Tag Archives: Science fiction

Review of “Metro 2033” by Dmitry Glukhovsky

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metro-01-metro-2033-dmitry-glukhovskyTitle: Metro 2033
Author: Dmitry Glukhovsky
Translator (English): Natasha Randall
Series: Metro #1
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Post Apocalyptic
Pages: 458
Published: 2007 (translated 2009), Gollancz
My Grade: 5 out of 5 rats

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

The civilization most northern outpost, a lonely metro station, attacked by mysterious creatures that somehow have awoken in the recent war. The world lies in ruins, the surface is contaminated, and a prey to the sun’s deadly rays. One last human remnant have sought protection in the Metro, the world’s largest nuclear bomb secure bunker, where stations have been transformed into small city states with their own ideologies and governments.

Everywhere there is a constant struggle for living space, water filters, electric heaters and fungal cultures, all while darkness and terror reigns in the tunnels.

A young man is forced out on a dangerous journey through the subterranean maze of tunnels, shafts and sidings, where nobody knows what to expect around the next corner.

 

MY REVIEW

Last night when I finished this, I was both speechless and couldn’t stop saying what the fudge at the same time. Even just a few chapters in I knew I would give this a five out of five, but after reading the last four pages, I want to give it more.

I don’t really have anything to compare to (since I don’t speak Russian), but I am satisfied with the translation. As always when reading a new book, by a new author, of a different style, it takes some pages to get used to the language. And something I really really liked about this book was that the conversations between people felt so real. Usually the author gives the ability to ‘always say the right and smart thing at the right time’ to all of his or her characters. It is sometimes too perfect. But these dialogues felt real. The descriptions of the environment also were incredible. It was so easy to picture myself in the metro of Moscow, living under the horrible circumstances that Artyom and all his travel companions did.

I don’t really know what to write to make you understand the greatness of this book. It was easily one of the best ones I have ever read! And the ending just made it perfect. I am not sure I am happy with it and it was indeed a very very surprising ending. But it fit so well with the rest of this kind of miserable story.

If you haven’t read it yet, but are into post-apocalyptic stories, you have truly missed something! If you haven’t read it and don’t really like dystopian stories, read it anyway. I kinda got the feeling that Metro 2033 is this time’s 1984. I undoubtedly give it the highest grade, and I even want to give it one more rat for being so sickly awesome!!

Review of “The Fever Code” by James Dashner

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The Fever Code - James DashnerTitle: The Fever Code
Author: James Dashner
Series: The Maze Runner #0.6
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Pages: 347
Published: 2016, Delacorte Press
My Grade: 5 out of 5 subjects

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Once there was a world’s end.
The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled.
Then came a plague, and fever spread across the globe. Families died, violence reigned, and man killed man.
Next came WICKED, who were looking for an answer. And then they found the perfect boy.
The boy’s name was Thomas, and Thomas built a maze.
Now there are secrets.
There are lies.
And there are loyalties history could never have foreseen.
This is the story of that boy, Thomas, and how he built a maze that only he could tear down.

All will be revealed.

 

MY REVIEW

Yes, everything was definitely revealed. And it was shocking! One sentence on the second to last page made me see the whole Maze Runner trilogy completely different. When I finished this in the middle of the night last night, I couldn’t fall asleep until I had grasped what the three original books was about. And how all that changed with just that one sentence. It is crazy! It is klunking crazy!

I loved the Maze Runner series. It is up there with The Hunger Games and Divergent. Dystopian adventures for young adults. I guess Silo is the same but for older people. Anyway, the Maze Runner is amazing, loved all four books (The Kill Order, Maze Runner, Scorch Trials and the Death Cure), though the Death Cure was not as good as the rest. When the first prequel came out I was so excited to finally find out why the Maze Trials was a thing. But it didn’t really cover why WICKED did what they did, the Kill Order just described what happened during the flare and up until WICKED. The Fever Code takes place right after the Kill order and explains exactly everything that happened between the Kill Order and Maze Runner. Everything is now clear and it is more understandable why Thomas acted the way he did in the last parts of the series, even though he never recovered his lost memories, which is basically this book.

This bookis very similar to the rest in the series, which describes itself. They are really really really really good. So I recommend everyone who is into this genre, to read it, but only after the other four are read. It would not be as fun to read the original series and knowing what is revealed on the second to last page in this book. It is an easy five out of five!

Review of “1984” by George Orwell

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1984-george-orwellTitle: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Series: –
Genre: Science Fiction, Political Fiction, Dystopian
Pages: 328
Published: 1949, Penguin Books
My Grade: 5 out of 5 posters

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell’s prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of “negative utopia” -a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions -a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

 

MY REVIEW

Wow! Just wow. It has truly been a delight to read this extremely dark dystopian novel. After about ten pages I felt connection to this book because of the way it was written. It has now been 67 years since this book was first published, it came out right after WWII, it’s forever ago!! But you couldn’t tell (like with Lord of the Flies). I don’t know how to describe it, but the words Orwell used, the sentence structure, it just made so much sense and I felt the flow when I was reading it like I have never done before.

And then comes the story on top of that. Wow again! It is not a story in a way that the characters move around and do stuff all the time, not like Lord of the Rings for example, or Maze Runner. This is just simply about a man in a big-brother society who questions big brother. You get to follow his line of thought, you get to see him fall in love, and seemingly getting away with it all. I can’t really say anything that won’t spoil, but most of the book was just a long way towards the end where everything happened. I still don’t really understand how or why it ended like it did. The last page and what happened there, I totally get, but not the part before that. It was really a mindfuck-read. I didn’t expect it to be, but it really was. This book kind of reminded me of the movie Shutter Island (I haven’t read the book yet, Patient 97, but it is on my list).

It’s scary to think about really. I know it is a made-up story, but how can a country (or empire maybe? I don’t know what they called it) just so easily buy everything that Big Brother says? One day the news sadly announced that the chocolate ratio had gone down from 30g per week to 20g. And literally the next day the news announced that the chocolate ratio had increased to 20g and everyone is super happy about it. No questions whatsoever about the news the day before! It is the same with everything Big Brother tells them. Winston (the main character) understands how, but not the why. The end of the book explains why, and it is scary because that is probably true in reality too.

It is hard to write reviews without spoiling. To sum it up, it is an easy and very enjoyable read, you kind of have to be focused while reading it to not miss something, lots of things happen in the end and after it is all done, you can’t stop yourself from asking “what the fuck?” Definitely one of the best books I have ever read, so I strongly recommend everyone to read it, especially people who love dystopian future novels. Crystal clear five!