in publishing. It bounces around in the timeline of the invasion and between narrators but this does not slow down the pace at all. I was as invested in the story of The Arrival as I was in Cassie’s survival.
I loved the idea that humans have concocted these theories about aliens, be it benevolent neighbours or aggressors that can be taken out by the military or an underdog. Even in our most challenging stories, humanity has the upper hand by the end. But here is a vision of hopelessness against an enemy that is winning. Humanity cannot fight back; humans can’t even trust one another. Cassie thinks she’s a cockroach compared to the aliens. They are so much more advanced, what are humans to them other than something that must be exterminated?
But wait, it is not a depressing read. The characterisation is all spot on and the chapters weave an intimate and human tale against the backdrop of mass destruction and fear. All the characters are completely believable although it is one of those books where you can't be sure that they won't be killed off. Perhaps some people might label certain plots points as predictable but the Silencer’s point of view before a key meeting is placed exactly to lead the reader to come to conclusions. It’s more about Cassie’s doubt and awareness of the situation. Will she realise? What will she do? From despair comes some incredibly moving moments.
Oh and Bear! I love Bear. OK, he’s an inanimate object but infused with all the personality that a child places on a favourite toy. Sammy leaves him with Cassie to keep her company and she promises to return him. It is the one thing that she clings to and so she never leaves Bear behind. Then she starts to have conversations with him (I have conversations with my own Bear, it’s perfectly normal) and I started to worry about him just as if he were a sentient character.
The 5th Wave is brilliant. If you only read one young adult book this year, make it this one. A real page turner, it kept me up reading well past my bed time and now I seriously want alien invasions to be the next big thing in publishing. It bounces around in the timeline of the invasion and between narrators but this does not slow down the pace at all. I was as invested in the story of The Arrival as I was in Cassie’s survival.
I loved the idea that humans have concocted these theories about aliens, be it benevolent neighbours or aggressors that can be taken out by the military or an underdog. Even in our most challenging stories, humanity has the upper hand by the end. But here is a vision of hopelessness against an enemy that is winning. Humanity cannot fight back; humans can’t even trust one another. Cassie thinks she’s a cockroach compared to the aliens. They are so much more advanced, what are humans to them other than something that must be exterminated?
But wait, it is not a depressing read. The characterisation is all spot on and the chapters weave an intimate and human tale against the backdrop of mass destruction and fear. All the characters are completely believable although it is one of those books where you can't be sure that they won't be killed off. Perhaps some people might label certain plots points as predictable but the Silencer’s point of view before a key meeting is placed exactly to lead the reader to come to conclusions. It’s more about Cassie’s doubt and awareness of the situation. Will she realise? What will she do? From despair comes some incredibly moving moments.
Oh and Bear! I love Bear. OK, he’s an inanimate object but infused with all the personality that a child places on a favourite toy. Sammy leaves him with Cassie to keep her company and she promises to return him. It is the one thing that she clings to and so she never leaves Bear behind. Then she starts to have conversations with him (I have conversations with my own Bear, it’s perfectly normal) and I started to worry about him just as if he were a sentient character.
The year is 2059. Clairvoyance is a crime. Those with the gift have three options; hide their voyance and try to live a normal life, turn themselves in to Scion and join the NVD hunting down their kind or turn to a life of crime with the mime-lords. Paige chose crime, now the favoured mollisher of Seven Seals, she uses her ability to effect the aether to benefit Jaxxon Hall, risking her life each time she does a job. Until one night everything changes.
Wow, where to begin? The Bone Season is the best urban fantasy of the year for me. Set in the future with an alternate past, so much planning has gone into this book and the world building is so well done. There’s never any feeling of info-dump and the history is woven into the characters’ stories. The monarchy was disbanded after King Edward VII went mad and Scion took over to control the voyant problem. It’s a cover story that may or may not have truth to it (really I would read a novel with just the backstory it’s so good) and Paige soon learns where Scion got their ideas from. There’s a place worse than the Tower where the voyants get taken.
Paige and many of the supporting characters have tough choices to make. There isn’t a black and white good or evil choice for them. I didn’t have a single eye rolly moment over what Paige does, she’s not stupid or thoughtless. But the home she is desperate to get back to isn’t all sunshine and puppies either. She doesn’t feel good about killing and she is caring; one act of compassion sets her on her way.
If you’re struggling with the terms at the start, there is a glossary in the back, but it all comes together quickly and most the voyant types have slang names which are descriptive of their powers. They can all use the aether to affect the spirit world, so there are ghosts but also other powers of the mind going on. I’ve not read anything quite like it before and it’s brilliant.
I won’t go into details on the Rephaim but what a fantastic creation. It’s so easy to pluck an existing supernatural creature out of your mind and use them but instead Samantha Shannon has given us a fearsome new foe. And the way they segregate the humans, marking out their status by colour, is something many have done throughout history. Turn them against each other and you don’t have to do the work yourself. But it's the interaction between Paige and her keeper, Warden, that really makes this book.
Apparently there are seven books planned and I cannot wait for more. It’s slightly depressing that the author is a mere 22 and has written such an accomplished debut. What was I doing at that age? If you like urban fantasy at all, please read this, you won’t regret it.
Wow, where to begin? The Bone Season is the best urban fantasy of the year for me. Set in the future with an alternate past, so much planning has gone into this book and the world building is so well done. There’s never any feeling of info-dump and the history is woven into the characters’ stories. The monarchy was disbanded after King Edward VII went mad and Scion took over to control the voyant problem. It’s a cover story that may or may not have truth to it (really I would read a novel with just the backstory it’s so good) and Paige soon learns where Scion got their ideas from. There’s a place worse than the Tower where the voyants get taken.
Paige and many of the supporting characters have tough choices to make. There isn’t a black and white good or evil choice for them. I didn’t have a single eye rolly moment over what Paige does, she’s not stupid or thoughtless. But the home she is desperate to get back to isn’t all sunshine and puppies either. She doesn’t feel good about killing and she is caring; one act of compassion sets her on her way.
If you’re struggling with the terms at the start, there is a glossary in the back, but it all comes together quickly and most the voyant types have slang names which are descriptive of their powers. They can all use the aether to affect the spirit world, so there are ghosts but also other powers of the mind going on. I’ve not read anything quite like it before and it’s brilliant.
I won’t go into details on the Rephaim but what a fantastic creation. It’s so easy to pluck an existing supernatural creature out of your mind and use them but instead Samantha Shannon has given us a fearsome new foe. And the way they segregate the humans, marking out their status by colour, is something many have done throughout history. Turn them against each other and you don’t have to do the work yourself. But it's the interaction between Paige and her keeper, Warden, that really makes this book.
Apparently there are seven books planned and I cannot wait for more. It’s slightly depressing that the author is a mere 22 and has written such an accomplished debut. What was I doing at that age? If you like urban fantasy at all, please read this, you won’t regret it.
The students of University Asgard’s Pre-History Foundation course are returning to Earth after a short break. Except for Jarra, who cannot leave due to her faulty immune system, and her twoing partner, Fian. They are moving from New York to the Eden dig site in Africa to continue their studies at Earth’s last new city. Surrounded by reclaimed rainforest, this site poses a whole new set of risks but Jarra and Fian are called away suddenly by the military; the Alien Contact programme has been activated.
I was quite excited when I started reading this and the alien sphere lurking above Earth was revealed. It could go two ways, destruction of planet earth or new found friends (was anyone else thinking they could be the key to a cure for the handicapped?). However the sphere isn’t doing much of anything and the military gather experts from all fields to work out what the risk of attack is. And what on Earth they should do about it. Literally on Earth, which has its own special problems. They can’t just evacuate the planet because the handicapped can’t leave, Jarra among them. Whilst some think the handicapped are an acceptable loss, the military is fortunately on Jarra’s side.
The realism maybe cuts down on the tension. It’s believable that there would be quiet times and it’s sensible for Jarra to return to normal life in-between things happening, but this is fiction and it takes away from the pace. This isn’t a race against time alien invasion but an archaeological adventure as before. And as we all know, archaeology done well takes time. I still enjoyed the history in the future aspect and the excavation scenes are oddly gripping. Earth has turned against humanity and the once safe cities are now death-traps. So moving some debris can be a life or death situation.
In the first book it felt a lot more like the world was against Jarra but now everything seems to fall in her lap. Things were just solved a little too simply in many ways, however I was very glad during a certain scene in the hospital where Fian veered her away from a stupid life choice. Which might have seemed like the perfect solution to her. Maybe the easy solutions were to contrast Jarra’s dramatics and over-thinking. She worries about something, but as soon as it stops being Jarra against the world and she trusts someone, things turn out to be easy.
There were some lovely scenes with the supporting characters and I loved the new locations on Earth. Especially Jarra’s brief visit to the pyramids. Do we meet aliens? Well that would be telling but one thing, the end will make you wish the next book was here right now. Bring on the future.
I was quite excited when I started reading this and the alien sphere lurking above Earth was revealed. It could go two ways, destruction of planet earth or new found friends (was anyone else thinking they could be the key to a cure for the handicapped?). However the sphere isn’t doing much of anything and the military gather experts from all fields to work out what the risk of attack is. And what on Earth they should do about it. Literally on Earth, which has its own special problems. They can’t just evacuate the planet because the handicapped can’t leave, Jarra among them. Whilst some think the handicapped are an acceptable loss, the military is fortunately on Jarra’s side.
The realism maybe cuts down on the tension. It’s believable that there would be quiet times and it’s sensible for Jarra to return to normal life in-between things happening, but this is fiction and it takes away from the pace. This isn’t a race against time alien invasion but an archaeological adventure as before. And as we all know, archaeology done well takes time. I still enjoyed the history in the future aspect and the excavation scenes are oddly gripping. Earth has turned against humanity and the once safe cities are now death-traps. So moving some debris can be a life or death situation.
In the first book it felt a lot more like the world was against Jarra but now everything seems to fall in her lap. Things were just solved a little too simply in many ways, however I was very glad during a certain scene in the hospital where Fian veered her away from a stupid life choice. Which might have seemed like the perfect solution to her. Maybe the easy solutions were to contrast Jarra’s dramatics and over-thinking. She worries about something, but as soon as it stops being Jarra against the world and she trusts someone, things turn out to be easy.
There were some lovely scenes with the supporting characters and I loved the new locations on Earth. Especially Jarra’s brief visit to the pyramids. Do we meet aliens? Well that would be telling but one thing, the end will make you wish the next book was here right now. Bring on the future.
