2015 book: Zeroes
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
As other people on my friends list intend to read this book, I'm putting all plot details behind a spoiler cut: [Brief plot details from the first quarter of the book back here]
For reasons unrevealed in the first 25% of the book, a small number of teenagers have super powers. One of them can say anything that will get him what he wants (a voice takes over his mouth), one can sense and crash any technology, one can see through anyone else's eyes, one is "forgettable" -- no one can ever remember his name or what he looks like, and the last (their leader) seems to be able to influence emotions. (Hm, writing this up here makes the powers sound a lot more interesting than they are in the book...)
The first quarter of the book is about Scam (the one with the voice power) getting himself into trouble. The others go on a mission to rescue him.
While there was nothing wrong with the book, for me there was nothing right either. I had no interest in any of the characters. The whole plot felt flat and uninteresting to me. Somehow all the powers seemed yawn-worthy (not because I'm into BIG GIANT SUPERPOWERS or something, I think sucky superpowers would be a lot more interesting to read about, just the way these were presented).
If I had had no other books to read, I could have continued on with this one; I didn't hate Zeroes, I just didn't like it. I was hoping it would be a slow-starter and so gave it a good chance to hook me, but if I'm not enjoying it by a quarter in, then it's fair to move on to the next one.
Speaking of next books! Next up: Silver on the Road, which a bunch of people have reviewed on LJ lately. So far, just a couple pages in, I can agree with all the positive reviews it's been getting. Especially after Zeroes, the writing and story feel so alive!
Rating: Okay (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
As other people on my friends list intend to read this book, I'm putting all plot details behind a spoiler cut: [Brief plot details from the first quarter of the book back here]
For reasons unrevealed in the first 25% of the book, a small number of teenagers have super powers. One of them can say anything that will get him what he wants (a voice takes over his mouth), one can sense and crash any technology, one can see through anyone else's eyes, one is "forgettable" -- no one can ever remember his name or what he looks like, and the last (their leader) seems to be able to influence emotions. (Hm, writing this up here makes the powers sound a lot more interesting than they are in the book...)
The first quarter of the book is about Scam (the one with the voice power) getting himself into trouble. The others go on a mission to rescue him.
While there was nothing wrong with the book, for me there was nothing right either. I had no interest in any of the characters. The whole plot felt flat and uninteresting to me. Somehow all the powers seemed yawn-worthy (not because I'm into BIG GIANT SUPERPOWERS or something, I think sucky superpowers would be a lot more interesting to read about, just the way these were presented).
If I had had no other books to read, I could have continued on with this one; I didn't hate Zeroes, I just didn't like it. I was hoping it would be a slow-starter and so gave it a good chance to hook me, but if I'm not enjoying it by a quarter in, then it's fair to move on to the next one.
Speaking of next books! Next up: Silver on the Road, which a bunch of people have reviewed on LJ lately. So far, just a couple pages in, I can agree with all the positive reviews it's been getting. Especially after Zeroes, the writing and story feel so alive!