I wanted to like this book, I really did, I even convinced myself on a few occasions that I was actually enjoying it. Truth of the matter is the main I wanted to like this book, I really did, I even convinced myself on a few occasions that I was actually enjoying it. Truth of the matter is the main motivation I had to carry on reading wasn't to find out what would happen, but just to get to the end.
The thing is, on the face of it I should really like this book. I generally enjoy dystopian fiction and the plot seemed vaguely familiar to the Hunger Games, which I loved.
Heartless soul that I am, I felt zero empathy for Richard the main character, to be honest I almost DISLIKED him. And you know you're off on a bad foot when you can't even relate to the person you're meant to be rooting for.
Luckily The Running Man is fast paced and I got into the action from the start, something was always happening to keep me turning the pages and the short and snappy chapters helped too. As an action book this is superb, but for me to enjoy a book there has to be more than this. I love getting to know the characters, their relationships, their ideas, their lives. I like feeling wrapped up in a story and practically being able to taste the world the author has created. I got none of that here. In fact I found it all incredibly predictable.
What a miserly review of my first Stephen King. I was honestly looking forward to reading him and it was quite a disappointment.
So to sum up my review of The Running Man - things happen. I didn't give a shit.
I hate it when an author is writing for a YA audience and they dumb it down, make it obvious, predictable and cliché. It underestimates the intelligenI hate it when an author is writing for a YA audience and they dumb it down, make it obvious, predictable and cliché. It underestimates the intelligence of the reader and is quite frankly patronising.
I picked The Declaration up as Amazon's Deal Of The Day because the idea looked quite interesting - a society where people can live forever with the help of longevity drugs, but children are not allowed, and if they are born they have to live a life of servitude as a "surplus". Yes, on the face of it this could have been an exciting Orwellian-esq adventure, pity it didn't turn out that way.
There's nothing much to say about The Declaration except it was predictable. There were a few twists at the end, but all were very obvious ones you could see from a mile away.
Okay, there's character development, at the start of the novel Anna is an obedient surplus who "knows her place" and through her relations with Peter she changes her view on the world to realise she has as much right to exist as anyone else. But lets face it, we ALL saw that coming right?
This is the first of a series. I don't think i'll be bothering with the rest. ...more
Pandemonium is the follow up to Delirium, it follows the story of Lena who lives in an Orwellian-esq contemporary American society where love is viewePandemonium is the follow up to Delirium, it follows the story of Lena who lives in an Orwellian-esq contemporary American society where love is viewed as a disease. At the age of 18 teenagers are given what is essentially, a lobotomy, so they are incapable of feeling love, and then they are matched with a partner of the opposite sex.
Delirium begins in the summer before Lena and her best friend Hana are due to have their procedure. Over the course of the summer Lena falls in love with Alex who eventually reveals to her that he is an "invalid" (someone who has not had the procedure) and is part of a resistance movement, which mainly exists in the "wilds" (rural areas) surrounding the city boundaries. Alex convinces Lena to run away with him to make a life together in the wilds. However, quite by chance Lena's friend Hana discovers Lena and Alex's relationship and in a fit of jealousy alerts the authorities (this is revealed in Hana). The result is that during the attempt to flee Alex is caught by the authorities and Lena finds herself alone in the wilds. Cue cliff hanger ending where no-one knows if Alex is dead or alive.
Pandemonium picks up where Delirium left off and alternates between "then" (when Lena first arrives in the wilds) and "now" (6 months later). I won't reveal much about the story so I don't spoil it for anyone but essentially it involves Lena toughing up,learning to survive and become part of the resistance.
I'm so divided when it comes to this book. On the one hand I love the concept, but there are some parts that I just don't find realistic. Both books completely lack back story as to how society came to view love as a sickness! I mean the concept is pretty far fetched in itself so I feel we at least deserve a plausible explanation.
Also, how the heck did Lena move on from Alex so quickly? I know she presumes he's dead, but there is no evidence for this. She knows that prisoners are often kept for years in the crypts and it even mentions that they have been bombed leading to the escape of many prisoners.
I guess the whole romance with Julian feels predictable, and that's a feeling I got again and again throughout the book. As soon as Julian mentioned where the key was for his Dad's secret room, I knew Lena would end up there. When the colour coded bird shit warning system (yes, really!!) was explained to Lena, I knew one day that she would find it "red". When she was presented with an umbrella by Tuck, a man who never does anything without a reason, I knew what was about to be happened next was pre-planned. And don't even get me started on the ridiculous security codes which have clues next to the pads that need to be deciphered. It's far too simple and unrealistic.
Despite this, and a testament to Oliver's imagination and flowery writing style, I still enjoyed Pandemonium and i'm looking forward to the next one in 2013. At the root of it the Delirium series is fun, a guilty pleasure that kept me hooked from first paragraph to the finish....more
For me this was a real love/hate book. I love the concept of it - the idea that in a dystopian world love is a disease which needs to be eradicated - For me this was a real love/hate book. I love the concept of it - the idea that in a dystopian world love is a disease which needs to be eradicated - but I found the execution quite sloppy and childlike in places. On the whole though this was a fun read and I look forward to getting my hands on the sequel.
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