Reviews: Red Queen (34)

This exquisite debut novel by Voctoria Aveyard is truly captivating, clever and compelling. Lovers of YA fiction such as The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Selection should definitely give this a read. It is action-packed and thrilling with a touch of fantasy and the world it's set in is clever and original. I can't wait for the next instalment in this brilliant series!

This book definitely doesn't break any new ground. The plot twists I could predict and I felt I'd read this book before. Whilst I didn't enjoy it, plenty of other readers have and I think for the young adult fantasy readers, it would make an enjoyable read. I only read to the end because I was teased with a big explosive plot twist but I felt even that let me down. Sadly this read was a bit of a dud and a let down for me.

This has a feel of Hunger Games about it. Hard kickass female lead who has had to grow up quicker than she should have. Ripped out of a life that she's used to and forced into a strange 'otherworldly one she has to change to fit in, but how much before she loses everything she ever was?

So add in the ubiquitous love triangle and possible betrayal and you have a tense first in a series that sets your bookish heart aflutter and leaving you wanting more.

It took me longer than I thought it would/should as I got a bit chicken about the way the book was going, and thought that if I didn't read, bad things wouldn't happen. For that reason, I've knocked off a star, so my own stupidity and fear has cost it a star.


Sorry.

This book is the best book that I have read in a long time. It has such a beautiful cover and the storyline hooked me in from the very first page. It is such an original idea and it was so powerful. Mare is a character I fell in love with because of how she does everything to save and protect the people she loves. It was such an amazing book and I cannot put into words how truly magnificent it actually was. The best bit about it though Is the ending. It has one of the best plot twists I have ever read and it was so unpredictable. I hope there is a sequel as I need to know what happens next. I would recommend this book to anyone as I'm certain they will love it!!!

The best way to describe this book is The Hunger Games with a side of Game Of Thrones and X-Men. Which, at it's core, had the potential to be very exciting.

However, the similarities between this and The Hunger Games were all a bit much. Throughout the book I found myself saying 'Katniss did that.' or 'That happened in The Hunger Games.' which got a little tiresome.

The book does hold some exciting moments. I do like the fact that it's a monarchy who hold the power rather than a government and some of the twists, though a little predictable, were still exciting to read.

I look forward to the sequel and I hopefully it'll be able to stand on it's own.

This was BRILLIANT!! I have always been a sucker for teen dystopian literature, and this has weaselled it's way to becoming one of my favourites so far. There is plenty of hype surrounding the novel's release, all I can say is don't believe the hype but read it yourself and form your own opinions, some of the comparisons being made in the media are a bit off key and this novel is immensely enjoyable. It doesn't break free from the genre into which it is cast, sticking rigidly to conventions and themes with every paragraph. So for fans of everything but dystopian fiction, it probably isn't worth a look in.

The prose flows at an unrelenting pace, it carried me through the narrative effortlessly and without any jarring interruptions. I love a fast, easily read narrative, the only thing that falters when a story progresses this swiftly is the world building, there wasn't quite enough of this to make this novel near a state of perfection for me. That said, there was plenty of particulars to give me a well rounded view of a world riddled with poverty, extremism and dictatorship, plenty to justify the cause of the cloak and dagger, radical rebellion group 'The Scarlet Guard' and to allow me to understand the plight faced by Mare as she is plunged into the dangerous world of the elite silvers.

The characters themselves are what makes this novel so ingenious and addictive, Mare, the naive, revenge driven narrator is captivating, she struggles with choices thrust upon her and carries the weight of her decisions surprisingly well, as for the betrayals, I am sure we will see when it comes to book two just how well she deals with those. She makes for an inspiring, yet persistently downtrodden, heroine. Cal, oh Cal, the delectable heartthrob of the novel, heir to the throne, an all powerful fire throwing silver, with slightly questionable, yet inherently decent morals, he appears as much a victim of his upbringing as Mare is of hers. His brother Maven, betrothed to Mare in order to mislead the general public, is suitably intriguing, his story perhaps the most demanding in places, and as for their mother, well, Cersei Lannister has been given a terrifying run for her money. The Queen is a vile, calculating, political genius, a pitch perfect villain who isn't afraid of leaving a deluge of death in her wake, a character I wont soon forget. It is the relationships between these characters that make the novel so compelling, and so rich and vigorous in its telling.

Aside from the, frankly amazing, character building, there is of course the story itself. Brilliantly conjured and rife with betrayal and power hungry bigots, this is a plot that left me longing for more of the same. The supernatural abilities of the silvers, reminiscent of Marvel's X-Men, and the emergent powers of Mare, a red whose only role in life should have been subservient to the ruling class make for a dramatic and enduring read. It is a tried and tested structure, the plain girl with hidden abilities that might just start a revolution, the unlikely yet addictive love triangle/quadrangle, the all powerful and repressive ruling class and the copious amounts of beautifully choreographed violence. This is, without a doubt, a book aimed at The Hunger Games generation, and there is no shame in that, because is achieves something that few others in this genre manage to do, it stands out from the crowd and demands to be enjoyed.

An astonishing and accomplished début, roll on book two!

Fantastic story, I can't wait until next book.

I couldn't put this book down once I had started it! If you love books with suspense, a hint of otherworldlyness and intrigue then you are going to love this book! It isn't one of those books that you can tell what will happen even though some of the elements can clearly be seen in other books which is refreshing and even the parts where you can guess, they have a little twist that just makes you think 'oh wow'.

This book has rebellion, danger, and a dash of what could be a Romeo and Juliet love story unfolding but it is not the main focus like so many other books tend to do. The characters are starting to take shape and you can see some of the development through the book (even though you can clearly tell there will be more books where they will likely bloom) and you can't help but feel for the poor red that is forced from her family and into the dangerous world of the silvers.

One of my favourite reads of 2015!

I found myself really enjoying this book at first. The world-building is wonderful - red blooded slum dwellers are held down by the silver blooded nobility; who have different powers, and those with the stronger powers hold the higher chairs in society. It reads much like political and social satire, and the imbalance of power between the two classes could be a lesson for young adults and teens that decide to pick it up.

But, it was all knocked down a peg or two by the insta-love that everyone seems to feel for the protagonist; by the 'betrayal' of a character that every reader will have spotted as deceptive from act 1; and by the strange whirlwind of an ending that didn't make much sense because one or two characters make really odd decisions. It also looks as if the title of the book has given the game away before you even read the first page.

I'm glad that this is book one of a trilogy however, because I think that there is a lot of potential in some of the ideas Aveyard puts to us, and in some of the relationships that are formed between the main characters. Aveyard's writing style is good - descriptive and full of action. A book for teens that I could safely recommend.

X-Men meets Hunger Games meets Divergent etc. It can get a little high school drama like at times and the so-called shocking twists/betrayals aren't exactly surprising in my opinion but it's all very exciting and enjoyable if you don't think about it too much. A great holiday read and I'm invested in the story enough to want to read the next one.

I did find it hard to start this book but when i got further in i loved it. I always wanted to know what happened next and found it hard to put it down.

A thrill ride if I ever did see one. Red Queen grabs you by the throat from the first sentence and quickly drags you into the whirlwind of hate, power and abilities beyond comprehension.

Red Queen grabs everything you knew about fiction, rips it to shreds and rebuilds something far more superior within the first few chapters. Mare’s world has been intricately built, providing us with tradition, crippling reality and fantasy all at the same time.
Mare lives in the poverty stricken stilts where, if you don’t get a job, the only thing you can look forward to is conscription. Mare is one year away, her best friend Kilorn, is not.
In a surge of love and sisterly affection, Mare takes it upon herself to save Kilorn but through all her good intentions, ends up destroying the world around her and being dragged into a much more dangerous dance than the front line.
Mare, along with her sister Gisa head to the city where Gisa works as a seamstress apprentice, though Mare tags along for more ominous reasons. Eager to raise the funds needed to save Kilorn from conscription, she does what she does best, stealing. Except this time, she’s stealing from silver pockets – silvers who have abilities she can’t imagine. Swifts who can catch her in an instant, nymphs who can drown her with water from the fountains and whispers who can control her body.
In moments, she is overcome with both wonder and frustration, the Silver’s reap all the luxuries while the lowly red servants suffer in silence, or so she thinks.
The Scarlet Guard, a group the Silver’s shrug off as terrorists, are rising up, Reds determined to break the chains and begin a new dawn for mankind, where Red and Silver are equal.
This startling news report sends the Silver’s into chaos, rampaging through the streets grabbing any Red in sight and retaliating, Scarlet Guard or not.
The result of which involves Mare and Gisa retreating home, but Gisa comes away both physically and mentally scarred, her hand in tatters she can no longer be a seamstress and cannot support her family.
Mare is overcome with both grief and hatred for the Silver’s and in a last ditch attempt, pickpockets the drunken patrons of the local pub when a not so local patron walks out and catches her in the act, but surprisingly he offers her money instead of reporting her.
The next day Mare is called to the palace. Fearing the worst she is taken back to the city where the Silver’s rioted only hours before and is forced into service at the palace – a ‘prestigious’ position serving the higher houses of Silver society.
Mare witnesses first hand Queenstrial, a dangerous pageant of power and fanciful movements, all with the intention of winning over the Princes to become their Princess and eventually Queen.
Silvers show their shocking array of powers, magnetrons, animos, storms, swifts, all demonstrate their powers in the arena to the best of their ability, one even more so than others.
Evangeline, a magnetron, caught up in the moment brings down the stand holding Mare as she serves nobles, pitching her over the side, hitting the lightning shield that separates the spectators from the arena.
In a blinding moment, Mare is in the arena, firing off lightning bolts of her own. In fear and horror she sprints off in fear for her life, both confused about what has happened and what she is.
Captured and brought to the Queen, who forces her way into Mare’s mind, everything is laid bare. Mare is a red. Mare has silver abilities. Mare is different and it cannot spread.
Although the storyline isn’t completely unheard of, the underdog crumbling the overseeing control of a government or power, Red Queen has plenty of twists of its own. It effectively dusts away the cobwebs left on the way fantasy is written and invigorates it anew because Red Queen is written well.
The characters entwine effortlessly, each with their own motivations and dreams, a reason for them to act or to not. They all have a part to play in the bigger picture, no matter how small they might appear. And the most minor character of them all might surprise you.
Red Queen is incredibly fast-paced with things swiftly churning from bad to worse with each proceeding chapter, non stop events, power plays, secret meetings and attacks keep you on the edge of your seat even at the final pages.
The most shocking moment for me came near the end with a betrayal of epic proportions which culminated in a cripplingly intense battle that made my skin tingle with anticipation.

Fantasy at it’s best. Beautifully indulgent, exciting and I cannot wait for the second instalment.