Title: Avalon
Author: Mindee Arnett
Pub Date: January 21st, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count: 432
Author: Mindee Arnett
Pub Date: January 21st, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count: 432
A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.
Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.
Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.
Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly
Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Chapters Indigo
My Thoughts
One hell of a ride; and I'm not talking about the ship. - Nova @ Out of Time
I pretty much enjoyed Avalon generally. When picking apart at things, I found faults, but mainly, everything was pretty good!
I've heard a lot of people talking about this, but I agree with it too. Parts of Avalon were dragging, dry and boring. And by that I mean, intensely to the point where a reader would consider DNF-ing. I decided to pull through because I still had expectations of this book and pulling through those spots of boring were worth it in the end. Boring parts were followed by actions scenes. And trust me, those action scenes were thrilling and very exciting!
The plot was extreme in its points. When it was exciting, it was very exciting and when it was boring, it was terribly dry. Fortunately, the "good" parts covered up the bad. If you're reading this, pull through the part that's boring. I promise it's worth it.
Something else about the plot is how characters kept talking. There was a lot of chatter and it needed more action. The showing vs. telling was pretty good, as Arnett had no problem showing us plot points.
Another thing that bothered me in particular: (highlight to read. SPOILER) Is when Sierra and Jeth were kissing on their rescue mission. Um guys?! Not the time.
Mindee Arnett's writing was very good in describing Jeth. This book was written in 3rd POV which is the POV that I hate the most. With 3rd person, I feel like I can never connect to the character because I'm not hearing from them; I'm hearing from the author themself. With Arnett's writing, I felt a little more like I knew Jeth.
She did a wonderful job in portraying the character, but I didn't like Jeth. If Jeth was real, I don't think I would've connected with him either. I felt him to be careless, dumb and letting his personal feelings get in the way of a mission he knew was serious. The only reason it didn't bug me too much was because he had his redeeming qualities. His bravery and loyalty to his crew members pretty much put him on the "Nice List" in my mind.
Who did I actually love? Cora. Cora had a very little yet very big role. I didn't like Sierra and felt that she was somewhat annoying and still suspicious. Cora gave an air of awesomeness to the novel because of how much she means to the plot. She was very subtle and yet something to focus on when I was bored, angry or annoyed with the story. I can't wait to see how she develops in Avalon 2. (Obviously, that isn't the title.)
I also loved Hammer. His last name kind of made me roll my eyes and snort but that's about it. His character was so developed. He wasn't one of those full-on evil villains. More so, he had layers that showed him to be almost psychotic and a complete genius at the same time. He reminded me of a lot of villains that exist in the real world because I hate it when authors make it so they look black and white. They aren't all bad or all manic. There are lines in between and Hammer is a great example of that.
I don't actually like Sci-Fi that much. It's one of those Blurred Lines genres because I love Doctor Who but hated Star Trek and Star Wars. With Avalon, I was a bit confused in the beginning, the world was a little hard to get used to in the beginning, because Arnett didn't take time to explain everything to the reader. The reader has to figure it out for themselves, which is actually a better way of writing a dystopian than "spoon feeding" the reader.
I grew to love the world of Avalon. The idea of the metatech and its origins reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who with a few parallels (which also made me love it that much more!)
From liking it overall, to taking into account the boring parts, this is what I think about Avalon. Avalon is a pace-changer that's still a thriller and
I've heard a lot of people talking about this, but I agree with it too. Parts of Avalon were dragging, dry and boring. And by that I mean, intensely to the point where a reader would consider DNF-ing. I decided to pull through because I still had expectations of this book and pulling through those spots of boring were worth it in the end. Boring parts were followed by actions scenes. And trust me, those action scenes were thrilling and very exciting!
The plot was extreme in its points. When it was exciting, it was very exciting and when it was boring, it was terribly dry. Fortunately, the "good" parts covered up the bad. If you're reading this, pull through the part that's boring. I promise it's worth it.
Something else about the plot is how characters kept talking. There was a lot of chatter and it needed more action. The showing vs. telling was pretty good, as Arnett had no problem showing us plot points.
Another thing that bothered me in particular: (highlight to read. SPOILER) Is when Sierra and Jeth were kissing on their rescue mission. Um guys?! Not the time.
Mindee Arnett's writing was very good in describing Jeth. This book was written in 3rd POV which is the POV that I hate the most. With 3rd person, I feel like I can never connect to the character because I'm not hearing from them; I'm hearing from the author themself. With Arnett's writing, I felt a little more like I knew Jeth.
She did a wonderful job in portraying the character, but I didn't like Jeth. If Jeth was real, I don't think I would've connected with him either. I felt him to be careless, dumb and letting his personal feelings get in the way of a mission he knew was serious. The only reason it didn't bug me too much was because he had his redeeming qualities. His bravery and loyalty to his crew members pretty much put him on the "Nice List" in my mind.
Who did I actually love? Cora. Cora had a very little yet very big role. I didn't like Sierra and felt that she was somewhat annoying and still suspicious. Cora gave an air of awesomeness to the novel because of how much she means to the plot. She was very subtle and yet something to focus on when I was bored, angry or annoyed with the story. I can't wait to see how she develops in Avalon 2. (Obviously, that isn't the title.)
I also loved Hammer. His last name kind of made me roll my eyes and snort but that's about it. His character was so developed. He wasn't one of those full-on evil villains. More so, he had layers that showed him to be almost psychotic and a complete genius at the same time. He reminded me of a lot of villains that exist in the real world because I hate it when authors make it so they look black and white. They aren't all bad or all manic. There are lines in between and Hammer is a great example of that.
I don't actually like Sci-Fi that much. It's one of those Blurred Lines genres because I love Doctor Who but hated Star Trek and Star Wars. With Avalon, I was a bit confused in the beginning, the world was a little hard to get used to in the beginning, because Arnett didn't take time to explain everything to the reader. The reader has to figure it out for themselves, which is actually a better way of writing a dystopian than "spoon feeding" the reader.
I grew to love the world of Avalon. The idea of the metatech and its origins reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who with a few parallels (which also made me love it that much more!)
From liking it overall, to taking into account the boring parts, this is what I think about Avalon. Avalon is a pace-changer that's still a thriller and
Author Info
I'm surprised to hear that you don't like science fiction too much! I guess that makes sense - but I'm really glad you enjoyed this book! I loved it, and I loved seeing the Star Wars influences. I've never watched Firefly or Doctor Who though :o I loved the primary and secondary characters of this book as well! Hammer IS a rather odd but cool name - and he has a rather odd but intriguing personality ;)
ReplyDeleteFantastic review, Nova!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
I have such a hard time when books drag because I read so slow anyways but I really want to pull through on this one when I read it. I'm glad you enjoyed it overall, despite the flaws. :)
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