If I could only use one word to review The Final Empire, I would pick brilliant! Indeed, it is a brilliant book. The world building was impeccable and the laws of nature in this world were very exacting. What set it apart was the impact of metals and how they could be controlled through Allomancy and Feruchemy. These two systems had such logic and were so consistent that by the end of the book, I instinctively knew the outcomes of manipulating various metals.
THE BIG LIE by Julie Mayhew
Set in Nazi England, 2012–2014, The Big Lie is premised on one question: What if the Nazis had won World War II? With this in mind, The Big Lie is a speculative work of alternative history. While nobody can say for sure how things would’ve turned out, I think the world that Julie Mayhew imagined is a rather plausible outcome. She evidently did her research and wove together the fascist ideals and lifestyles of the 1940s with contemporary ones.
FREE TO FALL by Lauren Miller
As I sit down here to review Free to Fall, my mind is till completely lost in Angelfall by Susan Ee, which I finished listening to only a while ago. No matter, I took down notes as I read Free to Fall, and sometimes impressions after a few weeks give a much better idea of the impact of a book.
THE TREATMENT (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young
I can hardly describe the overwhelming disappointment that The Treatment brought me. I know I wasn’t a fan of The Program but I did like it for the concept. Still, I had problems with it because of the many unanswered questions The Program left me with. I pegged them as cliffhangers, so I expected The Treatment answer them, particularly the ones about the suicide epidemic that wrought this society. Did I get those answers? Hardly. The big issues were glossed over so much, I was mad at the end of the book. To me, The Treatment hardly contributed to the duology. It would’ve been better left unread.
THE PROGRAM by Suzanne Young
Suicide as an epidemic and how society deals with it—perfect premise of a work of fiction for a sociology student like me. Perhaps then my opinions on this book are unfair because I am weighing them against my academic background. But I can’t help it; after years of studying sociology, it has come to influence…
