Knifepoint

Breakers #3

by Edward W. Robertson

Raina was just a girl when the plague came. She survived. Her parents didn't. Neither did the world. As civilization fell, she took to the ruins of Los Angeles, eating whatever she could catch.

After two years alone, she's found and adopted by a fisherman and his wife. Their makeshift family lives a quiet life--until a man named Karslaw sails in from Catalina Island with an army of conquerors. Driven by visions of empire, he executes Raina's new father as a traitor and takes her mother captive.

But Karslaw's people aren't the only ones vying for control of the ruined land. As violence wracks the city, Raina joins a rebellion against Karslaw's rule. She will stop at nothing to free her mother--and to have her revenge.

Genres: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Fiction, Audiobook, Aliens, Fantasy

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Ed is the author of the post-apocalyptic Breakers series and the epic fantasy series The Cycle of Arawn. A former New Yorker and Idaho-guy, he currently lives in the LA area. His short fiction has appeared in a whole bunch of magazines and anthologies.

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, I was thinking that I was going to need to rate this one a bit lower than the previous titles in this series. Unlike BREAKERS and MELTDOWN, this one did NOT grab me from the first minute with the characters. I don't know why, but Raina just didn't interest me as much as the main characters of the previous books. And Walt's re-emergence into the story, along with the tale of his trek back to LA from the top of some Mayan pyramid in Mexico seemed a little more dragged out than the trek in BREAKERS and the opening sequences of MELTDOWN and the novella OUTCOME.

But then it began to click, and I got into this story as much as any of the others, and I ended up really enjoying the story to the point where I couldn't really put it down. I was happy with the conclusion and with how they got there.

So - another five star effort in the BREAKERS series from Edward Robertson, at least in my opinion.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was by far the best instalment in the Breakers series - good enough that I purchased the next 3 in the hopes that this author will continue to just keep getting better! I hope I don't come to regret it.
The characters in Knifepoint are more believable in their reactions to things (though strange and a bit twisted sometimes), and the threat from other humans continues to be the main theme. Also I enjoyed in this and the previous book that the aliens can actually be reasoned with - and had a reason to invade beyond pure conquering and destruction. It was also interesting revisiting some characters from the other books, to note the progression in their character development, and in Walt's case again becoming an integral part of the plot.
Just a really good post apocalyptic yarn - and not a zombie in sight.

[Aravind · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was the final instalment of this series, but it is not so; there are three more books, which I plan to read at sometime or the other. This novel continues with the story of Walt, who is the hero of Book-1, a few years after the attack by the aliens that nearly wiped out the humankind. It also introduces Raina, a teenager who has lost her parents to the alien-created plague, whose adopted family is taken away by a power-hungry leader of the survivors. This book is as absorbing as the previous ones, with great characters and fast-paced action. Apart from the many wisecracks which are annoying after a limit, and the brief, seemingly purposeless appearance of the characters from Book-2, I had a lot of fun reading this well-written story of the survival in the post-apocalyptic America.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the last book, this one didn't repeat any of the timeline, it started after the second book and picked up Walt's story, along with introducing Raina's new one.

I really liked this instalment. Raina had an interesting upbringing and is definitely a survivor with a distinct outlook and personality. Her viewpoint was very intriguing, and I looked forward to her chapters.

Walt was less interesting and definitely more cliched. He wasn't a great hero, but did make a good counterpoint to Raina's tale.

Overall, this was a good addition to the series, and one that really embraced life after all the catastrophes. It's the start of a whole new world and was a fun and entertaining read.

[Lotta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely liked Walt better in this book, and Raina as well. I really liked how their points of view showed the two sides to the story. Karslaw was wonderfully unlikeable, as was Lorna.

[BA85 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the two preceding books in the Breakers series, Knifepoint is told from two separate perspectives. In this book, we have one new and one returning protagonist. I don’t want to give away any spoilers and so I wont say who the returning character is. What I will say is that I was glad that Robertson decided to continue this character’s story as, for me this character had endeared themself to me in an earlier Breakers novel.

The new character from whose point of view the second narrative is told was, to me at least, far less endearing and so I found much of her story less interesting. This new character comes across as a reckless brat but it seems the author is trying to portray her as a heroine.

Certain aspects of the plot are also hard to take seriously. For example, another character makes a return and it is through this character that we are given some perspective into the motivations of the invading aliens. Let’s just say that maybe my feeble Earthling mind just isn’t capable of comprehending their motivations as they seemed rather ridiculous.

I consider the plot of this novel to be rather simplistic in that there isn’t a constant stream of twists and turns. This however I don’t consider a bad thing as it makes for light reading and one doesn’t need to think to hard to keep up with what is going on.

All in all, an ok, easy reading book deserving of 3 stars. But because I’m a sucker for the post apocalyptic genre, I’m giving it a 4 out of 5.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third part of Breakers was interesting. Interesting in that we meet again some characters from earlier (Walt, Ness, Sebastian), and some quite interesting new ones. It's these new ones that consume much of the story. Raina is a very young survivor of the plague who has been taken in by a couple who care for her as their own. They don't make the last reel, or else why would we be talking about it?

She devises plans for revenge against those that have done her wrong. It's nice to see that she's not a natural at that game, but has to learn it along the way. Including a very cute Karate Kid interlude that has her searching for a Chagall painting amongst the ruined houses of Beverly Hills and Malibu.

Walt is lead astray in a most devious way by a truly duplicitous character that I hope returns in the future. Needless to say that heads do roll in satisfying ways.

On to chapter four!

[Karlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the apocalypse and space alien twist. I’ve not read a lot of these. I liked a few of the characters and just didn’t care about others. I hated to see that so many people turned bad so quickly. I prefer a more positive outlook even in the apocalypse. I plan on reading further in hopes things find a better plateau.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consistent with the rest of the series. Great opening, weak middle, great ending.

I don't like the fact that so much is blatantly given away in the brief back of the book synopsis but the character Raina, was great. I also like that we were able to follow up with some of the previous characters from the series too.

[Julie Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the box set (1-3) so will just say that book three of this series is very well done. Raina is a brilliant character and together with Walt being back on the scene, it made for a compelling read.

Well-written, fast-paced with a sense of humour throughout, I really enjoyed it.

Highly recommended.

[Christian]

The two main characters in the novel, are Walt and Raina. With Walt being actually the voice of reason for great many chapters of the novel.

Raina on the other hand is a 15 year old girl and bat shit crazy. Her character has the a lot of druidic traits.

Perhaps the best of the 3 beginning novels of the breaker series.

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great listen, have to just keep going to see what will happen in this book, now can't wait til next one, have to control myself so don't finish it too fast !!! 1 per month to spread out the suspense

[Johannes Sælsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good cntinuation of the series. It units. Bit of the first two books, but builds onward to the univers.

Though only one of the main character is truly interesting. They are set on somewhat predictable paths from the get go. It still keeps you going.

I enjoyed it so far.

[Tammy R. Blackwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been enjoying this series on survival. This third book moves a little into what I would call the weird zone. I did not enjoy it as much as the first two books. I will read the next book in the series because I need to see what happens to the characters.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to cut this short. The books are just too violent and depressing for me. I only stuck with them for as long as I did because of the quality of the writing. They are good books, just not to my taste.

[Steve Utschig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun series to read

[Cathie Stumpenhaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. Great series!

[Joe Setness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters were pretty samey but better than in the first two. The plot was interesting and there some twists and there was always something happening.

[Jaime Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed, full of drama and intrigue and twists and turns. Loved it.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how past characters showed up again and tied different stories together.

[Julie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good but Tristan did not appear in this one. Maybe she's the girl at the end and she and Walt find some loving.

[Rosana Brew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the stories only slightly intertwine.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts slow and takes a long time before the invasion, but ok in the end.

[J.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the series.

[Noelle Brighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent ending to a trilogy. The action kept me engaged and I liked the ending. Highly recommend.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have really enjoyed the series thus far.The characters have been interesting and the way the story has connected has really kept me on my toes.

[Sherry Needham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book much more than book 2, but I find it a bit annoying that all the characters have witty sarcasm.

[Jennifer Truelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, love the Breakers series. Just bought the fourth.

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of collection of books 1 -3 (previously read 1 and 2 in October 2016).

Despite this gap the book was gripping - part of the narrative follows the main series protagonist as he is recruited to resume the fight against the aliens, who are still around albeit in reduced circumstances after the destruction of their ship. The alternating chapters follow Raina, who is adopted by a fisherman and his wife living on the beach near San Pedro, Los Angeles, after surviving for two years as a feral child. The two narratives intersect in the story of the feudal society developing on Catalina Island - Walt is 'needed' as an advisor to deal with the aliens still on the crashed ship; Raina suffers when the islanders exact tribute from the mainland. Along the way we also encounter Sebastian and Ness from the previous book.

Although it's been a while there is enough detail to allow late-comers to pick up the narrative without it being info-dumping. The volume ends at a satisfactory break point, once again - though as there are still 5? more books to go there are a few dangling plot threads, not large enough to count as cliffhangers but good enough to attract further reading (which I am in fact doing).

[Jemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

As promised, I have continued my journey through the 'Breakers' universe with the third instalment, ‘Knifepoint’. I picked up this book with an unreasonable amount of butterflies in my stomach – I wanted to love it as much as I loved the second, and much more than the first, which I did not entirely enjoy. The result being that I was slightly disappointed by this book, it could not quite reach the incredible standard that ‘Meltdown’ had established. I did, however, find it to rest somewhere comfortably in between the first two books.

I find I have less to say about this book than the others, positive or negative, and I think this is due to a lack of substance in the plot and some of the characters. This time around the story centres on the very first survivor we were introduced to in the series, Walt (which was my favourite thing about this book, and I was utterly thrilled about) and an entirely new character, Raina, who has suffered hugely at the hands of the virus. Their two stories do eventually intertwine, in a way, but the tension leading up to the events was overplayed and the conclusion wasn’t as exciting as it could have been. I also did feel like the book did not show us the big picture; the focus is almost completely on the threat of a war between two small factions of people – the overall feel was quite claustrophobic and I would have appreciated some context of the world outside of the story.

Strangely enough, the aliens take a backseat in this book and the villains take a distinctly more human form. Again, the author adeptly illustrates that humans are their own worst enemy, and human nature can be just as alien as those which nearly destroyed them. I certainly cannot fault the exploration of human behaviour, and the descriptions of a world timidly returning to civilisation; the author captured this brilliantly. It was also nice to be in the increasingly familiar ‘Breakers’ world again, and I loved the clever references which peeked at me from the pages, creating that comfortable feeling of being special and included.

The return of Walt was nothing short of brilliant, he has been my favourite character by a long shot from the very beginning. Every second reading his dialogue stirred nostalgic emotions within me, similar to catching up with an old friend – except instead of meeting at Starbucks, you are thrown into a post-apocalyptic world with aliens who may or may not be interested in wiping out the rest of the human race. Oh well, at least the anecdotes are more interesting.

The problem I found is that whilst I was completely immersed in Walt’s storyline, the dialogue running parallel could not compete and I constantly found my interest waning. Whilst it was interesting to have a completely new character with a unique set of circumstances, it didn’t seem as credible as the rest of the plot. I tried really hard to make a connection with Raina, but the truth is I just didn’t get her. I felt as a character she was bizarre and whilst this is not a criticism in itself, her personality lacked a depth which I felt with all the others. Since the ‘Breakers’ series depends largely on its characters and their development, it is hugely important that their portrayal is both strong and plausible and I found Raina lacked both these things. It is strange because whatever criticisms I have made with the first two books, this is the first time I have encountered this particular weakness and so it was completely unexpected.




No matter my feelings on the previous books, it is certain I will continue with the series. As the saying goes, I am in too deep now and there is no going back. Wish me luck with ‘Reapers’.