elisenic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
In a world with limited resources, the Free Citizens are rebelling. The Officers have ruled with callous disregard for those on the lower levels, living in luxury and security while others must scramble to survive. And then there are Alania and Danyl, never quite fitting in and always wondering where they came from, and why the City is failing.
Can one sacrifice be worth the greater good? Where do you draw the line?
The characters are thoughtfully drawn, never falling into stereotyped roles. Alania and Danyl question, don't just blindly accept what others tell them, and hold people - including themselves - to a higher standard. With purposeful focus, they reach for their destiny, knowing that one wrong choice could doom everyone.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Can one sacrifice be worth the greater good? Where do you draw the line?
The characters are thoughtfully drawn, never falling into stereotyped roles. Alania and Danyl question, don't just blindly accept what others tell them, and hold people - including themselves - to a higher standard. With purposeful focus, they reach for their destiny, knowing that one wrong choice could doom everyone.
Disclaimer: I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
karcitis's review against another edition
2.0
This started out well, and I liked the idea behind it, but I wasn't that invested in the characters and their relationships. The main antagonist didn't seem convincingly antagonistic, I didn't feel like he was the bad guy, I was just told that he was.
I would also have liked to see more of the mythology of explored more and earlier on. I think fairly quickly you get the idea that this is some kind of space colony gone wrong, and it's just the specifics that are lacking, but it's still treated like it's a big reveal at the end, so it was rather disappointing. I was also unconvinced of Alania's knowledge at the end of the book, that she would know all about everything just because she was hooked up to the City. After all wasn't the computer supposed to be messed up because of all the false data Kranz had fed it? Otherwise wouldn't have the previous Captain known everything?
I would also have liked to see more of the mythology of explored more and earlier on. I think fairly quickly you get the idea that this is some kind of space colony gone wrong, and it's just the specifics that are lacking, but it's still treated like it's a big reveal at the end, so it was rather disappointing. I was also unconvinced of Alania's knowledge at the end of the book, that she would know all about everything just because she was hooked up to the City. After all wasn't the computer supposed to be messed up because of all the false data Kranz had fed it? Otherwise wouldn't have the previous Captain known everything?
wrdro's review against another edition
5.0
Al i have to say is that i love it and i’m sad it’s over.
sabribri's review against another edition
5.0
I was a little iffy when I started this book, especially when I notice typos. The premise sounded wonderful, but in my experience, books I have high hopes for rarely live up to my expectations. This one did, though. Stories of social stratification and caste systems interest me a lot. The world Willett built was very intricate and I would love to see more books in this universe, though the ending seemed pretty final. I do recommend it.
nick_borrelli's review against another edition
4.0
Here is my full review for Fresh Fiction:
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63843
If you liked Wool by Hugh Howey, you may dig this one as well.
http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=63843
If you liked Wool by Hugh Howey, you may dig this one as well.
aleesquer's review
5.0
One of my goals this summer was to fix my sleeping schedule and actually go to sleep at a regular hour for once in my life. Unfortunately, a week into that plan, I won an ARC of the Cityborn (in exchange for an honest review). As soon as it arrived, my well-intentioned plans went out the window, and I’m now starting this review at an ungodly hour just after finishing it.
I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me after reading the first couple of chapters. The premise is incredibly stereotypical: a boy and a girl live in a dystopian society, one in luxury and one in squalor, and they’re both mysteriously “chosen ones” for something nobody seems able to speak clearly about for at least the first third of the novel.
Because of this, I was a little cautious as I started reading. The writing, however, was superb, and I quickly put my harsh judgement aside. The description of the city (egg shaped, spewing garbage, vaguely reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle, only much grosser and socioeconomically-divided) was really different from the usual “well, it’s underground, the lights flicker a lot, the walls are all metallic, and there’s like tubes or something?” descriptions I’ve seen a lot (it’s either that or spaceships a lot of the time, or at least it has been in most of the books I’ve read in this genre). The whole concept of the Middens (the name given to the gang-divided trash heap under the city that Danyl, one of the main characters, calls home) was incredibly well executed. Even with a book as long as this one (just over 400 pages), I'd be lying if I say it didn't flew by, and the vividness of the setting was a big part of that for me.
As for the characters, I really enjoyed Danyl and Alania. They are both surprisingly quick on the uptake (which in this sort of book really helps to move things along), and their relationship (no spoilers on that, but I’ll just say I’m really glad it ended up being what it was) was really well written, and surprisingly realistic. No “our eyes met and at once, we were in love” lines here, thankfully. The other character I also enjoyed, but I really wish we’d gotten to see more of was Yvelle. Rogue leader of a band of scavengers/resort-squatters with a dark and tormented past? Sign me up for more of that, please!
The only possible quibble I’d have with this book is that it can be a little repetitive at times. Information that had just been given to some characters tended to be repeated almost immediately by another character (which was realistic, since they did have to explain things to people as they met up with them, but, as a reader, it could get a little bland to read virtually the same thing three times). Oh, and the constant mention of the "eternals" (aka green lightbulbs). I kind of felt like that was going somewhere, but it never really did.
All in all, I really loved this book. Though the ending seems fairly conclusive, I’ll be honest and say I would love a second book, even if it was just a shorter one some years in the future, to see how it all worked out. Or maybe a prequel about the Captain, (who was mentioned a lot, but who didn’t really get much of a chance to talk)? I'd love to read that.
I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me after reading the first couple of chapters. The premise is incredibly stereotypical: a boy and a girl live in a dystopian society, one in luxury and one in squalor, and they’re both mysteriously “chosen ones” for something nobody seems able to speak clearly about for at least the first third of the novel.
Because of this, I was a little cautious as I started reading. The writing, however, was superb, and I quickly put my harsh judgement aside. The description of the city (egg shaped, spewing garbage, vaguely reminiscent of Howl’s Moving Castle, only much grosser and socioeconomically-divided) was really different from the usual “well, it’s underground, the lights flicker a lot, the walls are all metallic, and there’s like tubes or something?” descriptions I’ve seen a lot (it’s either that or spaceships a lot of the time, or at least it has been in most of the books I’ve read in this genre). The whole concept of the Middens (the name given to the gang-divided trash heap under the city that Danyl, one of the main characters, calls home) was incredibly well executed. Even with a book as long as this one (just over 400 pages), I'd be lying if I say it didn't flew by, and the vividness of the setting was a big part of that for me.
As for the characters, I really enjoyed Danyl and Alania. They are both surprisingly quick on the uptake (which in this sort of book really helps to move things along), and their relationship (no spoilers on that, but I’ll just say I’m really glad it ended up being what it was) was really well written, and surprisingly realistic. No “our eyes met and at once, we were in love” lines here, thankfully. The other character I also enjoyed, but I really wish we’d gotten to see more of was Yvelle. Rogue leader of a band of scavengers/resort-squatters with a dark and tormented past? Sign me up for more of that, please!
The only possible quibble I’d have with this book is that it can be a little repetitive at times. Information that had just been given to some characters tended to be repeated almost immediately by another character (which was realistic, since they did have to explain things to people as they met up with them, but, as a reader, it could get a little bland to read virtually the same thing three times). Oh, and the constant mention of the "eternals" (aka green lightbulbs). I kind of felt like that was going somewhere, but it never really did.
All in all, I really loved this book. Though the ending seems fairly conclusive, I’ll be honest and say I would love a second book, even if it was just a shorter one some years in the future, to see how it all worked out. Or maybe a prequel about the Captain, (who was mentioned a lot, but who didn’t really get much of a chance to talk)? I'd love to read that.
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