Monday, July 29, 2013

Review: False Sight by Dan Krokos

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I received this book for free from Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: False Sight by Dan KrokosFalse Sight by Dan Krokos
Series: False Memory #2
Published by Hyperion on August 13th 2013
Genres: Sci-Fi, YA
Source: Hachette Book Group Canada
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All Miranda wants is a normal life. She's determined to move past the horrible truth of her origin as a clone so she can enjoy time with her boyfriend, Peter, and the rest of her friends at school. But Miranda quickly learns that there's no such thing as normal - not for a girl who was raised to be a weapon. When one of her teammates turns rogue, it begins a war that puts the world in jeopardy. Now Miranda must follow her instincts - not her heart - in order to save everything she's fought so hard to keep. with the image of a terrible future seared into her mind, what will she have to sacrifice to protect the people she loves?

Dan Krokos's sequel to the tour de force False Memory is a mind-blowing thriller with high-octane action that will leave readers begging for the final book in this bold and powerful trilogy.

*Spoiler free for the series*

I’m feeling torn on this one. On one hand it was a highly entertaining read, very unique (as expected), and I definitely want to know what happens next, but it was such a different book from the first and I’m not sure how I feel about the direction it went in. Being different is not a bad thing – who wants a repeat of it predecessor? – but I feel like the increased sci-fi-esque of this whole plot became a little… too much for me, maybe?

I was a big fan of False Memory when I read it last year. I remember loving all the excitement and the unknowns – it has an awesome unreliable narrator -, as well as the great overall group dynamic throughout the story. Going into False Sight I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I definitely wasn’t expecting this level of complexity. Normally I would be all over plots that take things into uncharted waters, yet for some reason there were a few instances where I got disoriented in this case, and some events became almost too large to even grasp. Perhaps not anticipating such an elaborate scheme played a part in my inability to follow it with as much enthusiasm or diligence as I would have liked. Either way, I found myself a little overwhelmed once or twice.

You should also know, and I’m sure this is a shared feeling amongst other readers, but I often have problems with book sequels for the simple fact that by the time I read them, I’ve lost my connection with the characters and romance, and I’ve forgotten finer – yet often important – details (terrible memory is me). It is what it is. For this reason, I don’t blame the book necessarily for my not being completely satisfied this time around. I’ll be the last to tell you that this sequel forsakes originality or lacks entertainment value; it has the ability to impress in many ways by what the story has become.

My last comment is on the romance. False Memory is one of the few instances where I admit to actually enjoying a love triangle. The MC had lost her memory, and thus, her feelings for her “boyfriend” were lost as well, giving us an unusual scenario. In this sequel, however, it started to become more of an annoying triangle where the protagonist gets confused as to who she really wants to be with. BUT, it involves an even more peculiar situation that makes it interesting nonetheless.

Oh, I have another last comment: the introduction of flesh eating creatures rocked my socks (duh!).

Overall, this is still a series I will continue to recommend, especially to fans of science fiction. It has creativity, excitement, and likeable characters clearly on its side!

three-stars
3 Hot Espressos


Find my review of False Memory, here!


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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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16 Responses to “Review: False Sight by Dan Krokos”

  1. Erin W

    I absolutely enjoyed False Memory and I was really looking forward to this sequel. But like you said, it was a very different book compared to the first and for me I like the different feel to sequels but for this particular title . . . it just wasn’t enjoyable for me and that’s because most of the time I had no idea what was happening which was sad considering how much I enjoyed the first book but . . . ah well. I will still continue with the series but this one was definitely disappointing. Anyway, nice review! I’m glad you still enjoyed the book apart from a few little things.

  2. Mary @ BookSwarm

    Complex is good but disorienting is not! I do understand what you mean about losing connection with characters from one book to another — I’ve definitely had that happen to me, too. Hoping this one catches me, though, since I really enjoyed the first story!

  3. Bethzaida (bookittyblog)

    I agree with you about the sequel thing. I’m really bad with them. Maybe publishers should publish the next book in a series 6 months apart instead of a whole year? I also enjoy books that make my brain work but sometimes with science fiction I get too overwhelmed.

  4. Amy @ Book Loving Mom

    I haven’t read this series at all. It sounds interesting though. I hate it when I read a sequel and I am totally lost on what happened previously. Some books go a little too far in filling you in, and others don’t give enough, but I do like when little things are dropped here and there to remind me. Great review pumpkin!!

  5. Nick @ Nick's Book Blog

    I’ve never been interested in this series before for some reason, but a lot of people seem to be enjoying this one.
    I completely agree about sequels. I’m so forgetful too, so it bothers me when I don’t remember details about the characters and the plot.
    Ugh! Love triangle! Eww!
    I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this book despite some of the small issues you had.
    Great review, Giselle!

  6. Savannah

    My reviewer just read this book and love it. Although, I’m not liking the whole love triangle thing. Still, I may give it a try.

  7. Alise

    I haven’t read the first book in the series yet so thanks for keeping the review spoiler free! I do tend to enjoy love triangles so hearing that you enjoyed that element in this is so nice to hear. Hmm, being different can be a good thing but not when the sequel seems like it almost came from a completely different series, I like continuity. Nice review!

  8. ShootingStarsMag

    Never read these books…but I agree with you on sequels. I don’t have time re-read a novel so if the second (or rest of the series) isn’t already out for me to continue read, I’m bound to forget things and not connect to a second book the same as the first.

  9. Eileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***

    Ahh I so agree, when you’re reading a sequel it’s usually always somehow worse because you forget EVERYTHING and it’s all lost on you and it’s just so hard to get back into the groove of the story why do books take forever to release? *shakes fist at the sky* I also get really confused, so the sci-fi aspect would definitely annoy me, I think.

    I’m glad you still liked this one, even though not as much as the first. Fantastic review, Giselle! <33

  10. Christina @ Christina Reads YA

    “Normally I would be all over plots that take things into uncharted waters, yet for some reason there were a few instances where I got disoriented in this case, and some events became almost too large to even grasp.”
    Maybe it’s not you then. It sucks that it became too sci-fi oriented and too overwhelming to follow, but it is also a bit strange that the series should have a completely different feel from book to book.

    “You should also know, and I’m sure this is a shared feeling amongst other readers, but I often have problems with book sequels for the simple fact that by the time I read them, I’ve lost my connection with the characters and romance, and I’ve forgotten finer – yet often important – details.”
    Yeah… and with regard to relationships, I feel like it’s something just assumed that an info-dump will work fine… but it doesn’t make you *feel* the connection again, even if it helps with your memory.

    “In this sequel, however, it started to become more of an annoying triangle where the protagonist gets confused as to who she really wants to be with.”
    Bleh (and sadness too, because you’re right: the triangle in the first book does seem to be unusual and I can picture it being awesome (I haven’t read the first book)). Also, for some reason, I don’t know if this is just me, but doesn’t this seem to happen a bunch with male YA authors? I’m totally stereotyping here and may be talking out of my ass too, but it always makes me feel squicky for some reason when a male author is writing a love triangle for a female protagonist. I think I’d feel the same too if a female author wrote one for a male protagonist, but I have yet to really come across those situations.

    And… flesh eating creatures are always great no matter where included :P.

  11. Tanja

    I have heard nothing but great things about this series. I can’t wait to read the first book. Anyhow I’m glad that this one was still magical only too bad it went somehow the wrong way. I’m glad you enjoyed it overall. Great review Giselle 🙂

  12. Micheline @ Lunar Rainbows

    I still haven’t gotten around to reading book one that my *ahem* book fairy godmother gifted me earlier this year…BUT I was hoping to get to it in time to read the sequel before it came out. We’ll see how that goes. I think I tend to like sci-fi a lot more than you do so I’m not too worried >.< Also I'll probably be reading both books almost back to back so I shouldn't forget too many details (I hope LOL) Anyways thanks for the review, since you said the love-triangle is unique I won't begrudge this book…yet 😉

  13. Rachel S

    I’m reading this right now. I am also finding this one a lot different than False Memory. I’m also having a harder time connecting to the story and I just read False Memory, so in this case I’m not sure if it’s just because it had been so long in between the first and second book for you. I do know what you mean about that though – it’s the only reason I haven’t started the Lunar Chronicles series – I want to be able to read them from beginning to end without forgetting anything important!