A Second Look: The Cage by Megan Shepherd

I'm taking a second look at The Cage by Megan Shepherd.  You can see Stephanie's original review from last year here.

I had the ARC of The Cage sitting on my bookshelf for way too long before I finally read it!  I love love love The Madman's Daughter trilogy by Shepherd, so I was anticipating enjoying this new trilogy just as much.  And I did!  Shepherd is one of my all-over fave YA authors.  I think I've compared her to a female Stephen King for teens in a previous review.  I get sucked into her writing and transported into the book's world and get actual physical goosebumps while I read!

Aliens!  It's not often that you find a book that features aliens that isn't campy.  The aliens in The Cage have kidnapped six teens from earth and placed them into an elaborate cage.  These aliens aren't little green men- they're a very sophisticated race that look vaguely human.  They have the same number of arms and legs and same facial features; the big difference is that their skin is kind of metallic.  They are described as being very solid and a bit on the tall side, which I imagine would make them formidable captors.  These aliens are definitely frightening, with their silence and stoicism and lack of emotions.

Then there's the cage.  The cage, to me, is very reminiscent of a zoo- it's got multiple "habitat" areas that are meant to mimic geographic features of earth, such as a desert area and a town area and a jungle area.  None of them are quite right, of course, but they're just close enough to bug the teens.  (For example, there's daily rain in the jungle area, but no bugs.)  Within the cage are multiple puzzles that the teens can solve over and over again to win tokens.  I kept thinking of seals or killer whales, who are often made to do a trick to earn fish.  It made me cringe.

The setting and the story are very well set up and elaborate.  I won't give anything away, but there's more to the caging of the teens than originally meets the eye.  Even with it's elaborateness and depth, though, the story is never hard to follow.  Shepherd is quite the writer!  However, I didn't feel that the characters were as well developed as they could be.  The reader sees the story from every character's point of view at least once, but a majority of the chapters are from Cora's point of view.  Even with that, though, I didn't always feel like I knew her.  I'd be cheering her independent spirit one moment, then completely confused when she turns around and has feelings for her captor.  We have a whole backstory on her that makes her sound really tough, then she starts to lose it in the cage.  This is the first book in a trilogy, so maybe we get to know other characters better in the second and third books.

The Cage was fantastic!  I'm kind of glad it took me so long to get around to reading it; now I can binge read right into the second and third books without waiting!  Even with the underdevelopment of characters, the unique plot and the whammy of an ending left me wanting more.

P.S. I'll say that I do kind of agree with Stephanie about the aliens' requirement that the teens mate.  (Like animals in a zoo.)  It is pretty creepy.  However, it fits into the story and adds to the terror and suspense, and when characters comply the actions are never described in any detail, so I'm actually ok with it being in the book.  I just wouldn't recommend it to young/immature teens.

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Posted by Tynga at 02:00

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The Hunt by Megan Shepherd

What a thrilling ride! I really enjoyed the first book of the series, but personally, I think this sequel is even better. I was in the mood for a good sci-fi novel and this book definitely delivered. It's entertaining, fast paced and intelligent.

After failing to escape The Cage in book one, Cora and her friends are scattered throughout a space station, where they're being held as prisoners. Mali, Lucky and Cora are prisoners of The Hunt, a safari and bar where some of the Kindred come to be entertained, while Rolf and expectant mother Nok are playing house while being scientifically scrutinized as part of an alien study. Leon could be considered the lucky one, still prisoner of the space station, but free to roam the ducts and working as a black market agent for Bonebreak, a Mosca. This unlikely band of humans was originally placed together in a cage, but now, despite being separated, they still form a strong bond. I think it shows the importance of solidarity and of human connection when it comes to surviving.

Despite the story being told from multiple views, Cora remains the main character, like she was in the first book. She's being trained by Cassian, a Kindred, in order to enter The Gauntlet, a series of tests that allow subjects to prove their race's intelligence. So far, there are only four intelligent species: Kindred, Mosca, Axion and Gatherers. Cassian, and a few other Kindreds, strongly believe in the Fifth of Five initiative; they strongly believe humans are the fifth intelligent race and he has made it his duty to help Cora pass the Gauntlet. If she succeeds, only then will humans be set free and no longer be slaves. In order to survive the Gauntlet, Cora must train her telekinesis abilities, but with such little time to get ready, she believes the only way to pass is by cheating.

The relationship between Cora and Cassian is a very interesting one. The Kindred are known to be a very cold race, rarely showing emotions, even when "uncloaked." Cassian has studied Cora for a while now, both on Earth and in the cage and it seems like he has developed some strong feelings for his research subject. Originally, Cora and Lucky were abducted as a mating pair, but a strong bond has formed between the alien and Cora. Some people might scream Stockholm syndrome, but I really believe there's something more to it. Cora seems to be using Cassian's feelings to take advantage of the situation, and even now, I have no clue what her true feelings are for her "captor." She probably has no clue how she feels either.

Lucky's story is a sad one. He truly believes he has a duty to protect and save the animals of the safari. He sees them as prisoners too, caged like he and his friends. They're all being used for entertainment or for research, and as fellow beings of Earth, he forms a strong bond with the animals under his care. While Cora might be the leader and the heart of the group, Lucky is the moral one. I wish Cora and Lucky could have discussed and planned more together, to avoid all the trouble they seem to be accumulating.

Ultimately, The Hunt, like The Cage, is a game of survival and human perseverance. The flow of the story is great, the characters are wonderful and I really like the direction the story is heading. I strongly recommend this book to any lover of YA science fiction books. I will definitely be looking out for book 3 next year!

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Posted by Tynga at 04:24

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The Cage by Megan Shepherd

This book is quite out there but I was hooked right from the start. Alien abduction isn't an original concept but the ideas in this book are far fetched enough to be innovative and entertaining. From the writer of The Madman's Daughter trilogy (which I still haven't read), The Cage is Megan Shepherd's  first book of a new trilogy about alien abductions, love, deceit and survival.

The introduction to the characters and their new habitat is perfect because we're as confused as they are about their situation. Abducted from Earth, five strangers are place in a fake environment, expected to follow the rules set by their captor, who calls himself Caretaker. Caretaker, who's name is actually Cassian, is definitely not human, but has a human shape and some human features. For some odd reason, Cora is mildly attracted to her captor, even though she would never admit it to her fellow prisoners. At first, the five humans learn to live together in their fake and experimental setting but Cora never gets comfortable enough to ignore the black windows which are placed everywhere for surveillance and evaluation.

The whole concept of holding humans in a (rather large) cage, like we would animals in a zoo, is quite frightening. Personally, I've never been able to watch Big Brother because I find it almost barbaric. I don't care if the Caretaker says it's to save and protect the human race. Cassian is part of the Kindred, a race they believe are more "intelligent" than humans because of their psychic and telepathic abilities. The Kindred's goal with the experiment is obviously not just to protect Cora and her new friends. They must have a secondary agenda and Cora is determined to escape, no matter what it may be.

The book has multiple point of views so we really get to see this world through every captive's eyes. Cora, however, is the main point of view and main character and she's in fact the most rebellious prisoner. She defies the rules set for "their own good" and tries to reason with the other prisoners who eventually seem to surrender. At first, she thinks Lucky, a boy she forms a bond with, might be willing to help her, but his lies and hidden knowledge about her Earth life makes things a little awkward. Even more so, her Stockholm Syndrome attraction to Cassian makes things even more awkward between Cora and Lucky.

The weird relationship between Cora and Cassian is interesting to follow. At first, I didn't really know what to make of it. Cassian seems genuinely interested in Cora's safety, but it's obvious he has deeper motives. The Stockholm Syndrome thing is a little cliché, but entertaining none the less. Oddly enough, I didn't know whether to care about Cassian who seems actually really nice, or be disgusted by the whole affair.

My one concern with the rules of their captivity is that the prisoners are expected to copulate in order to keep the human race alive. Honestly, a little bit too much for a YA novel, in my opinion. Some characters cave into the pressure, more out of attraction than duty, but still, I hated seeing them forced together for some larger purpose. Teens are pressured enough in this day and age that they don't need to be forced to have sex in order to survive. A real scientific experiment would have let things take a more natural course.

The Cage is dark and twisted enough to be really interesting. I love a good sci-fi, especially when it's heavily influence by science. In this case, this human social experiment is a little extreme but I love it none the less. The characters are tested mentally, physically and intellectually. Their reactions in this experiment are actually quite realistic and I would hate to see if tested for real, would human really be that deceitful when it comes to surviving. Megan Shepherd may have experimented with a new genre and in my opinion, she succeeded in taping into the sci-fi genre. I can't wait for the sequel!

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Posted by Tynga at 03:43

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