Review: The Pledge

Title: The Pledge

Author: Kimberly Derting

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Review:

Derting had a major identity crisis while writing The Pledge. She created an unholy combination of high fantasy and dystopia with, arguably, some smatterings of pure chicklit. To be clear, genre hopping is not bad. I like it when books try to do something fun and creative. The Pledge was not particularly fun and not even close to creative.

Is this book set in an AU or what? This is the first dystopia that really doesn't explain how everything went to hell in a handbag. That possibly contributed to my growing lack of comprehension about what setting Derting was creating. I can deal with queens and royalty and what not. However, I could not get past how little was explained (or insinuated) about the origins of the dystopian society. I didn't need Derting to explicitly say, "Well, this war happened, and this government fell, and this monarchy rose, etc. etc." No, that would've been overkill. I was thinking it would've been better if the author had taken a page out of Margaret Atwood's handbook on providing just enough clues to give the reader a picture. I didn't get anything like that so I resorted to just letting myself get blasted with unintentional anachronisms. For example, Charlie wears a tunic but there are electric lights...and cars. Whoever created the New World Order in the past must've had a thing for Medieval garb. Also, can I just ask a question in general? Was this really a dystopia? Dystopias typically are based more in reality than fantasy. Even fantastic dystopias like The Hunger Games or Enclave have obvious foundations in the real world. So if Charlie's gift of tongues is magic oriented, where does that leave The Pledge? Is it wrong to tag this as a dystopian book? IMO, dystopian books should not broach the topic of magic...it takes away from the believability.

Personally, I love becoming invested in characters. I wanted to attach myself to Team Charlie so much! I've always had this little dream of becoming a polyglot (I'd learn Swahili, Korean, Russian, some obscure Arabic dialect, and Dutch), and have I ever read a book about a protagonist who could understand EVERY language in existence (can Charlie speak all languages though? I don't think that point was ever explained)? When I originally read the book summary several months ago, I practically died with excitement. Sadly, Charlie disappointed me on all accounts. First off, she is such a Mary Sue. Did anyone pick up on that? She's kind, protective, intelligent (except when it comes to the important stuff), and uber boy crazy. Apparently, she also is eerily similar to Derting's other protagonist as well...although I can't say if this is true or not since I haven't read The Body Finder. For someone so perfect, Charlie spends a lot of time internal monologuing about how unhappy she is with whatever situation she's gotten herself into. This story was completely focused on Charlie, despite the narrative switches to the other minor characters. I felt Derting included the secondary chapters as an afterthought, which really hurt the story in general because it left the supporting cast a little washed out.

Last point, I swear. Here we have a plot that had so much potential: a girl can understand languages finds out she might be the key to a nationwide revolution. Yet nothing in this book gave me a true WTF moment. Spoilers follow. Max is a prince? I got that "subtle" clue about five chapters before Charlie figured it out. Charlie's the long lost princess? That was obvious from the moment Sabara mentioned her hunt for trying to find a replacement body. Angelina can heal people? That isn't even a plot twist! That's Derting failing to introduce this concept fluidly. The tortured boy who doesn't get a name until the last paragraph in the scene is actually Aron? My question in response is who else could it be? Nothing Derting included in this book had a wow factor capable of eliciting any major emotional response.

If anything, I'd read the sequel just to see how Derting stretches the plot. But nothing about this first installment begged for a series continuation to me. 

Review Archive: Mistborn

Title: Mistborn: The Final Empire

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 5/5 stars

Part of a Series?: First in series

Goodreads Summary:
Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in Mistborn. 

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark. 

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot. 

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed. 

Review:

This book blew my mind. I'm going to recommend this to ANYONE. 

I had high hopes for Mistborn, and I wasn't disappointed. I'd read the Goodreads reviews, and they promised a great high fantasy novel reminiscent of Lord of the Rings mixed with Harry Potter on steroids. That's exactly what I got. And more. 

I loved the setting of Mistborn. You always read those books about the chosen hero who eventually saves the world from destruction, but this book spins that around and gives us a world where the chosen hero FAILED. Sanderson created such a vivid setting-- the ashfalls, skaa-ridden city, the mists...all of it drew me into the depth of this book. I could see myself standing on top of the rooftops with Vin and Kelsier, surrounded by the swirling mists of the night. Also, the magic in this book was incredibly unique. Allomancy seems like such an interesting concept--no one has really created anything like this. I love the idea of manipulating metals as magic. As this is a major aspect of the story, not only does Sanderson provide extensive detail on Allomancers but he also does it in a way that doesn't seem patronizing (as many fantasy stories tend to do these days, I'm afraid) to the readers.

The characters are what really brought this book to a 5 stars for me. I fell in love with every single person in this story. Sanderson wrote in a third person omniscient form that switched between Vin and Kelsier. Thus, we got to see how each person viewed himself/herself and how he/she was viewed by others. It was a beautiful way to flesh out the two protagonists, giving me much more perspective on how Kelsier and Vin (and Elend, once) think and the motives behind what they do. I felt Kelsier's ambition, pain, loyalty, and his protectiveness over his crew and Vin. Vin also resonated with me because she wasn't some weak, abandoned girl. She actually came into her own as a true Mistborn as the story progressed. They, along with the other ensemble of skaa rebels, brought this story to life for me. I could feel their chemistry oozing out of the text. As a side note, the romance wasn't bad either. I was glad that Elend and Vin's relationship wasn't the keystone of the story because it would've only dragged the story down. 

Furthermore, the way the plot unfolded was amazing. The politics and scheming skaa and nobles wasn't boring at all, thanks to Vin's sarcastic wit that carried me through the rather boring dinner parties. 

Basically? I loved this book. I will definitely read the sequels. THIS IS A GREAT STORY! :D

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