What do you think?
Rate this book
Charged Volume 1
262 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
9 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 23, 2017
Definitely stylish. Storytelling mostly via text messages. Not completely original in local lit because I saw similar style in one of the stories of Mar de la Cruz a couple of years back. However, Malvar's genre here is suspense-thriller. So, reading the book is like watching Saw (that was also mentioned in the book) like that part where the victim has to cut off his leg for him to leave the prison cell or should I say it felt that way.
The book is 261 pages but about 10 pages of which are missing and at least 20 are misarranged: upside down or you have to look for them. I saw two reviews in Goodreads and I seem to have the only one with this sad fate. I bought this book from MIBF 2017 and I was excited to see a new book by Siege Malvar (I met him at least once). I got excited reading it at first but when I came to the inverted pages and I had to look for the next page, I got a bad headache and my weekend was just ruined by this book. I continued reading what's available and I thought I got the whole plot but still it was not a nice experience. Visprint, will you please send me a decent copy? Don't tell me to go to your office and exchange my book. You are responsible for doing quality checks before packing the books for delivery to MIBF. Don't tell me that it is just normal for the printing press to commit mistakes. For me, this is one of the reasons why the local publishing industry or local literature is not as successful as other countries'. We don't make sure of the quality of our printing. 1,000 copies na lang nga ang print run, di pa natin magawa ng tama. Nakakahiya kay Siege.
The book is 261 pages but about 10 pages of which are missing and at least 20 are misarranged: upside down or you have to look for them. I saw two reviews in Goodreads and I seem to have the only one with this sad fate. I bought this book from MIBF 2017 and I was excited to see a new book by Siege Malvar (I met him at least once). I got excited reading it at first but when I came to the inverted pages and I had to look for the next page, I got a bad headache and my weekend was just ruined by this book. I continued reading what's available and I thought I got the whole plot but still it was not a nice experience. Visprint, will you please send me a decent copy? Don't tell me to go to your office and exchange my book. You are responsible for doing quality checks before packing the books for delivery to MIBF. Don't tell me that it is just normal for the printing press to commit mistakes. For me, this is one of the reasons why the local publishing industry or local literature is not as successful as other countries'. We don't make sure of the quality of our printing. 1,000 copies na lang nga ang print run, di pa natin magawa ng tama. Nakakahiya kay Siege.
September 17, 2017
Shh, Okay, ang galing lang ng author.
Hays, Ang talino lang ng pacing.
Oh, Ang 'witty' ng dialogue.
Oh, Ang 'brilliant' ng execution.
K', Pwedeng sabihin na ito ang uso kaya ito ang ginagawa,
Hmm, pero kaya ba na ganito kaganda,
(True!) kahusay at ka-pinagisipang mabuti?
si bes.
Hays, Ang talino lang ng pacing.
Oh, Ang 'witty' ng dialogue.
Oh, Ang 'brilliant' ng execution.
K', Pwedeng sabihin na ito ang uso kaya ito ang ginagawa,
Hmm, pero kaya ba na ganito kaganda,
(True!) kahusay at ka-pinagisipang mabuti?
si bes.
September 15, 2017
This is, by far, the fastest read I've ever had. EVER. The format was interesting enough to make me turn page after page. Pacing, action, mystery, and FEAR had me glued to the pages wanting to know how it will end. Holy shit, Siege Malvar. You are a genius. Please get volume 2 out soon. PLEASE. For my sanity. Haha.
December 30, 2017
Entertaining story and fast-paced plot. Minus 1 star for printing issues on the copy that I bought from MIBF 2017. SAKA BAKIT BITIN HAHA! Can't wait for Volume 2!
October 17, 2023
My sister kept a lot of books like me and she recommended one of her favorite book, this book and it was weird to me why everything was on chats instead of showing what was really going on but on and on when I read deeper, the deeper it got my attention and curiosity flooded my head, until the end, it made me scream because....WHY UNDER THERE?🥲😭
I did enjoy and would love to read more soon💅🏻
I did enjoy and would love to read more soon💅🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2017
Well this one was a quick read, so for anyone picking up a copy don't get intimidated on how thick it is. I guess it comes with how it's formatted (it IS a story told through text messages). Engaging naman, though I think I could feel more. Maybe I've already consumed a lot of crazier plots and concepts than this. Made me think about the ending.
January 21, 2019
Maganda ang plot pero nakakabitin
July 10, 2021
The book was released in lieu of the facebook phone-serye way back 2016. This is very much reminiscient of Black Mirror Season 3's Shut Up And Dance but the Netflix series gave it an ending of a stalemate. In this book, however, it ends openly, expecting a continuation of its tour de force. I am just not aware of its other installments, if they are published online via facebook, or offline via Visprint.
Rating did not change from 2018 to 2021. It was engaging, yes, but there are some literary peeves that I am a bit irritated as I read it again.
Rating did not change from 2018 to 2021. It was engaging, yes, but there are some literary peeves that I am a bit irritated as I read it again.
December 11, 2018
"Charged, Volume 1" by Siege Malvar is the kind of book that you cannot put down. Fast-paced, disturbing in places yet very interesting. It also has characters that felt like actual people, and with conversations that felt like real conversations. I loved this. I need the second volume.
February 18, 2024
To call this book innovative isn't enough to do it justice.
My partner found this book by chance yesterday while we're looking for something else (and I had been searching for it for at least three years!), among a chaotic pile in a poorly maintained shop. I recalled seeing this first as a series of Facebook posts in early 2016. Leafing through the first pages, I was wondering if I'd find the content as gratifying as I remember.
The first thing to note about Charged is that it's not written in the traditional format. It's a series of screenshots of text conversations. Sure, it wasn't the first to use the SMS or chat interface to show a story, but, contestably, it was the first to use the device in such format and in a concept that vindicates the execution.
Again, this was written in 2016 when memes in said format weren't uncommon although it was all about hugot. It was a time when people flaunted their weepy hearts and needy loins like it's a badge of honor.
Charged lifted the format to an emotionally and intellectually mature level. It hacks into the cerebral-yet-practicable themes of social media abuse, justice, dilemma, and human frailty, and installs it all into a network of relatable personal drama. Given the ingenuity and technical prowess of the digital ruffian (the ostensible villain) that drives the whole narrative, the story is larger than life yet not unbelievable. The overall thrill stems from the reader's awareness that the story can happen in real life, to anyone.
I would have given it a perfect score had it sustained the format all throughout. Alas, some parts veered away and made use of a more traditional narration. As much as I do not want to step into the author's domain (or to spill spoilers, take this as a warning before reading on), I wish he used screen shots for the scenes in question. A text exchange could have been used to narrate how the mysterious hacker gave commands to the character Max. The action scenes could've been unraveled through Candy's messages as she, wrongly assuming that she managed to overpower her captor, desperately attempts to contact somebody to get help. There would be a trade-off, yes: The writer wouldn't be able to keep the readers from figuring out whether Max was the big bad or just another victim. This is me, though, pretending to be a litterateur.
Despite these insignificant, subjective reservations on my part, I highly recommend Charged Volume 1. The number makes it safe to assume that this is the first of at least two, and I'm really looking forward to the next.
My partner found this book by chance yesterday while we're looking for something else (and I had been searching for it for at least three years!), among a chaotic pile in a poorly maintained shop. I recalled seeing this first as a series of Facebook posts in early 2016. Leafing through the first pages, I was wondering if I'd find the content as gratifying as I remember.
The first thing to note about Charged is that it's not written in the traditional format. It's a series of screenshots of text conversations. Sure, it wasn't the first to use the SMS or chat interface to show a story, but, contestably, it was the first to use the device in such format and in a concept that vindicates the execution.
Again, this was written in 2016 when memes in said format weren't uncommon although it was all about hugot. It was a time when people flaunted their weepy hearts and needy loins like it's a badge of honor.
Charged lifted the format to an emotionally and intellectually mature level. It hacks into the cerebral-yet-practicable themes of social media abuse, justice, dilemma, and human frailty, and installs it all into a network of relatable personal drama. Given the ingenuity and technical prowess of the digital ruffian (the ostensible villain) that drives the whole narrative, the story is larger than life yet not unbelievable. The overall thrill stems from the reader's awareness that the story can happen in real life, to anyone.
I would have given it a perfect score had it sustained the format all throughout. Alas, some parts veered away and made use of a more traditional narration. As much as I do not want to step into the author's domain (or to spill spoilers, take this as a warning before reading on), I wish he used screen shots for the scenes in question. A text exchange could have been used to narrate how the mysterious hacker gave commands to the character Max. The action scenes could've been unraveled through Candy's messages as she, wrongly assuming that she managed to overpower her captor, desperately attempts to contact somebody to get help. There would be a trade-off, yes: The writer wouldn't be able to keep the readers from figuring out whether Max was the big bad or just another victim. This is me, though, pretending to be a litterateur.
Despite these insignificant, subjective reservations on my part, I highly recommend Charged Volume 1. The number makes it safe to assume that this is the first of at least two, and I'm really looking forward to the next.
December 27, 2017
"This is the pinoy-BLACK MIRROR!"
I'm a big fan of Black Mirror.
Pag-open ko ng page 1, I realized na nabasa ko na ito way back 2014 (?) noong uso pa ang "socialserye".
While reading, may mga pages na blank (intended ba talaga yun?) Sayang lang.
It was a quick read, kasi you'll want to know what will happen next, kung sinong papatayin, anong connection nila, and kung sinong mamatay kay Candy and Max.
I was thinking of film adaptation of this book.
I'm a big fan of Black Mirror.
Pag-open ko ng page 1, I realized na nabasa ko na ito way back 2014 (?) noong uso pa ang "socialserye".
While reading, may mga pages na blank (intended ba talaga yun?) Sayang lang.
It was a quick read, kasi you'll want to know what will happen next, kung sinong papatayin, anong connection nila, and kung sinong mamatay kay Candy and Max.
I was thinking of film adaptation of this book.
May 5, 2022
this reminded me why i do not watch black mirror
August 7, 2022
A very quick and entertaining read. Anyone can finish it in one sitting. Literally.
Hoping for volume 2.
Hoping for volume 2.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews