Stars: 2.5 out of 5
I really wanted to like this book. I am a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic story, so I had high hopes. And that cover is amazing.
The book started strong, and I really connected with Three, even if I was confused about the different pieces of worldbuilding the book was throwing at me left and right. Surely, everything will get explained eventually, I thought. Right?
Wrong. NOTHING is explained. We have a world surviving some earth-shattering technological catastrophe that left everything in pretty much ruins. Yet it seems like advanced technology still works. I mean, all the people born in this world have a genetically implanted ability to connect to satellites to check the time, use GPS, ping each other, etc. So that means that the satellites are still functional… How exactly? Without constant monitoring from the surface and course corrections, all of them would have slowly drifted out of orbit and burned in the atmosphere.
At one point, it’s also mentioned that people can upload their consciousness into a digital afterlife before they die, but where exactly are those servers kept? That’s a lot of data that would require a lot of processing power and infrastructure. It’s not like it can exist in thin air alone. So are there still places with advanced enough technology to keep the satellites and other complex systems functioning? Don’t know. It’s never mentioned.
The same catastrophe presumably also created the Weir, but we never get any explanation as to what those Weir really are or where they come from. Why do they attack at night and hide during the day? Are they all part of a technological hive mind? Do they infect other connected people or reuse the bodies of those they kill?
And speaking of uploading and leaving their bodies behind. It’s mentioned at one point that one of the characters uploaded, but then came back into his body, even though it’s implied that that is not possible… And afterwards, it’s never mentioned again. All the characters just shrug at something that is clearly abnormal and just go on about their business.
And this whole book is like that – the author throws in a concept or mentions some kind of event, but never expands on it. Nothing is ever explained. It’s hard to understand the hardships the characters are facing if we aren’t clear about the rules of this world. What is the Strand? We are told that it’s mortally dangerous, but it’s never explained why.
And the Weir’s behavior also changes depending on what the author needs it to be. In the beginning of the book, Three mentions to Cass that if they stay silent and “unplugged”, the Weir won’t sense them. Yet, the Weir find them anyway in the Strand, so which is it?
My other issue is with the characters. While I liked Three, I was a lot less happy with Cass and Wren. I mean, Cass doesn’t have much personality apart from Mama Bear when Wren is concerned and a damsel in distress when he isn’t. We are told that she was a valued member of RushRuin, but why exactly? What was it that she brought to the table?
And once again, this is where the lack of worldbuilding is hurting characterisation. Cass is augmenting her body and mind with chems, and it’s killing her, but we never get a real explanation as to why. What is the difference between the chems named in this book? Why is quint so dangerous? How exactly is it killing her? How is all this produced if most of the world is in ruins? Also, what are the limitations? See, I cannot tell when Cass is doing something normal, phenomenal, or even extremely dangerous because I have no clue what quint is supposed to do to her.
I was okay with Wren, because even though he is the Special One, he behaved like a normal 5 year old child for most of the book. A scared child who is out of his depth and forced to see and confront some pretty ugly things.
What I didn’t like was that Three transformed from this ultra-compenent survivalist, a lethal warrior who roamed the desolation between various human enclaves for years, into a self-doubting wreck of a man who couldn’t do anything right. Also, I wasn’t sold on the sudden affection he developed for Cass. Sorry, don’t buy it. Grudging respect – yes, care for her and Wren – absolutely, but love to the point of sacrifice? Erm, nope.
It is hinted that she reminded Three of someone he had loved and failed to protect, but once again, the lack of worldbuilding does a disservice to the characters. We get brief mentions of Three’s past, but not enough to explain his behavior. Like what ties him to jCharles and his wife? Where does his guilt come from? What was this House he was created in and for what purpose? Also, WHEN was that?
In the end, I was left with a lot more questions than answers and a very vague worldbuilding that left me frustrated and unengaged most of the book. And the final confrontation with Asher was just ridiculous. Talk about a one-dimensional villain with no redeeming qualities. It begs to question, if Asher was such a horrible human being, why didn’t the other members of RushRuin do him in or walk away from him? Most of them seemed like decent people and were powerful in their own right, so he must have had some kind of hold on them.
Anyway, I am not sure if there are more explanations about this world in the next book, and I am not even sure I feel like continuing with this series.