I was really excited about this book when I saw it featured on a
"What's New" table at my local bookstore. I was intrigued by the summary
on the jacket and I thought the cover was very artistic, the way it
combined nature and technology. I was fooled by a deceiving summary and a
pretty cover. Overall, the idea was good but the writing lacked
maturity. The characters were quite frankly annoying, unrealistic and
self-absorbed.
It's important to note that the booked was shelved
in the adult fiction department, and at first, I thought it was a
mistake, but it's definitely published by an imprint catering to adults.
Personally I think it would have been better suited for young adults. I
have nothing against Young Adult books and honestly, about half the
books I read are YA. However, the writing was not my favourite. It
lacked finesse, description and was very unrealistic. Even if it was a
YA book, it wouldn't have mattered. The science was unrealistic no
matter how much futuristic technology the author tried to hide behind.
It's impossible to have a 110 pound girl physically overpower a huge
viking no matter what technology she has implanted in her brain or in
her DNA. Physics just doesn't allow it. I thought the story would be
more about trained soldiers, guarding a gate to alternate worlds but it
felt more like a high school drama, full of teenage hormones and keeping
secrets from parents.
I really wanted to like Ryn, the main
character, but she was so self-absorbed despite the fact she tried to do
everything to convince me otherwise. When she discovers a conspiracy in
the organization that made her the soldier she is, the way she
confronts the authority is completely wrong. She thinks herself a great
team leader but her attempt to overthrow the organization is unplanned
despite all the military training she's supposed to have. She wants to
be treated as a mature adult, but despite the possible danger she faces,
her first instinct is to deprogram her inability to romantically touch
someone she likes without killing them. Like I said, teenage hormones. I
don't even know if it's even possible to program thousands of
teenagers to avoid sexual or romantic touch, let alone secretly train
them to be soldier without anyone knowing. Also, Ryn's love at first
sight romance is just another reason I fail to understand her character.
Oddly
enough, despite the book's many flaws, I enjoyed the story. One thing I
really appreciate were the many pop culture references, even though
some references were a little to old for Ryn's generation. For example, I
think it would have been more appropriate for 17 year old Ryn to
reference The Vampire Diaries instead of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that's just my opinion.
I
think the series has potential, and I'm curious to see where the next
book goes. I'm not against reading the rest of the trilogy but I really
hope Ryn matures and the author's writing style evolves away from the
high school teenage drama.
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