Book Review of the Resistance Trilogy by K. A. Riley: A captivating dystopian fantasy story that keeps you wondering what's next, how deep is the conspiracy, and you learn so much about ravens.
Book Review of Resistance Trilogy
The Resistance Trilogy
Synopsis:
In the Valta, no matter what month you were born, everyone is assigned the same birthday. November 1st. It's the anniversary of the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order.
The day you turn seventeen, the Recruiters come to take you away. And no one ever hears from you again.
It's October 31st. Today, Kress is sixteen years old.
Tomorrow, she'll be taken.
The good news? So will her best friend Cardyn, and Brohn, the handsome, enigmatic boy she's avoided all her life.
The bad news?
Recruitment isn't what any of them expected.
Weeks of training await. Military and psychological tests, escape rooms, hand-to-hand combat. The Recruits are told they're the key to winning the war. But with each day that passes, things begin to make less sense.
If only Kress had been able to bring her trained raven, Render, with her.
If only none of them had ever had to come to this place.
For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Review:
I picked up Recruitment for several reasons. One of them being the blurb. Before becoming a writer, I didn't pay much attention to book blurbs. At the moment, I am studying them like never before. This books blurb is ... "Wow! I really want to read this book, this story sounds exciting."
Now don't get me wrong, the over all story is great. The unfortunate thing is that it is a bit of a slow start. I spent a several chapters too many reading about the Valta and the world setup before the recruiters came to take the kids away. It was only then that you start to get answers about the dystopian world they live in.
Now you may wonder why I didn't DNF this book in the first couple of chapters. First, despite the beginning being slow, there is enough of a mystery to keep me going. Second, I read the reviews and people said that it was a slow start, but stick with it. Third, I am writing a similar book and this book regularly tops the Amazon bestseller charts. So I want my book to have similarly good results (aka: market research).
Now that you know my ulterior motive for reading this story, this is what I love about this part of the story.
First of all, Kress is an amazing character. She's not the most flashy, center of attention character. In fact, she is a bit of a loner that sits in the background (at least at the beginning of the story). She's a very relatable, down to earth girl, who loves her friends like family.
Despite not being the leader of her friends, her arc as the main character centralizes the more flashy characters. The author wasn't scared to throw problems at Kress that she couldn't solve without her friends. This goes to the very heart of who Kress is: the heart of the group. Her bird friend is cool, too, but you don't understand how amazing their connection is until the second or third book.
The Resistance Trilogy
Synopsis:
Having escaped from the Processor, Kress and her fellow Seventeens go on the run. Guided by Render, they undertake a dangerous, enemy-filled journey west where they encounter the Insubordinates, a guerrilla army of counterinsurgents led by an unexpected but familiar field general. Now, Kress and her Conspiracy are preparing to expose the government’s lies about the Eastern Order and reclaim the democracy so many of them and their families died trying to protect.
For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Review:
Of the three books, this one is my favorite. It picks up a few weeks after the first one ends. It kind of gives me Maze Runner vibes as they cross vast areas of uninhabited scorched land without the zombie like humans. With the help of Render, they make they way through these lands, away from the processors to find help...if that's even possible.
The pacing in this book is faster. There is more tension as their supplies run out. And we get a glimpse of the outside world for the first time. Some answers are given, but more mysteries crop up. The one thing I would have loved more of was the romance arc for Kress. I know this was just a side plot to the story, but I would have liked a little more of the "butterfly" moments throughout. It would have settled the romance arc a little better.
Things I loved about this middle story:
Kella's character arc was spot on. She suffers a devastating loss which pushes her into a deep depression. The team of friends do everything possible to help her, but at the end of the day, she does what anyone who is suffering from depression would do. It made me feel for her so much.
The Resistance Trilogy
Synopsis:
Aided by the Insubordinates, Kress and her Conspiracy wage a daring counter-offensive against the Patriot Army in an effort to liberate the city of San Francisco. Outnumbered, facing impossible odds, and opposed by a powerful and ruthless enemy named General Ekker, Kress and her friends hope for help as they struggle to understand and control their emerging abilities.
For fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
Review:
Rebellion goes back to the slow pacing of the first book in the series. As the name implies it goes right into the building of the rebellion against the evil forces suppressing the people. The main characters find out secrets about themselves that they never considered.
The thing that is a little offsetting in this part of the story is the Major. The Major is a bit young to have the military expertise of a trained adult. The possible explanation for only comes out near the end, but it's glossed over with an off hand comment. While the Major is younger than the main characters, she conducts and speaks as if she had all the training of an adult. I found myself glossing over her age and pretending she was older than the main characters.
The major aside, the training and plot twists that the characters experience are interesting. One particular turn of events was the confrontation with one of the underlings of the ultimate bad guy. Kress is confronted with their emerging powers and finds someone who knows more about them then they know.
Things I loved about the third book:
There are a few plot twists in the book that made me really sad. You really feel it through Kress as she grieves. The author has a really good grasp on how to grieve loss. I found myself wondering if the situations were going to turn out okay. It's definitely the best plot twists of the entire series.
Overall I would recommend the Resistant Trilogy series to anyone who would love a unique dystopian fantasy with a little familiarity. Just be aware that the writing style won't be to everyone's taste.
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The Progenitor Chronicles
Synopsis:
Time Crystals are forbidden for a reason, but King Oren must use one to save a civilization.
King Oren’s only goal was to be a peaceful caretaker of the galaxy. But when a girl falls through a portal into his courtyard clutching a forbidden Time Crystal, his life changes.
With a cataclysmic event imminent, he must lead a group from his home system to the opposite side of the galaxy. Everyone looks to their seemingly immortal race for aid, but even with their elemental powers, they are far from perfect.
Armed with the Time Crystal, they seek to stop an exploding star from decimating an entire population. The problem is, he doesn’t know how to use the crystal. Even worse, he might die trying.
Will King Oren stop the star from exploding? Or will time unravel?
The reviews are the thoughts of Sara Wright about books that she's read and recommends to her readers. The choice is yours as to whether you'd like to purchase and read them too.
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