Tagged: scott westerfeld

My New York Trip Day #6: Last Day of Book Expo America 2015

DSCN2030As pretty much everyone who writes on the topic of Book Expo will inform you, the last day of the expo is the craziest.  There are the most people with the most books and they’re all there to get as many books signed as possible.  Line ups are crazy and it’s a little disorganized but things usually work out okay in the end.

I know this because I went to go get a book by Scott Westerfeld signed and ended up in line for almost an hour.  That wasn’t all that bad because who should be behind me but Kellie Sheridan, the co-founder of Patchwork Press and author of Mortality, a book I thoroughly enjoyed.  Talking to her was awesome while waiting for Scott Westerfeld (who was, in the brief time we met, incredibly nice).

The only other book I stood in line for was Fairest by Marissa Meyer.  It was a good thing I showed up early to get in line because apparently they were limiting the line to 100 people or something.  It wasn’t one of the ticketed signings but I think a lot of people really wanted the book so I’m glad I ended up getting it. Marissa Meyer is one of those authors I never expected to stumble across but have absolutely loved her books in the Cinder series.  Reading Fairest will be a nice little treat while waiting for her next full length book.

I wanted to meet up with two people but only actually met up with one, which was fine.  I can’t talk much about who I met and what we discussed because so far it’s just in the works but I think it’s something a lot of book reviewers like me could benefit from in the future.

On this last day I didn’t really stick around long because I’d seen pretty much everything I wanted to see and talked to almost everyone I wanted to talk to.  I had a great time at the Expo and would recommend it to anyone who has wanted to go in the past.  The bloggers conference isn’t really worth your time but the main expo definitely is.

The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Strange things are happening: old friends disappearing, angels (or devils) clambering on the fire escapes of New York City. But for Pearl, Moz, and Zahler, all that matters is the band. As the city reels under a mysterious epidemic, the three combine their talents with a vampire lead singer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. Will their music stave off the end? Or summon it? Set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Peeps, The Last Days is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world.

(Summary courtesy of Goodreads.)

Meh.  I don’t know what I was really expecting, but I guess I hoped that The Last Days would follow the end of the world more closely.  With all the suspense built up at the end of Peeps, I wanted to learn more about the coming worm apocalypse by seeing it through the eyes of someone in the Night Watch on the front lines.  However, the group of people we follow in The Last Days knows nothing of peeps or the apocalypse happening around them until the very end, so it was kind of disappointing.  This is more my fault than Scott Westerfeld’s because of my preconceived notions, but I definitely would have liked to hear more of how humanity fought the worms rather than just reading a past tense version of it in an epilogue.

Despite the fact it wasn’t what I expected, The Last Days wasn’t a bad book.  It took a more serious tone than the first book, but it suited the gritty background very well.  The characters were interesting and not exactly what you would expect in a YA novel, so there’s that.  Alana Ray was my personal favourite, but I can see where many people would identify with Pearl or Moz.  I would have liked the chapters to be a bit longer because at times it felt like head-hopping as each chapter had a different point of view than the previous one.  However, that’s more of a personal preference because I like continuity.

In The Last Days I just didn’t feel the same energy or enthusiasm as there was in Peeps.  There were some really slow parts where the book dragged on, but other parts were way too fast.  My disappointment is partly my own fault for starting to read it with lots of expectations, but I can’t help but feel it didn’t live up to its full potential.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

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Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

(Cover picture courtesy of In The Next Room.)

Okay, let’s clear up some myths about vampires.  First of all, you won’t see me using the v-word much.  In the Night Watch, we prefer the term parasite positives or peeps for short.

The main thing to remember is that there’s no magic involved.  No flying.  No transforming into bats or rats either.  We’re talking about a disease.

After a chance encounter with a mysterious woman one night, Cal Thompson’s life is changed forever.  He’s been infected with an insidious parasite.  The good news: he’s only a carrier—still sane, without the worst of the symptoms.  The bad news: he’s infected all his former girlfriends—and now they’ve turned into what Cal calls peeps.  The rest of us call them vampires.  And it’s Cal’s job to hunt them down before they create even more of their kind.

I don’t consider myself a person who’s easily grossed out, but congratulations must go to Scott Westerfeld for managing to do just that!  He goes into incredible detail not just for the peeps parasite, but for many other parasites.  You see, every other chapter he describes a kind of parasite that is either good or bad and ties it into the story very well in the end.  That’s a lot of parasites to gross you out.  And the parasites are nothing in comparison to some of the disgusting situations Cal gets into.

In other words: Don’t read this while you’re eating.  Or before you go to sleep, like I did.

Scott Westerfeld’s sense of humour shines through more in Peeps than in his Uglies series because Cal is just that kind of character.  He’s snarky and sarcastic, but also wracked with guilt over spreading the peeps disease to all of his ex-girlfriends, making them insane.  Not only is the parasite spread through sexual contact, it can be spread by bodily fluids like saliva.  So you can imagine how scared he is when he meets Lace, who seems determined to interfere in his life and may even be falling in love with him.

The plot is quite fast-paced and Peeps has lots of twists and turns I never saw coming.  The best part is that it’s not your typical vampire story, so it’s pretty hard to get bored with the premise.  And the cliffhanger at the ending will make you want to read the next book, The Last Days because of the huge plot twist in the end.  I can’t wait for the next book!

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

(Cover picture courtesy of Fat Girl Reading.)

The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy.  It cam swallow even battleships with one bite. The Darwnists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner.  Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt.  But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need  great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead

I’m finding that I like Behemoth more than I like Leviathan.  Now that I’m more used to Scott Westerfeld’s steampunk world, things make a lot more sense.  And since Scott Westerfeld has already set up his universe, he can focus on the plot and characters.

This time I was actually able  to connect with both Deryn and Alek.  This is probably because I was more familiar with the world and could actually focus on the characters.  Alek is much more sympathetic this time around because he isn’t as much of a spoiled brat prince as he was before.  Deryn is also much easier to connect with as her secret is in jeopardy multiple times.

The world-building is excellent and I absolutely love Keith Thompson’s illustrations, which help bring the world alive.  Scott Westerfeld masterfully intertwines the events of the real First World War with the fake scenarios he has created.  The plot is faster paced than that of Leviathan and much more unpredictable.  Overall, Behemoth is an excellent novel that makes me eager for the last  book in the trilogy, Goliath.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

(Cover picture courtesy of And the plot thickens…)

Alek is a prince without a throne.  On the run from his own people he has only a fighting machine and a small band of men.

Deryn is a girl disguised as a guy in the British Air Service.  She must fight for her cause—and protect her secret—at all costs.

Alek and Deryn are thrown together aboard the mighty airship Leviathan.  Though fighting side by side, their worlds are far apart.  British fabricated beasts versus German steam-powered war machines.  They are enemies with everything to lose, yet somehow destined to be together.

Although it’s surprising considering how much I read, this was my first-ever encounter with steampunk.  I like alternate history and I like speculative fiction (which is what steampunk is generally a combination of), but I’m not really sure I like steampunk.  Perhaps it’s simply because I didn’t pick up the right book, but at the time I’m writing this, my feelings about the sub-genre are mixed.

As with all of his novels, Scott Westerfeld has wonderful world-building.  The strange animal-machines of the Darwinists offer a very stark contrast to the iron and steel of the Clankers.  He also took time to develop slang for the world, which is confusing at first but adds a lot more realism to this alternate 1914 Europe once you get used to it.  Of course the wonderful illustrations by Keith Thompson deserve a lot of credit for bringing Scott Westerfeld’s bizarre world to life.

The plot speeds along, taking readers on a whirlwind journey.  It’s rather disorienting at first, but readers are able to quickly get up to speed.  This is the kind of book you can’t stop once you start, no matter how hard you try.

The only thing that fell flat for me was the characters.  Some like Deryn, a natural tomboy pretending to be an actual boy, should have caught my attention, but she didn’t.  Much like Alek, she is a decent enough character, but is not particularly memorable for me.  This should not be possible because both main characters are three dimensional and have fascinating backstories, but for whatever reason, they just didn’t click for me.  I would still recommend Leviathan, however, because this lack of connection is probably just me.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

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