Since we're way past the time when Paranormal Romance was the trend, many have deemed it proper to attribute their dystopian books to the one and onlySince we're way past the time when Paranormal Romance was the trend, many have deemed it proper to attribute their dystopian books to the one and only that started this "Dystopian Craze", the Hunger Games. However, when books get compared to this precious book in their blurbs and synopses, I instantly become wary and suspicious, not only because I'm against riding the success of another novel, but also because, more often than not, the excitement that was built would only result to mere and utter disappointment. "For fans of the Hunger Games!" "Like the Hunger Games!" "Similar to the Hunger Games!" I could just drown in the amount of blurbs that had these only to find out later that they were very subpar. I just find it absolutely sad that there are attempts to make a half-assed dystopian book just to ride the bandwagon.
I guess publishers has noticed this, so they decided to put in another great series to the mix to attract readers: Game of Thrones. My friends, if you've watched and read the books, you'll see that GoT is very, very complex. It features an intricate and intriguing web of relationships and scandals that can even shock the hardest of hearts. It features twists and turns that would make a reader cry and throw the books in good frustration.
Relic doesn't even come close. Did it frustrate me? Hell yes, it did.
I am utterly offended how it even dared to say it's for fans of the Hunger Games AND the Game of Thrones when its premise is so ridiculous and simple. I am offended how the blurb said it's a high fantasy when it's nowhere near like it. I'm offended how it promised me a good read when throughout reading it, I was either a.) bored out of my frigging mind; b.) laughing my heart out because of how nonsensical it was.
Okay, first, the premise. It was ridiculous. I understand the need to give something original, but holy mother of god, this is not something I would've considered for any book even if I were high on drugs. So some apocalyptic event happened that killed billions of people on Earth (not explained what it was yet), and a handful of people evacuated to the icelands in the North and found a new settlement called New North. Two hundred years later, the community became more backward than forward with the women doing maidenly, demure roles who can't possibly do hard work as the men, and the men being chivalrous and shit and blah blah blah. There is obvious marginalization and there are even classes where some are deemed higher than the others. Right, I'm expected to believe something like that when their ancestors just came from the world we have today. But alright, for the sake of this book, I'll go along with that.
Then, we find out that this new civilization worships some sort of sacred book that dictates their laws and traditions called The Lex. And their leaders tell the people that the world has ended due to certain evils. What are these evils, you ask? They blame the end of the world on man-made medicine like Tylenol, Advil, Prozacs for ruining the mind; on sodas like Coca-Cola for weakening the bodies; on cards like Visas, MasterCards, American Express for toppling rulers; and on the super tech company Apple... yes... that Apple with a quarter-bitten fruit as a logo. They believed their ancestors worshipped this god, with the tablets like iPads as their altars and shit like that.
Granted, the book explains later on (albeit rather shakily) that things are not what they seem and that there is a huge (gasp) lie, but sweet baby jesus, what the flying fuck is this??!! Sure, I've never seen something like this before, but there's a good reason why it has never been seen before, and it's because it's just beyond ridiculous. Am I supposed to take something like this seriously? When you're making a dystopia, the book has to make sure the premise is believable. You have to make sure that the reader would also think the setting is feasible in the future, and that you instill an internal fear of what is going to happen and what may happen. Tylenol, Advil, Coke, Mastercard, Apple... yeesh, yeah right. Take all of that and forget about wars of conquests, or religious wars, or attempts of making nuclear energy and weapons, just blame it on poor Santa Clause Coke for making us all obese and unhealthy.
The book tried to be serious and different, but it still read like the same formulaic books we've been given throughout the years. There's a hierarchy, some Triad leaders, and of course, there's the competition where the brightest of the generation go against each other in the cold wild to look for relics from the past that would remind the community the role these relics had in the destruction of the world two hundred years past. Eva, the main character, who only had a few months of training compared to the others who have prepared for this all their lives, go against them and all odds, to win for her deceased twin brother. Okay.
Here's the thing. The internal first-person narration of Eva was awful. Absolutely horrible. It was very monotonous and robotic, and very telling than showing. Paragraphs upon paragraphs, pages upon pages, I'd been given descriptions of what the main character was seeing, the description of the surroundings, what she was doing, etc. etc. that her personality, if ever she had one, wasn't shown. She was as bland as a cardboard, and as interesting as watching paint dry. Usually, when we have first person narratives, it should be more personal, more intimate. I should be given a deeper relationship with the character, but because it was so fucking dull, I didn't feel for her and didn't even root for her. I just wanted to get this book over with already. And the times where there were personal thoughts, it would be in the form of questions. ALL THE FREAKING TIME. Question after question after question, giving the impression that she's really deeper than what we think her to be, but I've always found this a cheap tactic.
There would be questions like (non-verbatim):
Is Jasper really who I think he is? Or did he just come up to me to make me believe he was really hurt or was he just spying on me?
What did Eamon mean when he said he must do what he must? Was he going to do something unthinkable?
There were a lot more but I've forgotten most of them. These are just some of the questions that I thought from the top of my head, but probably aren't the questions word-for-word. But, in any case, the deal here is the narration never felt personal to me. It was too formal for my taste. It was dull, it was lifeless, and I skimmed so much that I didn't even miss anything vital. And did I say she had no personality whatsoever? Yeah, that and kept on mentioning her twin brother all the time.
"But I'm stronger now because I have Eamon's strength with me."
"I struggle, but I remember that I have Eamon within me, too."
"This is not just for me, but for Eamon's dream as well."
OTL
And seriously though, the competition's supposed to be the hardest thing ever, but she's conveniently winning challenges after challenges without ever finding any real obstacle. As a character, she didn't grow at all. She was monotonous and dull from start to finish, and the scenes that were supposed to be exciting were dragged along by her lifelessness. It was just mind-numbingly boring.
And lol, the entrance of the romance in the end was so anti-climactic. Here we are, talking about lies and scandals and then, "Can you not see my feelings for you?" Dudes and dudettes, have you ever heard of the word "transition"?
Also, what is up with the jargon of words sprinkled all over the book? There were a lot of unfamiliar words placed here and there that I never really understood and never really thoroughly explained, like "upernagdlit", "inuit", "nunassiaq", and "quiasuqaq". DAFUQ, MAN?!
Overall, I'm sorry to say but I cannot recommend this book. You're free to read it for yourself and form your own conclusions, but I, personally, did not enjoy it, and would not wish my family and friends to endure the same torture. Do not let the blurb fool you - aside from the competition theme, it's not similar to the Hunger Games, and it's not even half as close to the Game of Thrones. If you're going to read this book with the expectation of reading something like those series mentioned, you will be sorely disappointed. ...more
Awesome, awesome book. I won't be giving a full review, because, well, everybody knows this and everybody knows it's awesome. Haha.
A few things thoughAwesome, awesome book. I won't be giving a full review, because, well, everybody knows this and everybody knows it's awesome. Haha.
A few things though: * It was quite irritating how the only "verb" with regards to dialogue were thought and said. Even when someone asked a question, it won't be "Malcolm asked", it would be "Malcolm said". Over and over and over like there were nothing else. * Lex was suuuper annoying. She only rekindled the thought that children in books ruin them. She was so infuriating that I wished children characters would be banned in this kind of premise. Haha.
First and foremost, I'd like to thank my good friend since my scanlation days, Kureha, for recommending this book to me, because otherwise, I wouldn'tFirst and foremost, I'd like to thank my good friend since my scanlation days, Kureha, for recommending this book to me, because otherwise, I wouldn't have touched this. Not the book's fault, really. Ever since I read (and vehemently disliked) British author Teri Terry's Slated, I've become wary of English/British YA novels. But thank goodness for angels like my friend, because this novel turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. I loved it! So how do you know if this book is for you? Well, let's run down a checklist for that, shall we?
If you like * Intellectual heroines with an innate talent for good, snarky comebacks; * slow and steady romances that are nicely developed; * excellently written and well-explained world-building; * slow-paced story telling; and * plots that don't have "OMG, YOU STOLE MY BOYFRIEND! B*ITCH!" or "OMG, HE DOESN'T LOVE ME ENOUGH!" drama, then...
THIS BOOK IF FOR YOU! But...
If you dislike * detailed paragraphs; * pages upon pages of technicalities; * boring love interest; and * too-good-to-be-true, loved-by-everyone, pretty-much-good-at-everything-without-even-trying-heroines, then...
You may wanna proceed with caution.:/
But despite my list of negative aspects that I found in this book, I'd still recommend it. Perhaps it is because my expectations weren't high to begin with that I deemed myself enjoying it, or mayhap because I considered the snail-like pace refreshing and the lack of intense drama exhilarating, the fact, however, remains that when I finished the book and turned the last page, plastered on my face was a bright and satisfied smile.
Granted, Jarra, the main character IS (in a way) a Mary Sue. She's excels in everything she does, and unbelievably so, sometimes; and she's loved and appreciated by everyone. If you know me, then you know I just hate this kind of heroines. BUT! Even though this is so, you'll end up liking her anyway because she's amazingly intellectual, funny, and even snarky. The narration, which is set in a first person POV, just changes everything. So what happened? The Mary-Sue hater in me gave in and rooted for this badass girl to the last page. She does have a flaw, though, and it's her drive to be the best in everything she does (read: highly competitive to the point of... well... irrationality? She does find the error of her ways early, though ;p).
For a Dystopian and Science Fiction novel, the world here is extremely well-explained. It's the kind of place I'd love to look forward to someday (without all the apes thing) in the distant future. While I enjoyed the details, the pages upon pages of technicalities in which processes of digging rubble were elaborated made me a bit bored. Of course, they were important and vital to the story, but I felt that it wouldn't have changed anything if there were less of them. Some people may like it, though! Because of this, the story takes on a slow pace. Nothing really big happens. In my opinion, there were no events that would make you go WTF! or FTW!, making it a completely character-driven story. But no worries, the internal narration was fun to read. I'm pretty sure most readers will like Jarra :)
All in all, this is a book to look forward to, in my opinion. I loved the world, I loved Jarra and everything about her, including the Mary Sue aspects and all. My love for British writers has been renewed <3...more
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