Post by precipitously on Jul 30, 2015 7:43:02 GMT -5
Hey, has anyone read Velocity yet? Can we talk about it?
How do you see the Howlers? The Omniwar? Olympus? Did you feel like there were a lot of loose ends? (I certainly wanted more story to read). Did it surprise you? How does Velocity stack up against Chris Wooding's other novels? Are you tired of these Hunger Games-esque (not that it was first) YA novels?
I have to begin by saying that I grew up reading Chris Wooding's novels. I first saw Poison on a shelf when I was 10 and I'm now in college. Velocity is probably his first YA book that I read as... well, past the YA age group. I definitely still don't think myself an adult, so I guess I'm somewhere in between. I wasn't really sure how to feel about this going in, and I think that I kind of went in a little prejudiced. I expected to be a little disappointed, I guess. I expected to see the same things I'd read before. And to some extent, it was true, but not even close to entirely.
The novel is engaging from the start, and I was quickly drawn in. All the while I was reading, though, I kept trying to predict what would happen, predict how I would be disappointed. And that's the wrong way to read a book for sure, but the story actually did surprise me quite a few times. Maybe I'm just bad at predictions, though. Spoilers follow. Prepare for a lot of rambling.
I honestly wasn't sure for the longest time if Harlan would turn out to be a good guy or a bad guy. The appearance of the Interceptor also surprised me. Although that they used Maisie in the last round was predictable, it was only fitting. The Howlers baffled me. I didn't understand their purpose. I didn't understand what they were even. There are a lot of these post-apocalyptic sort of sci-fi type books and a lot of YA books have this like media corruption brainwashing whatever theme. I'm a little sick of it, but Velocity didn't beat it to death, so it was all right.
Because Ketty Jay wrapped up so cleanly, I sort of expected Velocity to as well, but there were a lot of open ends, I felt. Or rather, just a lot of things that didn't get expanded upon or cleaned up as much as I'd hoped. The Howlers, Olympus, Cassica's relationship with Card, Cassica and Shiara's fight, Shiara's relationship with her dad and Creek, a lot of other relationships... Call me a child, but man was I rooting for Kyren to come to his senses... :\ That's another thing that surprised me, actually. That death was brutal. Reminds me of a certain scene from the finale of Legend of Korra's 3rd season. I was hoping until the very end that he'd somehow survived and learned his lesson. When the paramedics rushed over, I thought there was a possibility he survived, but since he wasn't mentioned again I guess he did died. I felt like something was starting between him and Cassica. And she honestly got over it so fast. I know that's kind of how she rolls, but it seemed she didn't even bat an eye. Because, I dunno, I just thought there was a good kid in Kyren somewhere under his daddy issues and his ego. He didn't play dirty, he didn't try to manipulate Cassica to win the race, he didn't get upset when she had the lead the first day. Oh whale.
Um, the way they dealt with the Lady Scorpion was clever. I was kind of hoping that Cassica and Shiara wouldn't win, but the ending was actually really good. I'm glad they didn't start some huge revolution, that Olympus and Maximum Racing and the media went on with barely a hitch. I'm glad Sammis survived, but I'm also kind of unhappy, because it just kind of messes you up when a nice person dies without any fanfare. One of the many reasons I love Mad Max is that people randomly just die. Because that's kind of what happens in high-speed car chases with firearms. Back to Velocity, the way they dealt with their winnings was satisfying, and even though I was rooting for Kyren I'm glad that Cassica ended up not needing a dude in her life. Chicken > boys. Truest thing I've ever read.
Overall, it was fast, it was exciting, it had everything I love about Chris Wooding's novels: humor (the silent A killed me), great characterization and world-building, tons of action, etc. A fun read.
How do you see the Howlers? The Omniwar? Olympus? Did you feel like there were a lot of loose ends? (I certainly wanted more story to read). Did it surprise you? How does Velocity stack up against Chris Wooding's other novels? Are you tired of these Hunger Games-esque (not that it was first) YA novels?
I have to begin by saying that I grew up reading Chris Wooding's novels. I first saw Poison on a shelf when I was 10 and I'm now in college. Velocity is probably his first YA book that I read as... well, past the YA age group. I definitely still don't think myself an adult, so I guess I'm somewhere in between. I wasn't really sure how to feel about this going in, and I think that I kind of went in a little prejudiced. I expected to be a little disappointed, I guess. I expected to see the same things I'd read before. And to some extent, it was true, but not even close to entirely.
The novel is engaging from the start, and I was quickly drawn in. All the while I was reading, though, I kept trying to predict what would happen, predict how I would be disappointed. And that's the wrong way to read a book for sure, but the story actually did surprise me quite a few times. Maybe I'm just bad at predictions, though. Spoilers follow. Prepare for a lot of rambling.
I honestly wasn't sure for the longest time if Harlan would turn out to be a good guy or a bad guy. The appearance of the Interceptor also surprised me. Although that they used Maisie in the last round was predictable, it was only fitting. The Howlers baffled me. I didn't understand their purpose. I didn't understand what they were even. There are a lot of these post-apocalyptic sort of sci-fi type books and a lot of YA books have this like media corruption brainwashing whatever theme. I'm a little sick of it, but Velocity didn't beat it to death, so it was all right.
Because Ketty Jay wrapped up so cleanly, I sort of expected Velocity to as well, but there were a lot of open ends, I felt. Or rather, just a lot of things that didn't get expanded upon or cleaned up as much as I'd hoped. The Howlers, Olympus, Cassica's relationship with Card, Cassica and Shiara's fight, Shiara's relationship with her dad and Creek, a lot of other relationships... Call me a child, but man was I rooting for Kyren to come to his senses... :\ That's another thing that surprised me, actually. That death was brutal. Reminds me of a certain scene from the finale of Legend of Korra's 3rd season. I was hoping until the very end that he'd somehow survived and learned his lesson. When the paramedics rushed over, I thought there was a possibility he survived, but since he wasn't mentioned again I guess he did died. I felt like something was starting between him and Cassica. And she honestly got over it so fast. I know that's kind of how she rolls, but it seemed she didn't even bat an eye. Because, I dunno, I just thought there was a good kid in Kyren somewhere under his daddy issues and his ego. He didn't play dirty, he didn't try to manipulate Cassica to win the race, he didn't get upset when she had the lead the first day. Oh whale.
Um, the way they dealt with the Lady Scorpion was clever. I was kind of hoping that Cassica and Shiara wouldn't win, but the ending was actually really good. I'm glad they didn't start some huge revolution, that Olympus and Maximum Racing and the media went on with barely a hitch. I'm glad Sammis survived, but I'm also kind of unhappy, because it just kind of messes you up when a nice person dies without any fanfare. One of the many reasons I love Mad Max is that people randomly just die. Because that's kind of what happens in high-speed car chases with firearms. Back to Velocity, the way they dealt with their winnings was satisfying, and even though I was rooting for Kyren I'm glad that Cassica ended up not needing a dude in her life. Chicken > boys. Truest thing I've ever read.
Overall, it was fast, it was exciting, it had everything I love about Chris Wooding's novels: humor (the silent A killed me), great characterization and world-building, tons of action, etc. A fun read.