Goodreads synopsis
In a futuristic world
nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile
after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and
supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae
Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America
(RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the
military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced
reflexes and skills.
When Justin and Mae are assigned to work
together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize
that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their
investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than
they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the
world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
Review
I always have this odd feeling of being lost when I start a new series by Mead. She writes amazingly and I will forever be a fan, but the dive into a whole new world is always a little confusing. I was a little lost from the start on but I was immediately intrigued about the story. Someone died and the action scene followed very soon after that.
I absolutely loved the mythological part on the book. I adore mythology and it's always great reading about it in a book. It always makes me want to reread the classical mythology stories. All the different cultures and traditions mixed nicely and I was very curious where it's going. The fact that the main character was Nordic was totally new to me but a great change; I loved it a lot. Mae was another badass, confident and gorgeous character; something we are familiar with in the case of Mead's work, and it didn't bother me at all. Often there are too many characters that are oh so very self-conscious and clumsy and whatnot. Although the insta-love and the no-questions trust was a bit too much; that part was too fast and too fictitious.
Not to mention Justin. He was such a typical Hollywood character: hot and super smart sort-of detective, who was a womanizer with commitment issues and had one big flaw: he was an addict of anything and everything. Where have we seen men like him? *Barf*
And I really liked that the sort of world capital was now in Vancouver. The places and names were a little mixed up and new, and new states and federations were formed, and the world center changed. It was a refreshing detail. Even the dystopian aspect of the story was good: the purge of the citizens and visa restrictions. The only problem I had was the lack of descriptions. There was so many restrictions and laws and new technology and it was more or less just mentioned and not at all explained.
I was a little confused for the longest time. Are these people normal or do they have some powers? There were talking ravens and super-speed warriors and it was so much of everything I felt a little uncomfortable. The world building was hazy and slow but it was better than using pages upon pages of information of it all I guess; we did slowly found out about some of the important things. But I just never felt comfortable reading this book. I absolutely devoured Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series, enjoyed every moment and twist and all the characters, more or less. But here it was just so bland. Lacking something. It was a huge let down; maybe because I had such high expectations, but compared to her other works this was pretty lame.
Things finally started to show some potential after I was half done with the book. It dragged up to that point but then it got a little better so I was reluctant to give up. It's a wonder I even made it that far; it took me forever to power through each chapter.
In the end, it was a disappointing read with so many confusing elements I had trouble keeping up. There was post-virus world and castes and independent republics and also the God and other gods and the shunning of religion. And personal gods and speaking ravens (with pimpish names) and weird genetic modifications and mysterious murders and an arena fight to the death and somewhat steamy sex scene(s). It barely made a comprehensible whole and I was so disappointed. Not to mention the book was so looooong!
It took 58 % for the book to make any sense and it took another 10 % to get really interesting, action packed and made me want to read more. I was glad I did not give up sooner, but honestly, almost 60 % of the book is TOO MUCH. Not many people will read up to there to finally learn something! The last 20 % were truly awesome: action was intense, secrets were revealed, supernatural finally played a real role and I finally caught up on all of it. But it should NEVER EVER take 300 pages for the book to get good. NEVER. The love story somewhat improved and I hoped the main characters will get together eventually; despite the weird start. And at least the last chapter forced me to anticipate book two because it was actually kickass.
All in all it was an okay read. It was too long, too confusing, it had too many unimportant events, it wasn't descriptive enough and it was a little contradictory. But it was action packed and the ending wasn't half bad either. I am just glad I did not pre-order a hardback copy. I'd regret it forever.
And I'm gonna do a wild guess here and say Mead likes purple. It was everywhere.
I was also a little disappointed with the cover. It's so bland. But then again, as long as stuff says 'Richelle Mead', I'll read it all!
A generous three flowers!
Dystopia Challenge books read count: 14/24
