anotherhel's review
2.0
The others were better written in my opinion.
jennikj's review
4.0
My thoughts:
1. Billy Ballard. I like you. A lot.
2. Death is charming as usual.
3. Good climax and powerful, powerful writing, so much, so, so very much better than in Hunger (Haven't read Rage yet). And it was executed excellently as well!
4. Reaction on the last chapters: *jaw dropping* awesomnesssssss and then on the very last chapter. Oh, aha, I see. but then it was simply aww! and I was filled with swelling pride and sporting a smile.
Verdict:
Good writing. This is seriously a good book and I can't put my finger on why this isn't the best book in the world because I have some trouble coming up with critique for this story, the only thing is that it might be a bit draggy at some places for the so called "impatient reader" (which I'm not)
ashereadsbooks's review
3.0
babygirl06301's review
3.0
spoilers
Okay. I'm not gonna lie... this one was tough to get through. Firstly, let's backtrack a bit, right? [b:Hunger|7247856|Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse, #1)|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1269038726s/7247856.jpg|7134137] was a beautifully tragic tale about a girl with anorexia, and that story was bound together by her becoming Famine, the Black Rider of the Apocalypse. [b:Rage|7670661|Rage (Riders of the Apocalypse, #2)|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1308973081s/7670661.jpg|10281706] was about the journey of a young girl and her tendency to self-harm, all highlighted by the fact that she was chosen to be War, the Red Rider. [b:Loss|12176820|Loss (Riders of the Apocalypse, #3)|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315217508s/12176820.jpg|13326708], however, fell very, very flat on the meaningful message stage.
I don't know if this is going to sound harsh or not, but I came to this series because I expected to be moved and captivated at the same time. For example, [b:Hunger|7247856|Hunger (Riders of the Apocalypse, #1)|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1269038726s/7247856.jpg|7134137] opened my eyes to the reality of eating disorders. Though I knew of them, that book offered a first person perspective on what it's like to be anorexic. The main character becoming a Horseman of the Apocalypse was just an interesting way to present the topic of anorexia, a way to use metaphor and irony to better the reader's understanding of that disorder. It was the same with the next book, so I expected a theme with the rest of the series.
Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky. Here's the thing: if I had come to these novels to read about the Four Horsemen, I would've loved this book. But that's not why I came here. [b:Loss|12176820|Loss (Riders of the Apocalypse, #3)|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315217508s/12176820.jpg|13326708] started off promising by introducing the main character, Billy, as someone being bullied in school. I was hoping that that would somehow tie into the role of Pestilence, the White Rider, and the overall point of the book would be to expose the issues around bullying and what it can do mentally to students. That didn't pan out, however, as the bullying only served a purpose in the plot because it fueled Billy's rage, his want for revenge, which resulted in him misusing his new abilities as Pestilence. Then, I thought the book would be about mental illness because Billy's grandfather is presumed to have Alzheimer's. In fact, I think that's what the original plan of the author was, but it was scrapped. It would've been a slightly different view from the first two novels as the first two novels dealt with issues within the main character and not without, but I was willing to role with it. Working from the POV of a caregiver to someone who's mentally disabled would feed easily into the role of Pestilence. But, again, the only real purpose it served was to give Billy a reason to refuse the job of the White Rider. Which leads me into my next point.
So, there wasn't a strong enough message. [a:Jackie Morse Kessler|4611069|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1315370985p2/4611069.jpg] decided to focus more on the actual Four Horsemen story instead. But, for me, that kind of turned out horribly as well. Nearly eighty pages--and these books aren't very long--were taken up by Billy trying to bring the original White Rider back to his duty as a Horseman so he wouldn't have to do it himself. Again, if I had been interested in the story first and foremost, I might have found it interesting, but instead I found it dull and irritating. The only parts I found that were peaking my interest were the parts where Billy talked--through the memory of Pestilence--to the other three Horseman. But that was pretty much it. The rest of the time, I was extremely bored. Because the book isn't about the original White Rider, it's about Billy.
My final couple of thoughts about this novel include Marianne and the overall tone of the book. So, Marianne seemed to be a huge motivator for Billy, right? He didn't want to ride because of her, he didn't want to be afraid of the bullies because of her, he wanted to be with her, etc. But we get literally two scenes with her. So? As far as the tone of the book, I just want to point out that what it was, was big picture. What I would've liked it to be is simplistic. Simply the character, the issue they're having, and the prospect of being a Rider. That's it. No big, mind-sucking journeys, no legends of the lore of the Horsemen, no background stories of the other Horsemen. I just wanted simplicity.
Now, because of how this novel went, I'm apprehensive to read [b:Breath|16340158|Breath|Jackie Morse Kessler|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|15284004]. I thought originally that the book about Death, the Pale Rider, would involve someone who was suicidal, because it makes sense, right? But now I'm thinking it's going to end up being all about the story, that it'll be about the Death we've seen for the past three books and how he came to be Death. After that, I don't know. It could end up going all the way to the end of the world. Which, again, would be fine if I had been reading that story from the beginning... but I haven't been.
I'm trying to think of good notes to tack onto the end here to try and make this novel seem better than this review sounds, but I can't pull any out. All I can say is: it was still a good enough read for me to give it three stars. So...
"Go thee out unto the world."
badwolfbooks's review
2.0
lindacbugg's review
3.0
Buy this title at Powells Books.
sydofbee's review
3.0
Something different in this book is definitely the way the "chosen one" approaches his new role - partly, because it's not even completely vacant. I thought it is a nice idea to deviate from the known pattern of the first two books and I'm interested as to where Morse Kessler will take the story in the final installment of the series. (Will we get to see a new incarnation of Death?)
However, I severely disliked the parts described from the horse's point of view. It doesn't happen often, but it irks me a little. I don't want to read from the point of view of an animal, sorry. That doesn't mean that I tink animals are not concious. It's just that I don't think they're not that concious - even apocalyptic horses. I still enjoy the concept of this series and I enjoyed Loss anyway. I'm definitely looking forward to Breath (and also to see if the title will relate to the story again).
misskrislm's review
3.0