Alex James's Blog: AlexJamesNovels Blog - Posts Tagged "post-apocalyptic"

(The Sword of Idis – Book 2)


‘After all this time, all she wanted was revenge’. Awaken is an epic fantasy adventure, with a traditional fantasy magical realm and urban human realm, set in a post-apocalyptic world after the Pulse, a weapon used in a past war which caused catastrophe and revealed the magical realm. Awaken mainly focuses on the point-of-view of half-breed Esa as she comes to terms with how she feels about Thomas when he left her to her fate after the Battle of the Realms, which was when the Council (of Elves?) took Esa and then let her go. The reader is deliberately kept in the dark about what exactly happened, and discovering the truth was one of the intriguing mysteries for the characters around Esa.

Esa has to contend with her risen status as somebody of consequence, but still struggles to receive the respect she by no means expects. The elves are superior, arrogant, and disdainful of “inferior” races. They think they can act in the best interests of all, and are happy to use any means to achieve their goals. However, for Esa, fighting off Thomas and the strong feelings she has for him is as much of a challenge as her relations with elves. It’s easy to see how Esa has matured in the second book. She’s strong enough to cast Thomas aside to protect her feelings. All she needs is to stop letting her falls get the better of her willpower, and to be careful her growing independence doesn’t alienate her friends.

At only 10% through, I could see terrific flowing writing and interesting character dynamics, such as when Rootu wished to find juicy bugs and show them at inappropriate times like at dinner, which made me laugh out loud a few times. Indeed, Rootu’s inappropriate behaviour was his one discernible flaw, though I found it funny most of the time. Rootu was the most captivating character for me, being the adorable insect-catching Spinner. Apart from the dark humour he brought, as a companion he is Esa’s most pleasant constant, willing to sacrifice himself for her happiness even though he is sad and lonely himself.

The first fight scene at 20% through was brief, well described visually, and exciting. I soon came to the conclusion that Awaken had quality writing. HJ Daly has a focus and control over her characters, more so than in the first book Pulse. The reader is brought clearly and progressively into the world at the right pace that made it easy to comprehend. When situations were repeated, like when all the characters looked at Esa, they were perceived differently: ‘pity parted starting again’, which made the same things appear new and interesting. I became completely invested in the characters’ lives, so much so that I found myself cross when they weren’t able to find happiness. Impossibly, the writing turned up a notch in the last 10%, and the scenes flowed visually and cinematically at very exciting pace and I read much more than I intended to. It was a reminder that the author can spin an immersive fight when she wants to, and at this point I found myself needing to know how Awaken would end.

Criticism: Sometimes the point-of-view switches felt too sudden and produced a jarring effect, and the scene breaks marking the passage of time or events might have been clearer. Also, I got confused who exactly Marcus was; a character from the first book?

Awaken was a vast improvement, well put-together, and with emotionally driven characters that brought out humour, sadness, conflict, and pain. I was brought into the story through the characters’ differences, and their adventures never bored me. Yes, prepared to be stunned with this sequel.

Firstly, before I say anything else, I will say that The Watch is a stimulating post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure with flowing writing and overall a well put-together story. It’s about the Union, struggling to rebuild Earth in the wake of the terrifying Doctors (“wet his flaying knife before peeling off her skin”) and the uncontrollable Filavirus. However, at Base One (Union HQ) there is a hope for a band of vigilantes to escape on the ship Clarity, but first they need a Watch…

Orphan Ren has been running from the Doctors since childhood, as a presumed carrier of the Blood Plague. When she is captured by rough-around-the-edges vigilante leader Sloan, she attempts to join his armed group for protection and companionship. First she needs to convince them that she and the Watch that she wears can be assets for the group to use to gain entry into Base One, if she is to ensure her own survival. As conversations took the form of jabs at Ren’s ignorance, morality, and “Disposable” class; we are provided with short glimpses into Ren’s past, which made me wonder who Ren really was in the world she was only beginning to understand and of what her destiny would turn out to be. Ren’s adventure is made difficult because of her perceived complicity in the group’s uncompromising fight for survival because she is a moon-soul, required by monk instruction to be compassionate above all else.

The descriptions of the characters made for an absorbing visual adventure and the writing had a nice flow and rhythm that kept my mind bouncing through pleasantly. This skill was demonstrated early on, and it made for a good impression. Briana Herlihy’s attention to detail was superb: be it clothing, ships, the setting, rifles, or abstract technologies. It wasn’t too scientific, and its abstract sci-fi could probably pass as steampunk because it was set in a society that wasn’t too primitive or advanced. I would certainly consider reading more from this author. If it’s her debut novel, then it was one of the most engaging and well-written debut novels I can remember reading for a while. I was brought into the world effortlessly, and the bonds and contrast between the characters never tired.

Criticism: I found more than a few misspelled or incorrect words, in only the first three chapters. These continued throughout, but didn’t obstruct from the narrative or flow. Sometimes there were too many character directions in the same paragraph, which made it difficult to keep track of the general idea of what was happening at any given moment. Individual characteristics of each character were strong, which was likely why the author emphasised these repeatedly, though this particular problem only began to bother me in the second half of the story.

It’d be nice to know how the author found the inspiration for The Watch. Indeed, I’d go as far as to say the theme, or otherwise combination of genres, does have a stroke of originality in it. The Watch will definitely appeal to both hard scientific sci-fi readers and those who prefer their sci-fi otherwise like myself, for the attention to detail had a character-focused “soft sci-fi” delivery. I wonder if this is a winning combination? Either way, I have a feeling this series will be well-received.