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A review by kandicez
The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
2.0
I read House of the Scorpion almost 10 years ago. It was a great story so when I stumbled upon this sequel, I really looked forward to reading it. Sadly, it didn't live up to the first in the series.
Set in a future where Drug Lords rule everything, the main character, Matt, is a clone of the newly deceased Lord of Opium (an opium producing country), El Patron. Much of the old drug lord's kingdom can only be unlocked or accessed with his DNA. Matt has that DNA so decides to change the world he lives in. Great premise, poor execution.
Farmer gives too much detail regarding everyday events in Matt's life, but almost no detail as to how Matt's actions are changing the world around him. She introduces new clones, and they are very interesting characters, but nothing really happens with them. Things happen TO them, but I wanted something to happen because of them.
I expected, and wanted, more of the political side of Matt's world and actions described. Farmer never lets us see what impact Matt's wishes to make things better are having on the world around him. We never see what lies outside the borders of Opium. She introduces the idea of ecology and makes it obvious the world is in a bad place, but she doesn't go anywhere with the idea.
Because this is a sequel, my hope is that there will be another installment giving me what I was hoping for in this one. If she publishes another, I will certainly give it a try, but if it's more of this, I won't finish.
Set in a future where Drug Lords rule everything, the main character, Matt, is a clone of the newly deceased Lord of Opium (an opium producing country), El Patron. Much of the old drug lord's kingdom can only be unlocked or accessed with his DNA. Matt has that DNA so decides to change the world he lives in. Great premise, poor execution.
Farmer gives too much detail regarding everyday events in Matt's life, but almost no detail as to how Matt's actions are changing the world around him. She introduces new clones, and they are very interesting characters, but nothing really happens with them. Things happen TO them, but I wanted something to happen because of them.
I expected, and wanted, more of the political side of Matt's world and actions described. Farmer never lets us see what impact Matt's wishes to make things better are having on the world around him. We never see what lies outside the borders of Opium. She introduces the idea of ecology and makes it obvious the world is in a bad place, but she doesn't go anywhere with the idea.
Because this is a sequel, my hope is that there will be another installment giving me what I was hoping for in this one. If she publishes another, I will certainly give it a try, but if it's more of this, I won't finish.