A review by thesilmarillions
Children of Icarus, by Caighlan Smith
2.0
I received a copy through a Maximum Pop! giveaway and, honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this book. The thing that caught my attention was Icarus, the man who flies too close to the sun and falls back to earth.
It's split into three parts: Judge, Jury and Executioner. Each has it's own setting and character(s) it focusses on. The main consistency is the narrator whose name you never learn (which makes more sense when you've read the book). Whilst the names of each section work really well in the context of the story, the first part was really difficult for me to enjoy. There's very little explanation for a long time and, by the time it was explained, I'd guessed a lot for myself.
Regardless, it's a captivating concept: there's a whole city made of skyscrapers encased in walls, with the only way out through a labyrinth. The doors only open once a year, to let the Icarii (12-16 year olds chosen to enter the maze) in and on their journey to ascension.
Character-wise, they are all interesting and different. There's a fair mix of ones I like, dislike and am indifferent to. Honestly, the only thing about this book that stopped me from giving this book a higher rating is the main character herself. I really, really wanted to like her, but just couldn't. Her personality (or lack thereof) grated on me at really inconvenient times.
It's a well-paced story, with not too little or too much going on at any one time. I'm definitely interested in reading its sequels to see how the concept and world develops as, beyond giving foundations and a basic understanding, there isn't an awful lot to know. And there's always hope that the main character gets some good development too.
Full review on my blog.
It's split into three parts: Judge, Jury and Executioner. Each has it's own setting and character(s) it focusses on. The main consistency is the narrator whose name you never learn (which makes more sense when you've read the book). Whilst the names of each section work really well in the context of the story, the first part was really difficult for me to enjoy. There's very little explanation for a long time and, by the time it was explained, I'd guessed a lot for myself.
Regardless, it's a captivating concept: there's a whole city made of skyscrapers encased in walls, with the only way out through a labyrinth. The doors only open once a year, to let the Icarii (12-16 year olds chosen to enter the maze) in and on their journey to ascension.
Character-wise, they are all interesting and different. There's a fair mix of ones I like, dislike and am indifferent to. Honestly, the only thing about this book that stopped me from giving this book a higher rating is the main character herself. I really, really wanted to like her, but just couldn't. Her personality (or lack thereof) grated on me at really inconvenient times.
It's a well-paced story, with not too little or too much going on at any one time. I'm definitely interested in reading its sequels to see how the concept and world develops as, beyond giving foundations and a basic understanding, there isn't an awful lot to know. And there's always hope that the main character gets some good development too.
Full review on my blog.