lolasreviews's review
4.0
I got a copy for review in exchange for an honest review.
This book wasn't what I expected, different, but better. The world is original and the story is really good.
The beginning of the story immediately had me interested. Although the beginning is slow paced in comparison to the rest I didn't really notice this at the time. I really liked the idea of the Otherborn and then suddnely things were happening and the story became more fast paced and I just wanted to keep reading because it had that keep reading feel, but also because the story was so interesting and I just wanted to know what happened. I think the story is the strongest point of this book, the story really carried the book. And there was enough to keep me interested.
In the beginning I had some difficulties remembering who was who and actually I kept that problem. London, the main character, was a likeable character and I liked her personality, although she did some stupid things sometimes. I really liked her and reading her point of view. The other characters are just okay, I didn't really care about them that much and they didn't had much personality. But actually that didn't matter much because the story was interesting enough. Still I would've preferred getting to know the characters better, most side characters just weren't that interesting. Although I did like some of them.
The world building is done good enough and was interesting, but there were some holes. Pretty soon we get introduced to the world in which London lives, but I didn't really understand everything about it and the how and why the world became like this was kept a bit vague. Still there was quite enough world building to keep me interested and enough questions to keep me reading. I really liked the world building concerning the Otherborns, it was really original and I can't wait to leanr more about them in the next book. Also while the blurb emphasizes that in this world nothing is New, I didn't quite feel like this was such a big point in the real story.
To conclude: this book is carried by the story, interesting, intriguing and fast paced. The main character is likeable, but I didn't really care about most side characters. The world building was done well, although there were some things that weren't explained and there are still enough questions left which can be answered in further books. This book is definitely worth the read if you're looking for an original dystopia.
This book wasn't what I expected, different, but better. The world is original and the story is really good.
The beginning of the story immediately had me interested. Although the beginning is slow paced in comparison to the rest I didn't really notice this at the time. I really liked the idea of the Otherborn and then suddnely things were happening and the story became more fast paced and I just wanted to keep reading because it had that keep reading feel, but also because the story was so interesting and I just wanted to know what happened. I think the story is the strongest point of this book, the story really carried the book. And there was enough to keep me interested.
In the beginning I had some difficulties remembering who was who and actually I kept that problem. London, the main character, was a likeable character and I liked her personality, although she did some stupid things sometimes. I really liked her and reading her point of view. The other characters are just okay, I didn't really care about them that much and they didn't had much personality. But actually that didn't matter much because the story was interesting enough. Still I would've preferred getting to know the characters better, most side characters just weren't that interesting. Although I did like some of them.
The world building is done good enough and was interesting, but there were some holes. Pretty soon we get introduced to the world in which London lives, but I didn't really understand everything about it and the how and why the world became like this was kept a bit vague. Still there was quite enough world building to keep me interested and enough questions to keep me reading. I really liked the world building concerning the Otherborns, it was really original and I can't wait to leanr more about them in the next book. Also while the blurb emphasizes that in this world nothing is New, I didn't quite feel like this was such a big point in the real story.
To conclude: this book is carried by the story, interesting, intriguing and fast paced. The main character is likeable, but I didn't really care about most side characters. The world building was done well, although there were some things that weren't explained and there are still enough questions left which can be answered in further books. This book is definitely worth the read if you're looking for an original dystopia.
radiansreads's review
5.0
Short Review:
Otherborn is a very fascinating read, and so unlike most dystopian I've ever come across. If I have to describe Otherborn in one word it would be 'different'. Really. The world, the plot, the way things work, the history, the people ─ everything was so different, which made Otherborn very unpredictable and addictive. The protagonist is also not the typical Miss Perfect who had things going her way all the time. If I didn't know better, I would have never guess London as the heroine. All in all, Otherborn is a fresh dystopian novel to look out for, and I'm glad to have come across this masterpiece. 5 stars!
Otherborn is a very fascinating read, and so unlike most dystopian I've ever come across. If I have to describe Otherborn in one word it would be 'different'. Really. The world, the plot, the way things work, the history, the people ─ everything was so different, which made Otherborn very unpredictable and addictive. The protagonist is also not the typical Miss Perfect who had things going her way all the time. If I didn't know better, I would have never guess London as the heroine. All in all, Otherborn is a fresh dystopian novel to look out for, and I'm glad to have come across this masterpiece. 5 stars!
jasmyn9's review
4.0
I really loved Anna Silver's idea of what a dystopian society would be like. I couldn't imagine trying to live in a world where nothing was new. Now I'm not just talking about physical items. Creativity is gone - no new songs, new ideas, new books (perish the thought). Then London writes a new song - this is the big turning point and all hell begins to break loose. And she's not just creating - she's also dreaming (another thing that no longer happens to anyone). She gathers a group of other teenagers that also dream and they discover their dreams are more than just that - they are connections to another place, time, and people.
There is a great mix of action and discovery in this story. There is always something going on, but sometimes it's an internal realization or group conversation. There is also a "high speed" car chase, a shoot out, and several instances of running for their lives. A good combination to reach out to a variety of readers.
London is our main character and is very well developed. She is constantly evolving based on what she sees in her dreams and experiences around her. The rest of the crew does not seem to evolve as much, and I really wish I had seen a little more from them. Maybe in the next book they will shine a bit more. The Tycoons are the controllers of everything and a character unto themselves. They are this ominous figure always looming in the background. Their physical absence from most of the story only made them more mysterious and foreboding.
love a unique dystopian story, and with the genre exploding they can be hard to find. This one really fit the bill, and if those side characters had just had a tad more depth it would have gotten five stars.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-otherborn-otherborn-1-by-anna.html#sthash.sknSuybA.dpuf
There is a great mix of action and discovery in this story. There is always something going on, but sometimes it's an internal realization or group conversation. There is also a "high speed" car chase, a shoot out, and several instances of running for their lives. A good combination to reach out to a variety of readers.
London is our main character and is very well developed. She is constantly evolving based on what she sees in her dreams and experiences around her. The rest of the crew does not seem to evolve as much, and I really wish I had seen a little more from them. Maybe in the next book they will shine a bit more. The Tycoons are the controllers of everything and a character unto themselves. They are this ominous figure always looming in the background. Their physical absence from most of the story only made them more mysterious and foreboding.
love a unique dystopian story, and with the genre exploding they can be hard to find. This one really fit the bill, and if those side characters had just had a tad more depth it would have gotten five stars.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-otherborn-otherborn-1-by-anna.html#sthash.sknSuybA.dpuf
nogenreleftbehind's review
4.0
I really loved Anna Silver's idea of what a dystopian society would be like. I couldn't imagine trying to live in a world where nothing was new. Now I'm not just talking about physical items. Creativity is gone - no new songs, new ideas, new books (perish the thought). Then London writes a new song - this is the big turning point and all hell begins to break loose. And she's not just creating - she's also dreaming (another thing that no longer happens to anyone). She gathers a group of other teenagers that also dream and they discover their dreams are more than just that - they are connections to another place, time, and people.
There is a great mix of action and discovery in this story. There is always something going on, but sometimes it's an internal realization or group conversation. There is also a "high speed" car chase, a shoot out, and several instances of running for their lives. A good combination to reach out to a variety of readers.
London is our main character and is very well developed. She is constantly evolving based on what she sees in her dreams and experiences around her. The rest of the crew does not seem to evolve as much, and I really wish I had seen a little more from them. Maybe in the next book they will shine a bit more. The Tycoons are the controllers of everything and a character unto themselves. They are this ominous figure always looming in the background. Their physical absence from most of the story only made them more mysterious and foreboding.
love a unique dystopian story, and with the genre exploding they can be hard to find. This one really fit the bill, and if those side characters had just had a tad more depth it would have gotten five stars.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-otherborn-otherborn-1-by-anna.html#sthash.sknSuybA.dpuf
There is a great mix of action and discovery in this story. There is always something going on, but sometimes it's an internal realization or group conversation. There is also a "high speed" car chase, a shoot out, and several instances of running for their lives. A good combination to reach out to a variety of readers.
London is our main character and is very well developed. She is constantly evolving based on what she sees in her dreams and experiences around her. The rest of the crew does not seem to evolve as much, and I really wish I had seen a little more from them. Maybe in the next book they will shine a bit more. The Tycoons are the controllers of everything and a character unto themselves. They are this ominous figure always looming in the background. Their physical absence from most of the story only made them more mysterious and foreboding.
love a unique dystopian story, and with the genre exploding they can be hard to find. This one really fit the bill, and if those side characters had just had a tad more depth it would have gotten five stars.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-otherborn-otherborn-1-by-anna.html#sthash.sknSuybA.dpuf
lifeandliterature's review
5.0
"Now you lay your head to sleep, pray to God your life you keep. To steal your dreams, your head we'll take, and leave you dead before you wake."
If I had to pick one type of book that I tend to shy away from and hardly ever read it would be dystopian. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure why because the few that I've read I really, really loved. And Otherborn turned out to be another wonderful surprise.
"There hasn't been anything New since right after the Energy Crisis. I mean, that's generations ago. Not a note, not a song. Not a stitch, not a stroke, not a word. Nothin'. I don't know how ya did it and I don't care. I just know that it's dangerous. People aren't ready for that."
To live in a world where nothing new is allowed, there is no creativity and everyone's sleep is dreamless. This is the life that faces London and her group of friends on a daily basis. London and her friends are in a band and London goes completely against what is allowed and creates a new song. But that is not all, London dreams. And so do her bandmates. After one of London's friends go missing the group set out on a trek to find her. What follows is a journey filled with action, fear, betrayal, hurt and self discovery.
Otherborn took me a little while to get into but once I had a grasp of what was going on and how the characters fit together it really picked up and had me gripped by the story that was unfolding.
London is strong and quick to speak her mind. She is a bit rough around the edges and there were times that she exasperated me. But there's also a layer of vulnerability to her which I found endearing. As the book went on I found that I really began to like her more and more. She was more or less the leader of her little group of friends and so she carried a lot on her young shoulders.
The flesh of his mouth was a soft, easy comfort, like balm for the raw heart.
It wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first one that mattered.
In this bleak world that they live in there was the brightness of love and romance which I think shone through so brightly because of the dreary world in which they live. London and Rye had snatches of time together but it was their care and concern for each other that did it for me. Their's wasn't a gushy, gooey love, in fact there were times when they were quite snappy with each other. And though they danced around how they each felt they were there for each other when it counted.
As for the other characters, while they all had their place in the story, it was Tora who stood out the most. At first, I didn't like her. At all!!! I saw her as a threat to something that I had my heart set on happening, but she comes through time and time again!!! A truly awesome character!!
And then there were things that blew me away!! The discovery that is made in search of their friend. The horrible thing that occurs after that. (All very cryptic I know, but I don't want to spoil the story). And then the ending... I kept trying to make my ereader turn another page, but there were no more pages!!! NO WAY!!!! Please let me not have to wait too long to find out what happens next!!!
The whole concept of the storyline was new and original to me and I loved it and the way it was written. Although as I said, I haven't read a great deal of Dystopian, Otherborn was definitely up there as one of the best!!
4.5/5 Stars!!
If I had to pick one type of book that I tend to shy away from and hardly ever read it would be dystopian. And to be honest, I'm not quite sure why because the few that I've read I really, really loved. And Otherborn turned out to be another wonderful surprise.
"There hasn't been anything New since right after the Energy Crisis. I mean, that's generations ago. Not a note, not a song. Not a stitch, not a stroke, not a word. Nothin'. I don't know how ya did it and I don't care. I just know that it's dangerous. People aren't ready for that."
To live in a world where nothing new is allowed, there is no creativity and everyone's sleep is dreamless. This is the life that faces London and her group of friends on a daily basis. London and her friends are in a band and London goes completely against what is allowed and creates a new song. But that is not all, London dreams. And so do her bandmates. After one of London's friends go missing the group set out on a trek to find her. What follows is a journey filled with action, fear, betrayal, hurt and self discovery.
Otherborn took me a little while to get into but once I had a grasp of what was going on and how the characters fit together it really picked up and had me gripped by the story that was unfolding.
London is strong and quick to speak her mind. She is a bit rough around the edges and there were times that she exasperated me. But there's also a layer of vulnerability to her which I found endearing. As the book went on I found that I really began to like her more and more. She was more or less the leader of her little group of friends and so she carried a lot on her young shoulders.
The flesh of his mouth was a soft, easy comfort, like balm for the raw heart.
It wasn't her first kiss, but it was the first one that mattered.
In this bleak world that they live in there was the brightness of love and romance which I think shone through so brightly because of the dreary world in which they live. London and Rye had snatches of time together but it was their care and concern for each other that did it for me. Their's wasn't a gushy, gooey love, in fact there were times when they were quite snappy with each other. And though they danced around how they each felt they were there for each other when it counted.
As for the other characters, while they all had their place in the story, it was Tora who stood out the most. At first, I didn't like her. At all!!! I saw her as a threat to something that I had my heart set on happening, but she comes through time and time again!!! A truly awesome character!!
And then there were things that blew me away!! The discovery that is made in search of their friend. The horrible thing that occurs after that. (All very cryptic I know, but I don't want to spoil the story). And then the ending... I kept trying to make my ereader turn another page, but there were no more pages!!! NO WAY!!!! Please let me not have to wait too long to find out what happens next!!!
The whole concept of the storyline was new and original to me and I loved it and the way it was written. Although as I said, I haven't read a great deal of Dystopian, Otherborn was definitely up there as one of the best!!
4.5/5 Stars!!
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