sirlancelot2021's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bolynne's review
4.0
****I received this book from NetGalley and Quercus (US) publishing in exchange for an honest review!****
I will start this review off by saying that I majored in Criminal Justice and am incredibly interested in prisons and prison reform. I find this series to be very insightful when it comes to different methods of reform that may or may not be possible or helpful.
The Australia represents one type of prison, the type that seems to have gained the most ground in recent years: based on a more punitive and deterrent system. That just putting people away and out of society long enough that the others will not wish to follow in their example.
Pine City represents another version: actually trying to reform criminals and mold them into productive citizens by educating and giving them jobs for when they leave. In most cases, this would seem to be the better option as most prisoners won't be able to find opportunities on their own and will most likely continue to reoffend. However, Pine City's problem is that they take the reforming a little too far, by taking the people's past away from them. And, as Chan proves, the chemicals used to make them forget are only a bandaid on the problem that simply is far too easy to rip off. It also doesn't work because it had taken away the trial and innocent until proven guilty features so many of the inmates shouldn't even be there.
I absolutely love that this is all addressed and I can't wait to see what else Smythe's final installment will bring.
Aside from all that, I love the little mentions of the technological advances that are taken for granted in this future after the apocalypse and near extinction of humanity. It makes me a little sad, really because all of those things would be so wonderful and back before dystopians really took off, many visions of the future focused more on that. The good advances in technology and how it would make life better. But that's not how we see it anymore. The advances are there, but they don't really make it better. Not for everyone at least like we would have hoped.
Okay, I'm done gushing. I really, really enjoyed this book.
I will start this review off by saying that I majored in Criminal Justice and am incredibly interested in prisons and prison reform. I find this series to be very insightful when it comes to different methods of reform that may or may not be possible or helpful.
The Australia represents one type of prison, the type that seems to have gained the most ground in recent years: based on a more punitive and deterrent system. That just putting people away and out of society long enough that the others will not wish to follow in their example.
Pine City represents another version: actually trying to reform criminals and mold them into productive citizens by educating and giving them jobs for when they leave. In most cases, this would seem to be the better option as most prisoners won't be able to find opportunities on their own and will most likely continue to reoffend. However, Pine City's problem is that they take the reforming a little too far, by taking the people's past away from them. And, as Chan proves, the chemicals used to make them forget are only a bandaid on the problem that simply is far too easy to rip off. It also doesn't work because it had taken away the trial and innocent until proven guilty features so many of the inmates shouldn't even be there.
I absolutely love that this is all addressed and I can't wait to see what else Smythe's final installment will bring.
Aside from all that, I love the little mentions of the technological advances that are taken for granted in this future after the apocalypse and near extinction of humanity. It makes me a little sad, really because all of those things would be so wonderful and back before dystopians really took off, many visions of the future focused more on that. The good advances in technology and how it would make life better. But that's not how we see it anymore. The advances are there, but they don't really make it better. Not for everyone at least like we would have hoped.
Okay, I'm done gushing. I really, really enjoyed this book.
miametro's review against another edition
4.0
It was such a pleasure to slip back into Chan's world and I enjoyed the second installment of the Australia trilogy just as much as the first.
James continues to draw his icy fingers of prediction down my back as I consider what it would be like to live in a Smythe created future. In a world that's moved on, humans have practically destroyed everything we thought was important with greed and hubris and we're left clinging to pockets of civilisation surrounded by walls and devastation. Really, what's not to love?!
His ability to paint a picture of a world that feels so familiar yet so alien is a testament to his skill, and my growing sense of unease while immersed in the story only adds to the atmosphere of this excellent series.
One to watch.
James continues to draw his icy fingers of prediction down my back as I consider what it would be like to live in a Smythe created future. In a world that's moved on, humans have practically destroyed everything we thought was important with greed and hubris and we're left clinging to pockets of civilisation surrounded by walls and devastation. Really, what's not to love?!
His ability to paint a picture of a world that feels so familiar yet so alien is a testament to his skill, and my growing sense of unease while immersed in the story only adds to the atmosphere of this excellent series.
One to watch.
ellemo1's review against another edition
4.0
I'm actually ridiculously happy I have started this series.
It's so full of action and tension that I was slightly overwhelmed when reading, but it was a good feeling. I finally got attached to the main character, which resulted in a few cases of major feels along the way...
A few of them moments messed me up completely, and I cannot wait to continue the story in the next book .
My Rating: 4/5 Stars.
FULL REVIEW TO COME
It's so full of action and tension that I was slightly overwhelmed when reading, but it was a good feeling. I finally got attached to the main character, which resulted in a few cases of major feels along the way...
A few of them moments messed me up completely, and I cannot wait to continue the story in the next book .
My Rating: 4/5 Stars.
FULL REVIEW TO COME
mharrison13's review against another edition
5.0
What is it about?
This is book two in the Australia Trilogy. If you haven't read the first book, then you should go read Way Down Dark now.
This book takes off a short while after the other ended. Chan is looking for a little girl named Mae, whom she promised she would protect. In her effort to do so, she seeks help from a shady person and ends up in over her head. Some characters from the first book reappear and help keep the story interesting.
Is it good?
It was excellent! It is packed with action and has lots of twists that keep you interested all throughout the book. I think that Chan tries to learn from her mistakes and I really want to find out what she will do next.
For more reviews, please visit my blog.
This is book two in the Australia Trilogy. If you haven't read the first book, then you should go read Way Down Dark now.
This book takes off a short while after the other ended. Chan is looking for a little girl named Mae, whom she promised she would protect. In her effort to do so, she seeks help from a shady person and ends up in over her head. Some characters from the first book reappear and help keep the story interesting.
Is it good?
It was excellent! It is packed with action and has lots of twists that keep you interested all throughout the book. I think that Chan tries to learn from her mistakes and I really want to find out what she will do next.
For more reviews, please visit my blog.
ellemo's review against another edition
4.0
I'm actually ridiculously happy I have started this series.
It's so full of action and tension that I was slightly overwhelmed when reading, but it was a good feeling. I finally got attached to the main character, which resulted in a few cases of major feels along the way...
A few of them moments messed me up completely, and I cannot wait to continue the story in the next book .
My Rating: 4/5 Stars.
FULL REVIEW TO COME
It's so full of action and tension that I was slightly overwhelmed when reading, but it was a good feeling. I finally got attached to the main character, which resulted in a few cases of major feels along the way...
A few of them moments messed me up completely, and I cannot wait to continue the story in the next book .
My Rating: 4/5 Stars.
FULL REVIEW TO COME
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
Way Down Dark dealt with the idea of being punished for the crimes of your ancestors, being unable to escape your circumstances in life, and the themes of incarceration and rehabilitation are explored a bit further in Long Dark Dusk. As well as people an action packed ride through a future earth where populations have plummeted and every human being should be a productive member of society.
Chan finds herself living in the docks, surrounded by those at the bottom, the junkies, the criminals, those that just can’t get ahead in this highly controlled city. She feels like she has made a few friends, Ziegler, a reporter keen to tell her story of life on board Australia and the crash that has been kept secret, and Alala, a woman who trades in anything that might be needed, be that information or drugs. I’m not quite sure why the slums at the docks were left to run riot if this is a future where every human life is precious, where the state wants every to contribute. It is reflective of the kinds of places where the poor end up, but it seemed at odds with what the people in charge said they wanted. Maybe that’s the point.
It's amazing how fast peace can turn into a riot, how quickly a single violent act can upend the status quo.
I was really keen to know what had happened to Earth to lead it to send prisoners into space. Chan reveals plenty of snippets about the history, through visits to the museum and things Ziegler tells her. Overpopulation and global warming has changed the face of the Earth, now the obliging live within walled cities, the air filtered and every move monitored. Some of the constraints of the new world are shown through encounters Chan has. As the book opens she is trying to help a girl with an illegal baby, suggesting that reproduction is now strictly controlled. These things aren’t central to the story but they help to shape the world it unfolds in.
I liked the evolution of some of our familiar technology now into Gaia, the Siri/Cortana of the future, and driverless cars. The augments might seem further fetched but there are already bionic limbs and you can have your retinas zapped with lasers to help you see better.
Just as the second part of the first book made more of an impact on me, the things I really liked about the second instalment fell in part two. Again! So I don’t feel I can talk about much without dropping some spoilers. The people from the Australia are still considered criminals, even though they were never sentenced, not in a court of law at least, and there is no proof of what they did on board the ship. They deserve the chance at rehabilitation but not without the chance to be themselves, to prove that they can be better without state intervention.
Chan is a good person at heart, despite what she may have done to survive. She wants to help other people, keep her people safe and ultimately keep her promises, no matter how hard that might be. Her treatment feels a lot like an injustice, her past clouding the judgement of those who might otherwise see her as an individual.
I did find it a bit slow to get going, like I said of the previous book, action isn’t really my thing so I was glad that it was in three distinct parts, with some of it being a bit more introspective. I am still excited to read the third book, Dark Made Dawn (that's a positive title, right?), which is out October this year. So not too long to wait!
Review copy provided by publisher.
Chan finds herself living in the docks, surrounded by those at the bottom, the junkies, the criminals, those that just can’t get ahead in this highly controlled city. She feels like she has made a few friends, Ziegler, a reporter keen to tell her story of life on board Australia and the crash that has been kept secret, and Alala, a woman who trades in anything that might be needed, be that information or drugs. I’m not quite sure why the slums at the docks were left to run riot if this is a future where every human life is precious, where the state wants every to contribute. It is reflective of the kinds of places where the poor end up, but it seemed at odds with what the people in charge said they wanted. Maybe that’s the point.
It's amazing how fast peace can turn into a riot, how quickly a single violent act can upend the status quo.
I was really keen to know what had happened to Earth to lead it to send prisoners into space. Chan reveals plenty of snippets about the history, through visits to the museum and things Ziegler tells her. Overpopulation and global warming has changed the face of the Earth, now the obliging live within walled cities, the air filtered and every move monitored. Some of the constraints of the new world are shown through encounters Chan has. As the book opens she is trying to help a girl with an illegal baby, suggesting that reproduction is now strictly controlled. These things aren’t central to the story but they help to shape the world it unfolds in.
I liked the evolution of some of our familiar technology now into Gaia, the Siri/Cortana of the future, and driverless cars. The augments might seem further fetched but there are already bionic limbs and you can have your retinas zapped with lasers to help you see better.
Just as the second part of the first book made more of an impact on me, the things I really liked about the second instalment fell in part two. Again! So I don’t feel I can talk about much without dropping some spoilers. The people from the Australia are still considered criminals, even though they were never sentenced, not in a court of law at least, and there is no proof of what they did on board the ship. They deserve the chance at rehabilitation but not without the chance to be themselves, to prove that they can be better without state intervention.
Chan is a good person at heart, despite what she may have done to survive. She wants to help other people, keep her people safe and ultimately keep her promises, no matter how hard that might be. Her treatment feels a lot like an injustice, her past clouding the judgement of those who might otherwise see her as an individual.
I did find it a bit slow to get going, like I said of the previous book, action isn’t really my thing so I was glad that it was in three distinct parts, with some of it being a bit more introspective. I am still excited to read the third book, Dark Made Dawn (that's a positive title, right?), which is out October this year. So not too long to wait!
Review copy provided by publisher.
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