Review: "Ender’s Game" by Orson Scott Card

Published on by Shouni3 Comments

375802~o~Rating~o~
5 tp

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military’s purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine’s abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

~o~Review~o~

Ender’s Game is one of the few books I have read multiple times. It is one of my all time favorite books. Ender Wiggin is a very strong character. At the mere age of six, he had been through so much. Every time I read this book, it makes me cry.

Ender is an outcast from the day he was born because he was a Third. The government only allowed families to have two children, but because his parents had two exceptionally smart children who couldn’t be admitted to Battle School for their personalities, they decided to allow them to have a third child. Ender is sought out by school bullies; he is tortured by his brother, Peter and his parents don’t really understand him. The only person he loves dearly is his sister kind and caring sister Valentine. He is taken away from his family when they decide he is perfect for Battle School.

Ender is isolated in Battle School on purpose by the instructors. Every time he made friends, he was taken away from them. And the one time he decided to give up completely, they used his sister against him.

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~

The ending was devastating. They told him he was actually doing a stimulation when he was actually controlling a battleship. He had to endure so much and now he had to live with knowing he was responsible for wiping out an entire species.

At-first I was confused when he finds an alien in his “Game” world. But I liked how it represented hope for him; finding a place for the Buggers to establish another home would give him a chance to redeem himself.

Review: "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

Published on by Shouni4 Comments

~o~Rating~o~
2 tp

Warning: Allegiant is the third (and last) book to the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth.

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered – fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’ new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature – and of herself – while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, ALLEGIANT, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the DIVERGENT series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in DIVERGENT and INSURGENT.

~o~Review~o~

It started off pretty well but I disliked the dual narrative so much! I’m used to being in Tris’ head. I don’t think Veronica Roth did a very good job with Tobias’ perspective. He sounded way too much like Tris.

Anyway, so they go out of the city and things just fall apart! I was expecting the cameras and the experiments and such but I don’t think Roth did a very good job with everything. The Maze Runner had similar concepts and I LOVE those books.This book definitely did not meet my expectations.

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~

Apparently, Beatrice Prior gave her life up for a message (which was to send an army of Divergent out of the city) didn’t matter! Then why in Hades did she agree to go into the experiment??

And now you’re telling me that Tobias isn’t Divergent! I think that was completely unnecessary!! And even is he wasn’t, Tobias would NEVER act like how he was acting. He would be mad at the bureau people for thinking he was damaged and wouldn’t have taken it for an explanation. And he is TOBIAS. He would NEVER go on with a plan in which he didn’t know exactly what he was getting into (as was the case with him and Nita). He is not a trusting person, he’s never been a trusting person, and there he is going along with a coup with someone he met three days ago. That’s NOT how he acts. Does Veronica Roth not realize that she CANNOT change a character’s personality to fit the plot?!?! And Uriah! Poor Uriah, who I feel so sorry for right now.

And then, after the last two books had built up to the war between the factionless and the factions, we don’t even get to witness most of it. We only get some glimpses from the cameras at the bureau.

And the whole thing with genetically healed and genetically damaged just didn’t fit for me. So, they had set up an experiment and monitored their genes. Okay. And they have been in that experiment for more than three decades. I don’t get why in Hades someone didn’t try to escape!! They said that if they tried to escape, they’ll inject them with the memory serum. But if a group of them were to go out, and if that whole group was injected with the memory serum, don’t you think at-least some of the residents would know something was fishy? Take the Erudite, for example; they’re naturally curious and yet, none of them tried to find out what was beyond the fence? Humans are curious and stupid creatures! They’re not going to stay inside a fence for decades!

I didn’t mind that Tris died. I’ve been waiting for AGES for a main character in one of my favorite book series’ to die (I thought it would be a nice change), but the way she died just seemed horrible to me. When she was escorting Caleb to their “mission” I knew that she wasn’t going to let him die for her. I mean, this is Tris! So of-course she saved Caleb and went herself, if she hadn’t I would’ve been disappointed.

Also the whole time I was thinking. If the bureau people could really be so low as to wipe out the memories of thousands of people, why couldn’t they just inject Jeanine or Evelyn or Marcus? Do you realize how many people that would be saving??
And then in the end, Tobias goes to his mother and just ASKS her to quit the war. This is EVELYN! She left her son when he was a little boy with an abusive father/husband so she could save herself. She led hundreds of people to revolt and wage war. I do think that she would stop all the nonsense for Tobias but it shouldn’t have been that easy. Maybe a little more convincing in Tobias’ part. And if it really was that easy, why did Tobias not talk to his mom BEFORE all this happened.

The last part with Tobias almost drinking the memory serum was UTTER NONSENSE!! Again, this is TOBIAS!! Yes, Tris’ death screwed him up but he wouldn’t drink the memory serum. He wouldn’t want to forget Tris and everything they did together.

So, what did I like about this book?

Well, I like Christina more now and I feel really sorry for her. She lost her boyfriend in the first book in the hands of her best friend, she was getting close to Uriah who just HAD to die, and then she loses her best friend. I mean, she came from Candor to Dauntless which drove her away from her family but she found a new family among her new Dauntless friends, but now they’re all gone too.

I seriously can’t think of what else I liked.

Review: "Cress" by Marissa Meyer

Published on by ShouniLeave a comment
13206828~o~Rating~o~

5 tp

Warning: Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. This review contains spoilers for the first two books.

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Even in the future. there are damsels in distress…

In the third installment of the Lunar chronicles, Cress, having risked everything to warn Cinder of Queen Levana’s evil plan, has a slight problem. She’s been imprisoned on a satellite since childhood and has only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress a great hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress involving Cinder, Captain Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes as a high price. Meanwhile, Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

~o~Review~o~

With each installment in the Lunar Chronicles, I feel like the books get better and better. Cress was absolutely marvelous! I love Marissa Meyer’s world building and how she wove these unrelated fairy-tales together. All the characters have their own identity, and I love how I can understand them perfectly. Often times when authors introduce too many main characters, some of them lack personality which was never the case with these books. I think the pacing was perfect too. The characters are still getting to know each other and trying to find their own little place in the team.

Cress is the new member of the team of misfits. She has been stuck in an satellite for years working as the programmer/hacker of Luna. The only visitor she gets is Queen Levana’s thaumaturge Sybil Mira. We find out that she has been the one hiding Cinder’s ship all this time from radars so neither Earthens nor Lunars could find her. I thought Cress was a wonderful addition to the group! And of-course I loved the scenes with her and Thorne!

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~

I LOVED how in the beginning you see everyone inside the Rampion coming together and working together in spite of all their differences. They all have a major part to play and I love that they are cooperating with each other. Scarlet and Wolf are so cute!

I felt so bad for Cress at times! Especially with her and Thorne being stuck in the desert. I was scared out of my life when I read Thorne was blind after the satellite crash. Here’s to hoping his eyes go back to normal.

Cinder and Kai. THEY’RE FINALLY TOGETHER. Both of them have been through SO much! Cinder thinks she’s turning into Levana because she used her powers to first torture Mira and then make her step-mom feel guilty; that made me so sad for some reason. And Kai is trying to be a good leader, but so much was resting on his shoulder. I liked how in the end of the book after Cinder told Kai she was Princess Selene, Kai asked Cinder to tell him anything else she was hiding. She tells him she isn’t able to cry and you could tell how that fact bothered her so much. Oh, poor Cinder. That was one of those times where you just want to jump into the books and give the character a big hug.

Wolf was completely lost. Other than Scarlet, I think he suffered the most throughout the book. First the love of his life gets kidnapped by Lunatic Lunars and then he’s basically used as a pawn first by Mira and then Cinder. I hope he’s reunited with Scarlet soon.

There wasn’t nearly enough Scarlet but we did get a pretty good description of Luna. I am super excited to get to know Winter. She seems so intriguing.  Why do I have to wait so long for Winter?!?!