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Seven to Die
Seven To Die tells the story of Lex MacArthur, a San Francisco college student who comes into possession of an enigmatic clay pendant that unlocks a bevy of dormant superhuman genes. She's stronger, she's faster, and she's on a mission to find out why. As Lex sets out to discover who she is and where she really came from, she comes face-to-face with Egil, a killer who has been tracking Lex her entire life. At the helm of an enormous operation to eradicate all of Lex's kind, Egil captures Lex's long-lost mother, forcing Lex to confront him head-on and save those she loves from certain death.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2014
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17 people want to read
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October 1, 2014
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Publisher: Treanne Gomes
Publishing Date: September 2014
ISBN: 9781941511022
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.0/5
Publisher Description: SEVEN TO DIE tells the story of Lex MacArthur, a San Francisco college student who comes into possession of an enigmatic clay pendant that unlocks a bevy of dormant superhuman genes. She’s stronger, she’s faster, and she’s on a mission to find out why. As Lex sets out to discover who she is and where she really came from, she comes face-to-face with Egil, a killer who has been tracking Lex her entire life.
Review: Cover art is A-Ok.
I liked this novel for about the first third. It was simple, straightforward and without guile. Lex is a great character and embodies all those life events that many experience on their way to responsibility. Guilt for taking money for school when your heart is not into it; feeling like you don’t belong in a structured society etc.. As we move into 2/3rds section the story line loses its wonderful movement to stilted scenes and a dialogue that goes nowhere. There are pointed descriptors from what to paint and decorate in a bedroom to Halloween costumes and hitting it off with people at a party where “Man he’s/she’s sure cute…lets go to IHOP!” rules the day. Coupled with the constant “I am so depressed with all that is happening to me…WHY ME! I want my old life back!” WAH! The author repeatedly hammers into the reader that Jimmy is gay. We get it already.
Although the story-line treads water with dialogue, there is some movement to keep you interested, albeit sporadically. The fight scenes don’t really seem to go anywhere. Boom, crash, bang and Jimmy gets hurt. The End. Besides wanting to scream and gnash my teeth with this work, the author shows promise if she lets the movement of the story take over her characters rather than them being reactive to their circumstances. This builds the characters through the process of movement rather than stunting their development with excessive dialogue. The author gets a star for creative talent yet loses one in story-line development and a plethora of spelling and grammatical errors. This novel was on the cusp of being right up there with one of the years best. Kind of a chicks version of “Unbreakable”. Only the story line gets lost in pedantic dialogue. Everything was building to this wild discovery and slap you in the face movement, yet pauses and plays the poor me routine with the inter-play of emotions.
Publisher: Treanne Gomes
Publishing Date: September 2014
ISBN: 9781941511022
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.0/5
Publisher Description: SEVEN TO DIE tells the story of Lex MacArthur, a San Francisco college student who comes into possession of an enigmatic clay pendant that unlocks a bevy of dormant superhuman genes. She’s stronger, she’s faster, and she’s on a mission to find out why. As Lex sets out to discover who she is and where she really came from, she comes face-to-face with Egil, a killer who has been tracking Lex her entire life.
Review: Cover art is A-Ok.
I liked this novel for about the first third. It was simple, straightforward and without guile. Lex is a great character and embodies all those life events that many experience on their way to responsibility. Guilt for taking money for school when your heart is not into it; feeling like you don’t belong in a structured society etc.. As we move into 2/3rds section the story line loses its wonderful movement to stilted scenes and a dialogue that goes nowhere. There are pointed descriptors from what to paint and decorate in a bedroom to Halloween costumes and hitting it off with people at a party where “Man he’s/she’s sure cute…lets go to IHOP!” rules the day. Coupled with the constant “I am so depressed with all that is happening to me…WHY ME! I want my old life back!” WAH! The author repeatedly hammers into the reader that Jimmy is gay. We get it already.
Although the story-line treads water with dialogue, there is some movement to keep you interested, albeit sporadically. The fight scenes don’t really seem to go anywhere. Boom, crash, bang and Jimmy gets hurt. The End. Besides wanting to scream and gnash my teeth with this work, the author shows promise if she lets the movement of the story take over her characters rather than them being reactive to their circumstances. This builds the characters through the process of movement rather than stunting their development with excessive dialogue. The author gets a star for creative talent yet loses one in story-line development and a plethora of spelling and grammatical errors. This novel was on the cusp of being right up there with one of the years best. Kind of a chicks version of “Unbreakable”. Only the story line gets lost in pedantic dialogue. Everything was building to this wild discovery and slap you in the face movement, yet pauses and plays the poor me routine with the inter-play of emotions.
December 11, 2015
This is the worst book I have ever read.
Weak and unimaginative writing and very poor editing have failed superhero fiction on a scale worthy of a freshman literature course on How Not to Write Fiction.
There is nothing in SEVEN TO DIE worth admiring. All that is regrettable about amateur fiction writing (e.g., redundant story structure, pet words, inconsistent voice) and all that is regrettable about superhero fiction writing (e.g., awkward fight scenes, inconsistent abilities, coincidental hero dynamics) are present in this book. SEVEN TO DIE reads like a piece of fan fiction minus the benefit of meaningful character identities.
The basic detriment here, quite simply, is that SEVEN TO DIE is not written well. This tale of a bad college student who suddenly awakens to a family history of super-powered beings isn't impractical as far as the genre is concerned. Stranger things than power-granting necklaces have happened. But alas, the quality of writing here proves routinely unhelpful.
Pet words. For example, the word "absentmindedly" appears three times in the first three pages of the very first chapter (pp. 7–9), "Jimmy" opens three consecutive paragraphs (and four of the six sentences within those three paragraphs) (p. 50), the word "anyway" appears three times over two pages later in the book (pp. 238–239), and the author has a great deal of trouble articulating even the simplest of character interactions, as when the behavioral tag "nodded" appears five times through eleven consecutive lines (pp. 115–116) and the tag "Lex nodded" specifically appears three times on the same page (p. 224). There are countless examples.
Missing words are also a problem. Take into consideration: "Plus, there's nothing you can like that bend here" (p. 66) and "There was place to hide. It was helpless" (p. 72).
Also, vague spatial orientation makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible to discern what in the world is going on: "The gate descended from the ceiling of the cave into the ground. The tunnel inside was bare, but coated in concrete" (p. 276). Tunnel inside where? The gate? They're already inside a cave, so it's a tunnel inside a gate inside a cave (descending from the ceiling)? Or did the gate simply . . . fall? Sadly, there are multiple scenes where the author overcomplicates what should be very straightforward (just break down the gate, for goodness sake). Another good example is when characters inexplicably jump "high into the air" (p. 189), even "flipping over two guards" while simultaneously "fir[ing] three shots" (p. 283) in the close confines of a basement or a medical lab. Can someone actually perform a jump-flip while firing pistols in a cramped doctor's laboratory?
Fight scenes in SEVEN TO DIE are inscrutably awkward at best. Several characters get their necks "snapped" out of convenience, and I'm still puzzled as to how one can be stabbed "in the back of the throat" (p. 252). Further, the author's incessant overwriting profoundly withers an otherwise urgent scene: "[The knife] landed in the middle of his Adam's apple, cutting off any outcry he may have made. She'd hit him so hard, the knife continued with intense momentum, pulling him backward, until it impacted the wall, pinning him" (p. 260). It's brutal, but also, at times, unintentionally funny. Take, for example, a moment when a character is armed to the teeth with guns, knives, and grenades but can somehow readily "slid[e] in" to a Maserati and drive away (p. 268).
Which leads me to pliers. The author, incomprehensibly, found it logical for near immortal and generally unharmable characters to be vulnerable only to wounds when the wounding item (as a knife or a bullet) is left in the wound and not immediately withdrawn. This logic is terrible for numerous reasons. For starters, it's a half-baked weakness, and it results in more than one instance of situational absurdity (e.g., characters walking around with pliers on their hips for pulling out bullets when shot). In addition, the application of this logic is incredibly irrational. Characters are shot in the head, repeatedly, and suffer no brain damage because the bullet was "dislodged" (with pliers) -- even when "stuck pretty solidly" (p. 282), whatever that means. The main character, Lex, spends several minutes writhing on the bathroom floor, digging a bullet out of her stomach until "she clamped the bullet and pulled it free" (p. 262). It's ridiculous, particularly when you consider these characters possess inexplicable regenerative abilities and live for centuries. If regular humans can live decades with shrapnel and worse embedded in their body, how come bullets affect superhumans so much? It's completely unsound.
Broadly, decent editorial support for SEVEN TO DIE was nonexistent. Syntax struggles abound in this book, as with "His words bit her and leaked venom" (p. 188); or "Frustratingly, she wouldn't know anything for sure until she was actually in it" (p. 240), when "it" is never defined; or the verbiage of "Shots had already begun being fired" (p. 288), and similarly, "Ana Maria had been shot three times and was covered in blood making finding the entry points a challenge" (p. 289); and "now," which, for some strange reason, is the only word to appear on page 176, closing out chapter twenty-four (clearly, a production editor should have nudged that back to page 175). There are countless examples.
Overwriting also chips away at proper pronoun use: "Hassan led the way and walked into Richard's home. It pleased him greatly that Richard did not have the same impeccable taste that Hassan did" (p. 318).
Editors also whiffed on the author's pacing dilemma (average chapter length is 7.5 pages), the author's tendency to forget what the time-of-day is (a midnight escape turns into a midday drive), the author's knack for forced diversity (over-explaining multicultural characters trivializes them), and the author's overreliance on coincidence. Lazy writing begets coincidences, as when Charles, a foot soldier for the enemy who vows to help the good guys, reasons he can sneak them into enemy territory because, apparently, the most obvious avenue of entry into the secure complex deep in the woods has been used only once: the south entrance was used "for the first time this morning" (p. 272), the weapons room "was used for the first time today, too" (p. 272), Charles "only used [the road to the complex] once so far" (p. 274), and don't worry about field sensors or security cameras, because "they just built-up this area, and it's not finished" (p. 275). The result? The grand entrance to the secret base has them walking effortlessly through a gaping hole in the side of a hill.
SEVEN TO DIE is not a good book. However, for English professors or high school teachers eager to lend students an example of what not to do when crafting fiction, SEVEN TO DIE is perfect.
Weak and unimaginative writing and very poor editing have failed superhero fiction on a scale worthy of a freshman literature course on How Not to Write Fiction.
There is nothing in SEVEN TO DIE worth admiring. All that is regrettable about amateur fiction writing (e.g., redundant story structure, pet words, inconsistent voice) and all that is regrettable about superhero fiction writing (e.g., awkward fight scenes, inconsistent abilities, coincidental hero dynamics) are present in this book. SEVEN TO DIE reads like a piece of fan fiction minus the benefit of meaningful character identities.
The basic detriment here, quite simply, is that SEVEN TO DIE is not written well. This tale of a bad college student who suddenly awakens to a family history of super-powered beings isn't impractical as far as the genre is concerned. Stranger things than power-granting necklaces have happened. But alas, the quality of writing here proves routinely unhelpful.
Pet words. For example, the word "absentmindedly" appears three times in the first three pages of the very first chapter (pp. 7–9), "Jimmy" opens three consecutive paragraphs (and four of the six sentences within those three paragraphs) (p. 50), the word "anyway" appears three times over two pages later in the book (pp. 238–239), and the author has a great deal of trouble articulating even the simplest of character interactions, as when the behavioral tag "nodded" appears five times through eleven consecutive lines (pp. 115–116) and the tag "Lex nodded" specifically appears three times on the same page (p. 224). There are countless examples.
Missing words are also a problem. Take into consideration: "Plus, there's nothing you can like that bend here" (p. 66) and "There was place to hide. It was helpless" (p. 72).
Also, vague spatial orientation makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible to discern what in the world is going on: "The gate descended from the ceiling of the cave into the ground. The tunnel inside was bare, but coated in concrete" (p. 276). Tunnel inside where? The gate? They're already inside a cave, so it's a tunnel inside a gate inside a cave (descending from the ceiling)? Or did the gate simply . . . fall? Sadly, there are multiple scenes where the author overcomplicates what should be very straightforward (just break down the gate, for goodness sake). Another good example is when characters inexplicably jump "high into the air" (p. 189), even "flipping over two guards" while simultaneously "fir[ing] three shots" (p. 283) in the close confines of a basement or a medical lab. Can someone actually perform a jump-flip while firing pistols in a cramped doctor's laboratory?
Fight scenes in SEVEN TO DIE are inscrutably awkward at best. Several characters get their necks "snapped" out of convenience, and I'm still puzzled as to how one can be stabbed "in the back of the throat" (p. 252). Further, the author's incessant overwriting profoundly withers an otherwise urgent scene: "[The knife] landed in the middle of his Adam's apple, cutting off any outcry he may have made. She'd hit him so hard, the knife continued with intense momentum, pulling him backward, until it impacted the wall, pinning him" (p. 260). It's brutal, but also, at times, unintentionally funny. Take, for example, a moment when a character is armed to the teeth with guns, knives, and grenades but can somehow readily "slid[e] in" to a Maserati and drive away (p. 268).
Which leads me to pliers. The author, incomprehensibly, found it logical for near immortal and generally unharmable characters to be vulnerable only to wounds when the wounding item (as a knife or a bullet) is left in the wound and not immediately withdrawn. This logic is terrible for numerous reasons. For starters, it's a half-baked weakness, and it results in more than one instance of situational absurdity (e.g., characters walking around with pliers on their hips for pulling out bullets when shot). In addition, the application of this logic is incredibly irrational. Characters are shot in the head, repeatedly, and suffer no brain damage because the bullet was "dislodged" (with pliers) -- even when "stuck pretty solidly" (p. 282), whatever that means. The main character, Lex, spends several minutes writhing on the bathroom floor, digging a bullet out of her stomach until "she clamped the bullet and pulled it free" (p. 262). It's ridiculous, particularly when you consider these characters possess inexplicable regenerative abilities and live for centuries. If regular humans can live decades with shrapnel and worse embedded in their body, how come bullets affect superhumans so much? It's completely unsound.
Broadly, decent editorial support for SEVEN TO DIE was nonexistent. Syntax struggles abound in this book, as with "His words bit her and leaked venom" (p. 188); or "Frustratingly, she wouldn't know anything for sure until she was actually in it" (p. 240), when "it" is never defined; or the verbiage of "Shots had already begun being fired" (p. 288), and similarly, "Ana Maria had been shot three times and was covered in blood making finding the entry points a challenge" (p. 289); and "now," which, for some strange reason, is the only word to appear on page 176, closing out chapter twenty-four (clearly, a production editor should have nudged that back to page 175). There are countless examples.
Overwriting also chips away at proper pronoun use: "Hassan led the way and walked into Richard's home. It pleased him greatly that Richard did not have the same impeccable taste that Hassan did" (p. 318).
Editors also whiffed on the author's pacing dilemma (average chapter length is 7.5 pages), the author's tendency to forget what the time-of-day is (a midnight escape turns into a midday drive), the author's knack for forced diversity (over-explaining multicultural characters trivializes them), and the author's overreliance on coincidence. Lazy writing begets coincidences, as when Charles, a foot soldier for the enemy who vows to help the good guys, reasons he can sneak them into enemy territory because, apparently, the most obvious avenue of entry into the secure complex deep in the woods has been used only once: the south entrance was used "for the first time this morning" (p. 272), the weapons room "was used for the first time today, too" (p. 272), Charles "only used [the road to the complex] once so far" (p. 274), and don't worry about field sensors or security cameras, because "they just built-up this area, and it's not finished" (p. 275). The result? The grand entrance to the secret base has them walking effortlessly through a gaping hole in the side of a hill.
SEVEN TO DIE is not a good book. However, for English professors or high school teachers eager to lend students an example of what not to do when crafting fiction, SEVEN TO DIE is perfect.
May 1, 2024
Upon cleaning my room, I found Seven To Die hidden and forgotten on my shelf. Not only do I have no idea how it came into my possession, but it was also brand new, never opened. When I discovered that it had only 17 ratings and a 2.71/5 stars on Goodreads, it felt like destiny; I had to read this book, I will be one of the few people in the world to have done so!
Obviously this is not a good book, probably the worst writing I have ever read from a real published novel (another reviewer said it reads like fan-fiction and that’s very accurate). But I gotta say, once you accept that this is a bad book, it’s actually kinda good. It was entertaining despite the bad writing, glaring plot holes, and horrible, I mean absolutely atrocious, character development. I wish the book did not end on somewhat of a cliffhanger, since obviously a sequel was not written (I’m genuinely surprised this book was even published in the first place).
Some examples of bad writing and editing:
#1: “Well, how will I know?” Lex asked.
“Well, how will I know?” Lex asked.
#2: “Plus, there’s nothing you can like that bend here.” ??? This is not a coherent sentence.
#3: “Yeah, bustin’ makes me feel good,” Lex agreed.
Lastly, I need to mention how horribly vile this cover art is. I know this is meant to be some kind of clay amulet covered in blood, but the ribbed texture reminds me of the skin of the fingertips and that thought really really really grosses me out.
All in all, I never had the urge to DNF this book and I surprisingly did not hate reading it. Therefore, 2/5 ⭐️
Obviously this is not a good book, probably the worst writing I have ever read from a real published novel (another reviewer said it reads like fan-fiction and that’s very accurate). But I gotta say, once you accept that this is a bad book, it’s actually kinda good. It was entertaining despite the bad writing, glaring plot holes, and horrible, I mean absolutely atrocious, character development. I wish the book did not end on somewhat of a cliffhanger, since obviously a sequel was not written (I’m genuinely surprised this book was even published in the first place).
Some examples of bad writing and editing:
#1: “Well, how will I know?” Lex asked.
“Well, how will I know?” Lex asked.
#2: “Plus, there’s nothing you can like that bend here.” ??? This is not a coherent sentence.
#3: “Yeah, bustin’ makes me feel good,” Lex agreed.
Lastly, I need to mention how horribly vile this cover art is. I know this is meant to be some kind of clay amulet covered in blood, but the ribbed texture reminds me of the skin of the fingertips and that thought really really really grosses me out.
All in all, I never had the urge to DNF this book and I surprisingly did not hate reading it. Therefore, 2/5 ⭐️
April 3, 2016
Positives:
- When the main character starts experiencing the changes, she has her best friend with her, right from the start. That sets the book apart from others so similar to it in oher aspects, where the main character is always alone and no one believes him/her.
- I liked how we got to experience how other characters felt, not just the main one. It gave another dimension to the book and I only wish it would have been more explored.
- I liked the beginning of the book, especially Jimmy. He made me smirk a couple of times.
Negatives:
- Some editing mistakes - Missing spaces between words; misspellings; some words missing, others in excess. The formatting of the chapters could have been better too. New chapter = new page is pretty basic and makes all the difference.
- Throughout the book, not enough explanations were given. Couple of examples:
So I kind of felt like the author took the easy way out and the plot was quite flawed. This is also well present in the too convenient coincidences, like
- The book just didn't feel very realistic. Even though I laughed with Jimmy, some of his reactions weren't very believable and were pretty cliché. Both he and Lex got used to her changes way too quickly. The progression of her skills just wasn't portrayed well. For instance, it's like one minute she didn't know the first thing about fighting and the next she was snapping necks and whatnot (I could see the author trying but the end result just wasn't good enough).
- Some things were just juvenile. The "oh my gosh" in different characters' lines, the "because he's our friend now", not to mention the "I'm going to save everyone"s - all that along with the lack of context in some situations made this strike me as an immature book, and one that doesn't allow for the reader to get really involved with the characters and their lives/experiences.
Conclusion:
The book started off a lot better than its development and ending. We got an interesting prologue and Lex was pretty real - her struggle to succeed in her studies so she can live up to everyone else in the family, torn between doing something she liked and was good at but wasn't a good enough job, not the future she was supposed to have, wanting to keep her life but having to face her new responsibilities...
But even though the book was, at times, enjoyable and had more humour in it than I am used to in fantasy/horror/sci-fi, I think the plot could have been improved. A lot. There were too many inconsistencies for me to feel satisfied with it and take pleasure from reading it; the examples I mentioned were just the tip of the iceberg, really.
So my final conclusion is that if you would like to read about a(nother) girl who suddenly finds out she has powers and goes off discovering them with her gay bff, you should be able to enjoy it, as long as you don't expect much from the plot, particularly a fairly plausible storyline where you feel like you are there with the characters and know them and where things are actually explained and make sense.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.
- When the main character starts experiencing the changes, she has her best friend with her, right from the start. That sets the book apart from others so similar to it in oher aspects, where the main character is always alone and no one believes him/her.
- I liked how we got to experience how other characters felt, not just the main one. It gave another dimension to the book and I only wish it would have been more explored.
- I liked the beginning of the book, especially Jimmy. He made me smirk a couple of times.
Negatives:
- Some editing mistakes - Missing spaces between words; misspellings; some words missing, others in excess. The formatting of the chapters could have been better too. New chapter = new page is pretty basic and makes all the difference.
- Throughout the book, not enough explanations were given. Couple of examples:
So I kind of felt like the author took the easy way out and the plot was quite flawed. This is also well present in the too convenient coincidences, like
- The book just didn't feel very realistic. Even though I laughed with Jimmy, some of his reactions weren't very believable and were pretty cliché. Both he and Lex got used to her changes way too quickly. The progression of her skills just wasn't portrayed well. For instance, it's like one minute she didn't know the first thing about fighting and the next she was snapping necks and whatnot (I could see the author trying but the end result just wasn't good enough).
- Some things were just juvenile. The "oh my gosh" in different characters' lines, the "because he's our friend now", not to mention the "I'm going to save everyone"s - all that along with the lack of context in some situations made this strike me as an immature book, and one that doesn't allow for the reader to get really involved with the characters and their lives/experiences.
Conclusion:
The book started off a lot better than its development and ending. We got an interesting prologue and Lex was pretty real - her struggle to succeed in her studies so she can live up to everyone else in the family, torn between doing something she liked and was good at but wasn't a good enough job, not the future she was supposed to have, wanting to keep her life but having to face her new responsibilities...
But even though the book was, at times, enjoyable and had more humour in it than I am used to in fantasy/horror/sci-fi, I think the plot could have been improved. A lot. There were too many inconsistencies for me to feel satisfied with it and take pleasure from reading it; the examples I mentioned were just the tip of the iceberg, really.
So my final conclusion is that if you would like to read about a(nother) girl who suddenly finds out she has powers and goes off discovering them with her gay bff, you should be able to enjoy it, as long as you don't expect much from the plot, particularly a fairly plausible storyline where you feel like you are there with the characters and know them and where things are actually explained and make sense.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for my honest review.
December 2, 2014
You can also find this review on my blog.
First off, I want to say how much I love this cover. I have seen books where the covers are completely irrelevant and beautiful or relevant but not attractive. But, in this case the cover is both relevant and (at least for me) attractive.
Now for the actual treasure of a book; its content, I want to say that it was pretty good. The first 50% was a bit confusing, then questions started being answered and I could see the book with new eyes and it started getting better.But, as much as I liked the content and the actual story, I was not a big fan of the writing style. Except for the action scenes, I always felt like an outsider.
I knew something was going to happen, something amazing and we know what’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of how. I was waiting and them it happened and I was amazed, the action scenes were the best part of the book, they were described really well and I could really imagine the fight going down.
Another thing I loved was that it wasn’t just written from Lex’s POV but a little from every character’S POV which helped me connect more with every character present in the book and not just the main one.
The only thing I found that was bugging me a little was when things started happening to Lex. When things started, she was with her beat friend Jimmy. The thing bugging me was how calm they were in a situation like Lex’s in which they didn’t know what was happening but weren’t all that scared.
Another thing would be the lack of a sequel. There were some unanswered questions left and I would, personally, really like to know what happen next with Egil and Andrew.
Except for these two things, I really enjoyed the read and will be hoping that T.G. Roberts decides to do a second part and put me out of my miseries.
But for now, to know more about T.G. Roberts and Seven to Die, click here.
First off, I want to say how much I love this cover. I have seen books where the covers are completely irrelevant and beautiful or relevant but not attractive. But, in this case the cover is both relevant and (at least for me) attractive.
Now for the actual treasure of a book; its content, I want to say that it was pretty good. The first 50% was a bit confusing, then questions started being answered and I could see the book with new eyes and it started getting better.But, as much as I liked the content and the actual story, I was not a big fan of the writing style. Except for the action scenes, I always felt like an outsider.
I knew something was going to happen, something amazing and we know what’s going to happen, it’s just a matter of how. I was waiting and them it happened and I was amazed, the action scenes were the best part of the book, they were described really well and I could really imagine the fight going down.
Another thing I loved was that it wasn’t just written from Lex’s POV but a little from every character’S POV which helped me connect more with every character present in the book and not just the main one.
The only thing I found that was bugging me a little was when things started happening to Lex. When things started, she was with her beat friend Jimmy. The thing bugging me was how calm they were in a situation like Lex’s in which they didn’t know what was happening but weren’t all that scared.
Another thing would be the lack of a sequel. There were some unanswered questions left and I would, personally, really like to know what happen next with Egil and Andrew.
Except for these two things, I really enjoyed the read and will be hoping that T.G. Roberts decides to do a second part and put me out of my miseries.
But for now, to know more about T.G. Roberts and Seven to Die, click here.
November 16, 2014
SEVEN TO DIE tells the story of Lex MacArthur, a San Francisco college student who comes into possession of an enigmatic clay pendant that unlocks a bevy of dormant superhuman genes. She’s stronger, she’s faster, and she’s on a mission to find out why. As Lex sets out to discover who she is and where she really came from, she comes face-to-face with Egil, a killer who has been tracking Lex her entire life. At the helm of an enormous operation to eradicate all of Lex’s kind, Egil captures Lex’s long-lost mother, forcing Lex to confront him head on and save those she loves from certain death.
Review
Cover: I don't want to say anything, only that it's perfect for the book!
Characters: they are all well defined but the reader gets to know them little by little during the development of the story. They are usually described by other characters: in this way, the reader learns something about the latter ones too. As the story goes on the different aspects of every character are revealed.
Writing: the story is well depicted and can be read easily and fluidly. Tha author gets the maximum effect using few words. There's a good ballance between descriptions and dialogues. And there are some funny scenes too!
Even though this book could be a stand-alone, I think (and hope) there will be a sequel, because there are many situations unresolved. And some of them are quite interesting.
Feelings for this book: I really liked it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Aspen Novels for the e-ARC of Seven to Die.
Review
Cover: I don't want to say anything, only that it's perfect for the book!
Characters: they are all well defined but the reader gets to know them little by little during the development of the story. They are usually described by other characters: in this way, the reader learns something about the latter ones too. As the story goes on the different aspects of every character are revealed.
Writing: the story is well depicted and can be read easily and fluidly. Tha author gets the maximum effect using few words. There's a good ballance between descriptions and dialogues. And there are some funny scenes too!
Even though this book could be a stand-alone, I think (and hope) there will be a sequel, because there are many situations unresolved. And some of them are quite interesting.
Feelings for this book: I really liked it!
Thank you to NetGalley and Aspen Novels for the e-ARC of Seven to Die.
December 31, 2014
I have to point out that I cannot stand giving bad ratings or reviews. This one I could not help. I am not one to need extensive, flowery language at every turn, but in this case, a couple of adjectives thrown in here or there may have helped.
Seven to Die ended up being a DNF for me. I got to 29% and could not force myself to go on. The entirety up to that point consisted of highly disjointed scenes that went basically along the lines of" This happened, then this, after that this happened. End scene. There are no descriptions, just exactly the actions that took place - much too simplistic. The dialogue was very unnatural as well. People do not speak in the way these characters were!
I never even reached the point of anyone dying, let alone seven of them. I also never found out why Lex, the main character developed super-strength. I was really looking forward to this book, as the description was right up my alley! Seven to Die was just not for me.
Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC.
Seven to Die ended up being a DNF for me. I got to 29% and could not force myself to go on. The entirety up to that point consisted of highly disjointed scenes that went basically along the lines of" This happened, then this, after that this happened. End scene. There are no descriptions, just exactly the actions that took place - much too simplistic. The dialogue was very unnatural as well. People do not speak in the way these characters were!
I never even reached the point of anyone dying, let alone seven of them. I also never found out why Lex, the main character developed super-strength. I was really looking forward to this book, as the description was right up my alley! Seven to Die was just not for me.
Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC.
November 1, 2014
Lex McArthur, a college student comes to own a pendant that will unlock her unknown dormant super human genes. Lex finds herself to be stronger and faster. She decides to find out who she is and where she comes from. On this mission she meets Egil, a killer. He is assigned to kill all her type of people including her? Will Lex survive?
This is a great urban fantasy. The characters are realistic. It is the beginning of an adventure that I hope doesn't end.
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
This is a great urban fantasy. The characters are realistic. It is the beginning of an adventure that I hope doesn't end.
Disclaimer: I received a digital galley of this book free from the publisher from NetGalley. I was not obliged to write a favourable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
January 2, 2016
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The story had so much potential but it was just so disappointing to see it fall short. I felt the story itself was washed out by the dialogue mot of the time and there wasn’t enough character development as the story went on. A lot of the emotions were very sporadic for the characters, and the action sequences weren’t very well developed. It really hindered the enjoyment of reading this book and I felt that it got harder to finish, as I got more frustrated.
The story had so much potential but it was just so disappointing to see it fall short. I felt the story itself was washed out by the dialogue mot of the time and there wasn’t enough character development as the story went on. A lot of the emotions were very sporadic for the characters, and the action sequences weren’t very well developed. It really hindered the enjoyment of reading this book and I felt that it got harder to finish, as I got more frustrated.
June 11, 2016
Being a huge fan of Aspen MLT's comics, I was horribly disappointed by Seven To Die. The writing was terrible, and it was very difficult to get through - I never even finished it. I was very sad to find this, since it was the first eBook I purchased for my Kindle Voyage after opening it Christmas morning. Disappointment is bitter, but at least I supported my favorite comic publisher with the purchase - a silver lining in a bummer situation.
Read
January 21, 2015Read to page 87 and DNF'd it. This has an interesting premise but I found it difficult to take it seriously. The characters' reactions to certain situations were not realistic at all. Things weren't explained as well as they could have been. It was choppy at times and confusing.
*Review copy via Net Galley
*Review copy via Net Galley
October 29, 2014
Obtained this ARC from NetGalley in exchange of honest review.
Interesting plot with immortal humans with superpower that can be borrowed from a "key". I love Jimmy so much as best friend to Lex and he's been loyal to her.
This is a book worth reading with cinematic battle scenes, love of friendship and family. Looking forward to the sequel.
Interesting plot with immortal humans with superpower that can be borrowed from a "key". I love Jimmy so much as best friend to Lex and he's been loyal to her.
This is a book worth reading with cinematic battle scenes, love of friendship and family. Looking forward to the sequel.
November 10, 2014
Received ARC from Netgalley for honest review.
Not really too sure of this one, a bit too slow and too clean with characters not really getting flung into the deep end .It was not that believable or realistic ie:supergirl v all the bad guys and sidekick jimmy.
The premise was there as I picked it out from Netgalley, but overall OK
Not really too sure of this one, a bit too slow and too clean with characters not really getting flung into the deep end .It was not that believable or realistic ie:supergirl v all the bad guys and sidekick jimmy.
The premise was there as I picked it out from Netgalley, but overall OK
October 31, 2014
Interesting premise but it slow causing the story to fall flat. Not enough explanations were given so at times I was confused by what the hell was going on. The characters reaction to things and situations were not believable so it was very unrealistic. Just not the book for me
dnf
February 17, 2015Wasn't for me. I don't want to say anything negative so pick it up if it interests you.
Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Read
October 9, 2014Didn't finish. Interesting premise, but it moved too slow. Not the book, it's me. :(
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