THE NEVER DAWN DYSTOPIAN TRILOGY, BOOK TWO Following their shock discovery, Noah and Rebekah reluctantly return to the lower levels of The Ark. Isolated and apart once more, Noah struggles to remember what happened at the surface and suspects Mother has altered his memory. But Noah's attempts to unite the workers to rebel are halted when Mother begins The Purge. Her cruel, relentless trials bring Noah to breaking point as he fights to survive when faced by his worst fears. Forced to accept Mother's terms after a month in Re-Education, Noah finally learns the truth about his people's past that leave him determined to defeat her once and for all.
As an avid reader from an early age, I've always enjoyed books (and also the films of my favourite books). Whilst I read a wide range, I tend to lean toward science fiction, fantasy and historical (with a military angle).
I first wrote short stories in my early twenties, and although I've long since lost them, I can still recall most of the details as if I'd done them yesterday - in fact, a few ideas I had back then surface in my first book, Sky.
Away from writing, I run at least five times a week (usually with my dog), and will often amuse myself with ideas for stories. Sometimes they're based on what I see on my run, other times they just come out of the blue. Once I have an idea, I let it roll around in my head for a week or two and see what happens.
The test comes when I'm falling asleep. If I find the idea coming back and taking shape just before I drop off - then I know it's a goer. I get all flashes of inspiration in that wonderful moment when you start to drift, and suddenly your thoughts don't seem entirely your own - hence the first line in my first novel Sky :0)
I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Cloud Cuckoo by R. E. Palmer was a great addition to the Never Dawn trilogy. Often after a good book, subsequent books in the series don’t always live up to the quality or the hype of the first book, but in this case, that definitely wasn’t true. My daughter and I read this book together and often found ourselves reading for several hours at a time, often into the wee hours of the morning. We were sucked into Noah’s world.
Technically speaking, much like the first book, I was given a copy that had quite a few typos/errors in it, but again, these didn’t bother me. None of the errors were jarring or subtracted from the story in any way. The writing was clean, concise, and easy to follow, and the story moved at a good pace. It was constructed in such a way that by the end of every chapter, I couldn’t keep myself from continuing on into the next chapter. I was drawn in.
Much like the previous book, the characters were a delight and the world building was expansive and well constructed. One of my favorite parts of this particular book, however, was the change in scenery for Noah. We got to see new parts of the ship. We got to spend more time with characters we hadn’t previously gotten to. There were the same old mysteries, but also a lot of new ones as Noah found out more and more about his world and the people in it.
Overall, I loved this book. I love this series, and my daughter would easily say the same. R.E. Palmer has become one of my new favorite authors. If you enjoy YA or dystopian stories, I would highly recommend you pick up this series and give it a try. You will not regret it. I am so excited to see what the third book has in store for us when it’s released!
tl;dr The general idea, like the last book, is interesting, but the execution could be much improved. If you thought the first book was slow, this one feels even slower, with very little having happened. A lot of the world building is eventually revealed, which was cool, just wish this had been cut in half for length.
Not tl;dr (notes as I read; be warned, I'm nitpicky)
Been over a year since I read the first book, finally getting to the second. After reading over my last review, the book summaries, and thankfully seeing some important details thrown in the book early enough as a reminder, I was good to go.
This takes place IMMEDIATELY after the first book, just fyi.
The transition from Noah's confusion and questioning of Mother's plans, still seemingly wanting to trust her, to his conclusion that it's all about control felt a bit abrupt. There was no questioning of whether or not control could be a reason, he just affirmed that it was /the/ reason. With how much doubt he had just a sentence before, to suddenly reject it all and be like, "Nope, she just wants to 1984 us," felt awkward. Another sentence or two in between, or continuing the doubt, like his character is known for, would've felt more natural.
The problem that stems from that, like what I recall with the last book, is the inconsistencies of love and faith Noah has towards Mother. If he reaches those conclusions of distrust and wanting to revolt, he can't then randomly go back to hope and loyalty, which he does...a lot. That /can/ work, but there needs to be internal conflict with that, but there is none. He either is against Mother or by her side. No in between, no reason for switching, it's just random back and forth.
It seems like the author is aware that there should be a phase of denial, but there's no grey area, no gradual swing from pro-Mother to anti-Mother. Let's plan a rebellion, I hope she is comforting Caleb and reading him a story, enemies are just another of Mother's lies, etc. It starts to get consistent as time goes on though, thankfully.
Like the last book, a lot of neat concepts, but the pacing is really slow. It sort of works with what's happening in this book so far, as Mother sends out prefects to interrogate everyone. The anxiety and trauma of the wait plays towards the plot, so the slowness works in a way, but still feels too slow and awkward.
Nit-pick: Little annoying that every time someone breaks during the interrogation, screams or cries out, it's always one of the girls. Like, boys can break down too. (Only Amos, one on Noah's team, cries at all, but he's already seen as the younger/childish/innocent one.)
There's general confusion of what things are happening or what things look like in various times, yet there is a LOT of mental exposition of Noah's thoughts. I feel like some of that time could've gone to better explaining the scenery/props, while also in general chopping repetitive details down. Noah almost never thinks of anything new, just the same thoughts again and again. Drags things on a lot. I think this is where much of the slowness problem lies.
While I was struggling a bit before, I find myself skimming and getting bored in the 40% range. Another review I saw said all three books could've been condensed into one, and I partially agree with that. (Maybe one long book, like 4-500 pages, or two books. Three is too much.) There is a LOT of filler. This book, thus far around 50%, could've been cut in half, easily.
MAJOR SPOILER: Well now, this explains a lot. Good twist.
A dove has always been seen as a sign of hope and used much in your literature.
Nit-pick: I know this book draws names and references from the Bible specifically, but to say "used much in your literature" feels extremely biased and short-sighted. A dove is also a sign of a fool in another mythology. Only hope in Christianity, and modern Western stereotypes based off that. Given that this series is using the Bible as reference points, the dove makes sense though. The blanket statements are just a bit awkward for me.
As an aside, was also a little awkward to read, but I understand its purpose for the plot/story to happen, so it's passable. I like the concept. If the other things written around it had been tighter and more refined, I would've liked this a lot. . Like, why were they not allowed to hold them? There wasn't really any explanation or reason, just that it would...make Mother mad??? But if Mother I just don't see why that detail was added. It's not as if we don't already know Mother is cruel, so if it's just for that, then it falls flat for me. It didn't really progress the plot or add anything to the world building, from what I could tell.
One or two spelling mistakes, and the last two chapters are wrongly numbered.
Okay, reached the end. Things definitely picked up soon after I complained about the slowness, as we got plot/world building explanations, but then slowed down once again. I loved hearing the backstory/history of this world, found it really neat, just wish this book, like I said, had been half the length for me to really enjoy it. Like the first book, this one has a lot of promise, and another round or two of editing I think, of this whole series (I know I haven't read the third one, but if it's anything like these two), would've made a huge difference.
As a final aside, I suppose, I found the cuckoo vs dove aspect odd and out of place. I didn't really see the significance of the cuckoo, especially when compared to all the other Bible references. The dove was fine. My only thinking was to match the title, but I don't think that was necessary, if that was the reason. Sometimes titles are titles, they don't always have to mean anything, imo. (Some other people might disagree with that though, haha.) Also with Noah going back and forth about the two, and having drawn what he thought was a dove, only to then later call it a cuckoo, despite them being two completely different birds, was...odd. (Like, maybe he just inwardly refers to it as a cuckoo as a mini form of rebellion? Best explanation I can think of at the moment.) Perhaps there could've been a better way to tie the two and transition the significance in a more natural way, but right now, it just felt out of place for me.
Anyway, it was an okay book. I like the idea more than the book itself. There was a cliffhanger at the end, but I'm a little up in the air if I should get the last book. I might, just to see what happens, but I don't feel as pulled in as I was with the first book. Perhaps the slowness really got to me. xD
I have to admit, when I learned the title of this book, my mind immediately jumped to The Lego Movie--that supremely awesome, completely perfect work of art which we will not discuss here--but this Cloud Cuckoo is very different from the fluffy cloud-realm inhabited by rainbows and unicorn kitties.
Then again, I'd be lying if I said this story had nothing in common with The Lego Movie. There's a totalitarian leader who masks their sinister actions behind a benevolent image. There's a clueless young worker who gradually comes to lead the rebellion. There's a spaceship.
Laying obligatory Lego Movie comments aside, though, let's dig into R.E. Palmer's Cloud Cuckoo, the second book in his dystopian series The Never Dawn.
This book is fast and furious. Book one, The Never Dawn, immersed us in the world of The Ark--an underground (or so we thought) society ruled by an all-powerful figure known as Mother. Our protagonist, Noah, is a worker helping to bring about the New Dawn by assembling weapons day in and day out. But at the end of The Never Dawn, in a brilliant twist of an ending, we realize that nothing on The Ark is as it seems. And at that point the book ended.
In Cloud Cuckoo, we pick up directly where book one left off. Noah and his friend Rebekah have made a life-changing discovery--The Ark is a spaceship. Meanwhile, someone in The Ark is concealing a secret book that could expose Mother's lies, and Mother is determined to find that person. In fact, as you may have guessed, that person is none other than Noah himself.
In order to catch the thief, Mother invokes a Purge--and boy, it's rough. She opens up the floor and sends everyone down to a dark, low, compact level where they'll sleep in tubes that seal shut and where they'll be served only tiny portions of green mush for every meal.
But it gets worse. Everyone will undergo interrogation at the hands of Mother's prefects.
Dude, this section is so intense. (Yeah, I use the word "dude" when I get really excited. I'm not sure why.) People are dropping like flies. Noah is starting to suspect everyone. Could his fellow team member Barnabas know something? Could he be planning to betray Noah to the prefects? And what will Noah tell the prefects when his turn comes?
It's such a great way to open the second book in the series, because after that revelation at the end of book one, we all know Noah can't just go back to his old life. The stakes are high, and Mother's Purge raises them even higher. It's relentless, it's grueling, and it's a page-turner.
Noah's not perfect. And he's not yet the brave leader he'll become later on in the series. Unable to handle the pain inflicted by the prefects--during The Purge interrogation and later in Re-Education, he buckles. He gives names.
The stakes just get higher and higher, and eventually Noah is forced to admit that he has the book. He's then sent to Re-Education, where, after enduring intense pain and betraying a few more of his friends, he's effectively brainwashed and sent back to his old life--well, not exactly. He's assigned to the kitchens. But that doesn't last.
Throughout the rest of the book, Noah moves from one level of the ship to another, gradually attaining new levels of knowledge as he climbs the social strata. Mother is leading him toward her ultimate goal--she will turn him into a Hero Worker, a role-model for the others to look up to, someone who follows Mother devotedly and inspires everyone to keep working for The New Dawn.
But Noah's goal is very different. He'll expose Mother's lies and stir the others up to rebellion. They'll defeat Mother and find their way to New Earth, so they can finally be free of this ship and start a new life on the surface.
Unfortunately, Noah learns what many before him have already discovered--revolution is freaking hard.
If The Never Dawn led up to that one gut-wrenching twist at the very end, Cloud Cuckoo delivers a new twist every few chapters, each one more shocking than the last. Again and again, the author fools you into thinking you know what's going on, only to pull the carpet out from under your feet. No way! That was a shock. OK, but now you know what's going on. Ha ha nope! And so on.
I loved every mind-boggling, gasp-inducing twist and turn. I was so invested and I couldn't stop reading. I had to know what was going to happen next.
I think I have a bias toward middle books in a trilogy. Maybe it's because the middle book is the one that really tests the characters and molds them into the heroes they'll be in book three. Maybe it's because the middle book is always so intense and twisty. Maybe it's because I just love watching everything go to pot.
Whatever the reason, I've now finished The Never Dawn trilogy (review of book three to come), so I can safely tell you that Cloud Cuckoo was my favorite of the three. It's not that the other two weren't also great--it's just that this book is so masterfully done. I love watching the characters develop and I love watching their relationships harden. I love experiencing Noah's pain, shock, and despair alongside him.
Hmmm, OK, on second thought, that doesn't sound like it should be fun. I guess I'm just a sucker for those failed revolution plot-lines.
I have read book one and as I am reading I say to myself that I will not go to book two. It’s too predictable. Too simple. Then comes a twist and I must read book two. I did and swore I would not go to three. Well more twist and turns. More situations where you think, This is too predictable, but then a surprise happens. Well, I am now going to read book three. I need to know…
Short, sweet, spoiler-free review After finishing The Never Dawn in a couple days, I did the same with this one. The second book becomes an almost "behind the scenes" learning experience for the main character, and expands our knowledge of previous events and how things work in this world.
Many of the questions I had from the first book were answered, and it ended in a climax that has me excited for The Gates of Dawn!
Couldn't put it down. It had me from the very beginning. Noah's character is interesting. He is not as strong as you would think. Ready for the next one
I really loved the first book in this series; the author had me hooked with the storyline, and I thought it was a really original idea for a dystopian narrative. This novel picked up where the last one left off, and threw me back into... read the full review here: https://www.amybucklesbookshelf.co.uk...