Tag: dystopia

Book Review: The Death Cure by James Dashner

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left1 Comment

The Death Cure by James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: 2013 by Chicken House (first published 2011)

Pages: 327

Star Rating: 3/5

Back Cover Summary:

Thomas knows that Wicked can’t be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they’ve collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It’s up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What Wicked doesn’t know is that something’s happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can’t believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

The Death Cure is the third and final book in the Maze Runner series. Although I persevered with the series, it has never really blown me away or done anything particularly different or interesting. At times the plot and purpose of the books seems to make little sense. Most of what kept me motivated to keep on reading was hoping to find an explanation for everything. Thankfully, most things were explained in this final book, but in some ways I was still left feeling confused.

I found myself caring for the characters more in this book, which is an improvement. It’s taken three books for Dashner to properly flesh out his characters and actually make me like and care about them. There weren’t many new characters in this book, but the ones that were new were nothing interesting or different.

The plot was okay but I found myself a bit bored in the first half of the book, wanting them to just get on with things. In the second book the Gladers went out into one aspect of the real world – the Scorch – but in this book they go to one of the remaining cities which was interesting to see. It provided a different setting and finally showed me what the situation in the real world was like, something which we didn’t have much conception of in the first and second books.

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Film Review: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part 2

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Release date: 20th November 2015

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks

Runtime: 137 minutes

Genre: Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Action, Thriller

Watched in: 2D

Rating: 4/5 stars

Mockingjay Part 2 is the final instalment of the series and the second part of the final book. My expectations were high for this one, as the previous films had been so good and so well adapted from the books. I went in not really being able to remember much of the book as it was a while ago since I read it. So it was nice to be able to sit and watch without waiting for what I knew was going to happen the whole way through (like sometimes happens when watching book to film adaptions).

I’m not sure how well splitting Mockingjay into two parts worked. I think it would be much more impactful watching them together. I like that it meant all the major things that happened in the book got to go into the films. A lot happens and if it were one film it might have felt a bit butchered. Yet somehow I think the plot progression would be more effective over one film. Although it would have had to be a very long film to fit everything in, so maybe two films was the right path.

This film reminded me why I love this series so much. There are so many twists and turns which are so unexpected so that the first time you read the books or watch the films (having not read the books) you’re on the edge of your seat. I like that there is no binary of good and evil. You realise that’s a model which isn’t really realistic.

The acting was top notch once again and the costumes and effects were brilliant. I’m going to have to watch it again though as I didn’t take in much of the first fifteen minutes as the kids in the row in front of me were talking so much.

A great end to the series, though I’m sad it’s the last time I’ll see a Hunger Games film in the cinema.

Book Review: Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left2 Comments

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: May 2011 Simon Pulse (first published 2005)

Pages: 348

Star Rating: 3/5

Back Cover Summary:

Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted.

But beneath all the fun — the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom — is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally’s ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what’s wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.

Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life — because the authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.

I wasn’t really aware that this book wasn’t very spectacular until the end, when I looked back and realised that not much had happened in it. Pretties is the second book in the Uglies series and I definitely liked the first book better.

As stated in the previous paragraph while I was reading it I was reasonably hooked and wanted to keep reading. But when I finished I felt fairly underwhelmed.

The plot was good, I’ll give it that, and there were several twists that I really wasn’t expecting. It kept me on my toes at certain points. Some new aspects of the world were revealed but weren’t explained fully (but perhaps this will come in the next book as the revelation came towards the end of the novel with not much time for explanations).

Tally went through some changes but as a result of the plot (no spoilers!) rather than actual character development. It kind of annoyed me how whenever anyone argued with her she just wouldn’t explain why whatever had happened had happened and then moped that said person didn’t like her when she should have just told them. This girl never learns. I liked her in the first book but by the end of this one I was starting to get kind of bored of her sameness and lack of character development.

The other characters were okay but nothing spectacular. Surprise surprise a love triangle reared its ugly head (excuse the pun there) which seems to be near impossible to avoid in YA literature. However, it wasn’t a completely pointless love triangle and was kind of to do with some memory loss stuff but it still ended up with Tally going ‘ooh who do I choose’ in the last quarter or so which was really annoying.

Overall I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away and I didn’t love it in the same way I loved the first one. I’ll read the next two books in the series because I’m curious about what direction the plot is going in but won’t keep my expectations too high to avoid potential disappointment.

To read my review of the first book, Uglies, click here. Read my review of the final book, Specials, here.

Book Review: Hunger by Michael Grant

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Hunger by Michael Grant

Genre: Young adult, science-fiction, dystopia

Publishing Info: 2010 by Egmont

Pages: 608

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

It’s been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Things have only gotten worse. Food is running out, and each day more kids are developing supernatural abilities. Soon tension rises between those with powers and those without, and when an unspeakable tragedy occurs, chaos erupts. It’s the normals against the mutants, and the battle promises to turn bloody.

But something more dangerous lurks. A sinister creature known as the Darkness has begun to call to the survivors in the FAYZ. It needs their powers to sustain its own. When the Darkness calls, someone will answer — with deadly results.

This is the second book in Michael Grant’s Gone series, and I liked it about the same amount I liked the first one. It was good and kept me gripped but it wasn’t spectacular.

In terms of pacing the first third or so was quite slow and I was wondering what the main plot line of the book was going to be. Once it got going though it was very exciting and made me want to keep reading. I also didn’t predict exactly what direction it was going in so there were some surprises which was great.

The first book had a lot of characters, but this book introduces even more for you to try and keep track of. Thankfully, I’m quite good at remembering which characters are which but I can imagine some readers getting the characters mixed up when there are so many of them. On the other hand I do like that there are a lot of characters because you get to see lots of different characters viewpoints and how different people are coping with being in the FAYZ.

Some of the characters brought forwards from the first book develop further in this book but most of them are just the same as in the first book. There isn’t much character development going on. Sam’s character is done really well and we see how the pressures of being in charge of Perdido Beach get to him. But most of the characters show very little change and development.

Plot holes. This is the biggest issue I have with the book. The end action sequence is filled with two gigantic plot holes. I think the problem is there are so many characters that the editors, and Grant himself, forgot that three of them even existed and were even at the final big fight scene. Did he forget he’d sent those characters there in a previous chapter? This gaping hole just annoyed me to no end and left me stunned that the author or editors hadn’t realised.

Overall I did enjoy it and in the end gave it four stars because it really did keep me gripped, but I did find that there were some problems with it. I will carry on and read the next one because Grant has managed to keep my curiosity going.

Book Review: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

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The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: August 1st 2011 by Chicken House (first published 2010)

Pages: 359

Star Rating: 3/5

Back Cover Summary:
The Scorch Trials picks up where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face an even more treacherous challenge on the open roads of a devastated planet. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. Can Thomas survive in such a violent world?

The Scorch Trials is the second book in The Maze Runner series and carries straight on from where the first book left off. The back cover summary is rather vague so I didn’t really know what to expect. I shan’t say too much as I don’t want to spoil it! Although I enjoyed the book and found it gripping I didn’t like it as much as the first book. I’m not sure why I just liked the first book much better.

 The plot is basically a repetition of The Maze Runner but in a different setting. The characters are still being watched by WICKED and have to do some stuff to survive. Essentially it’s like they’re in the next level. It is very different to the first book though and the characters have different dilemmas and enemies. Dashner does suspense very well and I found myself keeping turning the pages. The pacing was good, there were some slow moments but it always kept me hooked.

 The characters from the first book were good. But the new characters weren’t so good. Like I found with the first book whenever a character was introduced they were just a name and their personalities didn’t really show until far into the book. I understand that you have to get to know characters but I should still have a sense of what they are like from the beginning through their body language, how they talk and the decisions they make.

 In terms of the characters that carried over from the first book I would have liked to have seen them developed more. I didn’t really get a feel of how everything they had been through impacted on them as people. I guess they don’t have much time for reflection as once again they’re running for their lives but I would have expected some change in them after having been through all that.

 I guess there’s not much I can say without giving spoilers for the first book and this one as well. There’s so many twists and things that I don’t want to spoil anything as the suspense and mystery of wanting to know what is going on is the best aspect of these books. Overall I enjoyed it and will keep reading the series but it wasn’t as good as the first one. I really liked how it kept me guessing and I never knew what was going to happen next.

 Click here to read my review of book 1, The Maze Runner.

Author Interview: Sarah Perlmutter

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Sarah Perlmutter is an English teacher from Pennsylvania who has self-published her Young Adult apocalyptic novel The Blast. It follows the story of Beatrice and her family as they fight to survive in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, exploring themes of moral choices and humanity. The novel has been very well received and its current highest rank on Amazon is #26 in YA Dystopian! Sarah agreed to answer some questions about her novel and her self-publishing experience.

Why did you choose to write a story set during and after the apocalypse?

I’ve always been interested in human nature, and what better way to test it than to put people in extreme survival situations? I also really enjoy the science fiction genre, especially post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories, so I wanted to contribute to that genre of YA literature with my own take on the world’s end.

The Blast is fairly short, did you consciously choose for it to be a short novel or did it just turn out that way?

I did consciously choose for it to be a shorter novel, because I wrote it to be a companion piece or prequel for the trilogy I’ve been working on for a couple of years now. I meant for it to only be a novella, but at its current word count and length it’s straddling the line between novella and novel. Once I started writing, I had more to say than I initially anticipated I would.

How did you build the cast of characters for The Blast?

I built the cast of characters based on characters in my trilogy. I knew Beatrice, Eleanor, and their parents had to be in The Blast, but some of the other characters I added to help explain who they became as adults, like Henry and the Smiths. Characters like Jacob and Mr. Timmons were included to help explore themes in the novel, while characters like Drew helped me to flesh out the community within which Bea and Eleanor grow up and later raise their children.

The Blast is a prequel to your Deathless trilogy. Which idea did you come up with and write first?

I came up with the idea for the Deathless trilogy first, and then halfway through the second book, I realized that I didn’t know nearly enough about Beatrice or what happened before the trilogy begins. I began writing The Blast as an exploration into Bea’s character and as a way to bring the entire world to life for myself. The trilogy now exists in a world that is much more believable and complete than it did before I wrote The Blast.

What made you decide to take the self-publishing route?

I sent out maybe 5 queries for the first book of the trilogy when it was not in the proper shape to be published, and, not surprisingly, received 5 rejections. I began researching self-publishing then, and learned that it can actually be a viable route for publishing these days. I wanted to test out the waters of self-publishing as an alternate option, and after receiving positive feedback on The Blast from readers on Wattpad, I decided that would be the perfect book with which to test self-publishing. I’m glad I did, because now I feel like I have a better handle of the whole industry.

What do you think the pros and cons of self-publishing are?

The huge pro of self-publishing is how much creative freedom you have. The book is exactly as you want it, as is the cover and all other materials for it. However, as a self-publisher, you really need to be ready to invest serious time and money into your project. Good cover designers and editors cost money, as does professional formatters for your manuscript. That’s the con of self-publishing: Because you are in control of everything, it requires much more work to get your book into reader’s hands. A lot of writers just want to write, but when self-publishing, you must also be your own editor, production manager, designer, marketing professional, advocate, and internet personality.

Has self-publishing been a positive experience?

So far I have really enjoyed my experience with self-publishing! I have learned so much more about the industry than I would have if I kept querying, and I love experimenting with different marketing platforms for The Blast; however, I will still try my luck at traditional publishing for the trilogy and for any future projects. If it doesn’t work out with traditional publishing though, I’d be happy to self-publish again. Do you have any advice for writers hoping to be published?  Write! Write so much that it becomes an obsession. Write books, stories, plays, and poems of all genres. The more you write, the more pieces you have to choose from for submission calls, and the more likely one of your pieces will be chosen. Have fun with the submission process, and find a new way to view rejection. Rejection shows you’re living your dream, because every single writer you’ve ever heard of was rejected just as much as you. And if you like the idea of self-publishing, do it. Don’t wait. Get your manuscript ready, and do it.

Quick fire questions!

-Are you an organised or messy planner?

I am a messy planner masquerading as an organized one. I always have a plan, but it will be in 15 different notebooks, in the notes on my phone, on my Pinterest boards, and in my mind.

-Favourite character from The Blast?

I have to say Bea. When I finished writing The Blast, I really felt homesick for her perspective. But I also love Ellie. I didn’t think I would, but by the end of the book, she was one of my favorite characters to give dialogue. I love her voice.

-Would you survive the apocalypse?

Not likely. My husband and I are not at all prepared like Bea’s family was, and I’ve never even held a gun.

-What would be your weapon of choice – force or diplomacy?

Diplomacy for sure. I’m a teacher by day, so I feel like diplomacy is second nature to me. Force, not so much.

-Favourite book?

So difficult! It’s a four-way tie between Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

-Favourite film?

My gut’s telling me to go with Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

-Favourite character?

Oh man, even more difficult! I love so many characters for so many different reasons! Right now, because I recently finished reading All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, I really enjoy Finch’s character.

The Blast is available NOW to purchase on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback.

Follow Sarah on social media:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahPerlmutterbooksTwitter: @SaPerlmutterWebsite: http://www.sarahperlmutter.comPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/saraibunbury/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24265868-the-blast

You can read my review of the book here!

Film Review: Insurgent

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Insurgent (Divergent Series #2)

Release date: 19th March 2015

Director: Robert Schwentke

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Jai Courtney

Runtime: 119 minutes

Genre: Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Action

Watched in: 2D

Rating: 4/5 stars

I’m kind of late posting this review. It’s taken me a while to get around to it and then I thought I’d posted it but obviously I didn’t. And now the film isn’t in cinemas anymore. Oh well.

Tris, Four and their friends are now on the run from the leader of Eriudite, Jeanine, who is hunting down the Divergents. They discover that Tris’ parents died because they were protecting something, a piece of information that has been kept secret, which will reveal the real past of the Faction system.

As someone who has read the books I can say that the first half is fairly accurate to the book, with some minor details missing, but as with the first film the ending is quite different. What they added though wasn’t necessarily bad. It still kind of made sense. If you haven’t read the books though then you will enjoy it.

Once again there’s a lot of snazzy CGI and action scenes going on. But what I like about the way they’ve done the films for this series is that in including all the snazziness they haven’t sacrificed the emotional element and the character development.

Once again the acting is great. Shailene Woodley’s performance of a broken Tris was excellent, she really shined in this one, presenting Tris’ inner conflicts really well. The rest of the actors also did great jobs, though I’m still questioning the casting of Evelyn as almost everybody else who read the books has.

The very end, what happens after all the action, is very different from the end of the book, so I’m wondering where they’re going with it. As the last book was so awful I’m expecting they’ll change it quite a bit, so maybe altering the ending of the second one is leading into that. We’ll just have to wait and see.

If you haven’t read the books it is great! If you have, you will notice many differences and lack of development of characters such as Marlene which was a shame, but it is still a good adaption and worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suZcGoRLXkU

Book Review: The Maze Runner

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left4 Comments

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: August 14th 2011 by Chicken House (first published 2009)

Pages: 371

Star Rating: 4/5

 

Back Cover Summary:

When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he’s not alone. He’s surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade – a walled encampment at the entre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they came to be there – or what’s happened to the world outside.

 

So I’m rather late to the Maze Runner party. Having heard such praise for it and there being a film which was released last year, I thought I would give it a go. Dystopia is one of my favourite genres, but there is so much fluff out there, especially in the Young Adult market. The Maze Runner in some ways disappointed me but also thrilled me.

The beginning of the novel is rather confusing. It is told in third person from Thomas’s viewpoint, which means we only know what he knows. So I guess the reader is confused because Thomas is confused. Eventually, things begin to start making sense though and the more you get into it the better it gets.

The writing style isn’t particularly amazing. It’s quite ordinary and to be honest the writing could be much better. Often the language was a little too ‘telling’ and impersonal meaning it was hard to connect to the main character, Thomas, whose thoughts we are supposed to be sharing.

The characters are one of the weakest aspects of the novel. I just felt like there wasn’t much to distinguish them, they didn’t stand out, and their personalities weren’t clear. For the first half of the book Thomas didn’t seem to have much personality, I found him quite bland. But as I got to know him he grew on me. Though he’s nothing special, nothing different from any of the other protagonists out there. There is one thing that makes him interesting, but I really can’t say because it would mean giving away major spoilers! Many of the other characters were fairly flat at the start as well but like with Thomas they became clearer as the story went on.

The plot is definitely the strongest aspect. It really kept me hooked and almost every chapter has a cliff hanger, meaning I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to know what was going to happen. Throughout the book my head was full of questions which I was biting my nails to find out the answers to. There is some question of believability, but I will wait to pass judgement on that until I have finished the series (as there are many questions still unanswered at the end of this first book).

I’m definitely interested to see where it will go next and will read the rest of the series. A lot of people love this book and a lot of people hate it. There are an awful lot of flaws to it, but I couldn’t help but love it because of the suspenseful plot.

Book Review: The Blast by Sarah Perlmutter

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left2 Comments

The Blast by Sarah Perlmutter

Genre: Young Adult, Apocalypse, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: Self-published, Amazon Kindle edition

Pages: 154

Star Rating: 4.5/5

 

Back Cover Summary:

After a series of blasts force Beatrice Hicks and her family into their prepper bunker, they emerge to discover they are among the survivors of a nuclear apocalypse. Fighting against rogue groups and coping with deaths are just some of the adjustments Beatrice must make to survive, but how will she maintain her humanity after the blast?

 

The Blast is a self-published novel by Sarah Perlmutter which shows a family’s attempt to survive the apocalypse. I’ve read a lot of books about what happens when society has been rebuilt after an apocalypse, but not one which is actually set at the time the apocalypse happens, so this was an interesting new read for me. I found it really refreshing to read and it is written very well, in a style which pulls you in.

The plot is somewhat typical of an apocalypse story – it is about survival. But what makes it great is the way the characters are handled and how they change and develop through the course of the novel. There was plenty of action and lots of unexpected turns which kept me glued to the page. It is quite short, more of a novella than a novel, but I like that. I think a lot of the time authors force stories into a novel length when there isn’t enough substance to make it that long. I think the length of The Blast is right for the content which is great.

The narrator, Beatrice, is forced to grow up before she has much chance to be a child. Her characterisation is great and her inner conflicts are shown really well. Over the course of the book she changes an awful lot as a character. Importantly, she isn’t without flaws, and is a really rounded, well thought-out character. The main characters are equally well depicted and they are all likable. There are many emotional and tragic moments made more so by the attachment one feels for the characters. However, it would have been good to see more development of the minor characters, particularly Mr and Mrs Becker and Mr and Mrs Smith. It felt like they were just shadows in the background. Just one scene with them would have allowed the reader to gain a better picture of them.

Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves apocalypse and dystopian stories. But I also think people who don’t usually go for the genre would like it, as the topic and issues are dealt with so well. I gave it 4.5 stars, as is wasn’t quite perfect for me (though I am quite hard to please), but it was a really awesome book which I urge you to read.

Book Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left2 Comments

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science-Fiction

Publishing Info: May 2011 Simon Pulse

Pages: 406

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license – for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. She’d rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn’t very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all.

The choice Tally makes changes her world forever…

 

Uglies deals with an issue I am very interested in/concerned about: expectations of how we should look. We change our appearances – through makeup and even plastic surgery – to try and reach those expectations. And who can blame us, really, when we’re having magazines shoved in our faces that are full of photographs of photoshopped models. Anyway, I will stop ranting and get onto the book.

So, yes, the premise intrigued me so I decided to find out what this was all about. In Tally’s world, everyone gets made pretty when they turn sixteen. But her friend, Shay, doesn’t want to turn pretty and runs away. I thought it was great that Westerfeld chose to narrate from the point of view of someone who believes in the system. In many YA dystopia novels the protagonist hates the system and wants to get out of it, but here we have a protagonist who is desperate to turn pretty and thinks her friend is crazy for running away and wanting to stay ugly. This aspect of the novel was really refreshing.

In terms of characters I really liked Tally as a main character and her character arc is excellent, we really see her change throughout the novel. A lot of reviews I’ve read said they don’t like Tally at all, and I can see where they are coming from, but I really felt intrigued by all her internal conflicts and development. I thought Shay was great too, her characterisation was done very well. One thing that needed more work was David. I felt his characterisation was very weak, there was nothing about his personality that stood out and I found him very flat. And guess what, we find ourselves reading yet another young adult book which includes a love triangle. I shouldn’t have been surprised really, though, should I?

The world building is very good, it’s well developed and very clear. There’s also a lot of cool technology like hoverboards and a lot of it is really inventive. There were lots of twists and turns in the plot that kept me gripped, and there were a couple of heart-in-mouth moments where there were revelations I wasn’t expecting. At no point did I find myself bored, I was always wanting to know what would happen next. By no means is this an edge-of-your-seat-thriller, but it did keep me glued to the pages in an unusual way, I can’t really describe it.

Overall, one of the better young adult dystopia’s I’ve read, and is definitely unique. I’m very excited to read the rest of the series and already have them on my shelf waiting!

Want to know if the rest of the series is worth reading? Check out my reviews of book 2, Pretties, and book 3, Specials.