Fear by Michael Grant

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

There are certain books that, if turned into movies, I would never watch. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (which is a movie, actually) is one of them. Rape and torture? Not something I would like to see on the big screen. Fear by Michael Grant is another one of those books. People having their minds ripped apart and their bodies broken and bent and twisted in various ways? Yeah, throwing up is not that high on my list of priorities.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Gone series by Michael Grant. Like I’ve stated in almost all of my reviews of the previous books, they are not superbly well-written. They are not books that make me think about the meaning of life or make me want to grab a friend and discuss philosophy at my local Barnes and Noble. But they are fierce, addictive, and possess an overarching quality that commands a five-star rating.

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

Blood Red Road takes place in a post-apocalyptic time period where the world is covered in deserts ravaged by dust storms. Eighteen-year-old Saba has spent her entire life in Silverlake, a secluded wasteland with only three other inhabitants: her twin brother Lugh, her annoying nine-year-old sister Emmi, and her insane father Pa. She’s relatively content until four horsemen arrive and abduct Lugh, leaving her without the light of her life. Now she must venture outside of Silverlake into a dangerous world in order to bring back Lugh at any cost.

Ah, brain candy at its finest. Blood Red Road doesn’t aim to inspire or change the way you think, rather, it’s pure adventure. And what an adventure it is. Cage fighting, human sacrifice, and killer worms three times the size of humans – what else could you ask for?

I re-read the first page of this book a couple of times, thinking “wow, two typos already? that’s surprising…” It took a little time for me to adjust to the writing style, but after the first hundred pages I didn’t even notice the lack of grammar. I applaud Moira Young for keeping the tone consistent throughout the novel. Can you imagine the difficulty of writing a 400+ page novel without proper grammar? That almost scares me as much as the hellwurms.

Does this book live up to what its book jacket offers? “Searing pace”, check. “Poetically minimal writing style”, check. “Relentless action”, check. “Epic love story”… I wouldn’t use the word “epic”, but it was passable. So somewhat check.

If you’re like me and about to begin school, I’d set this one aside for when you have some free time. It’ll be near-impossible to put it down.