Searching for utopia...and zombies?

On a flight back from the UK a few months ago, I watched Tomorrowland starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson. I absolutely LOVED it. I loved it so much, in fact, that when I discovered a prequel to the film was written I snatched it up immediately. The book is Before Tomorrowland by Jeff Jensen, Brad Bird, Jonathan Case, and Damon Lindelof. The basic premise is to set up the world that is already constructed in the film. The best part about the storyline was how famous figures from the past were incorporated. Imagine Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, Albert Einstein, and Amelia Earhart all working together in a super secret organization where the technology of the 1930s far exceeds that of today. If that wasn't impetus enough to go out and read this book then I don't know how I can convince you. (Except maybe you'll get excited about the fact that at the back of the hardcover edition there's a short color comic that is referenced throughout the book for extra immersion.) Also, go watch the film because I don't think it got nearly enough praise.

You might have wondered what was going on with the title of this blog post or maybe you never even notice the titles at all. If that's the case, I'm pretty upset because I spend quite a lot of time trying to be creative and/or witty when creating them. In actuality, I probably spend too much time working on them. Well, wonder no longer. 

The other book that I read this week (I'm lying because I actually read 4 books this week but the other two will be reviewed in later posts because I'm sneaky.) was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I've had this book languishing on my shelves since it came out several years ago but when I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie I knew it was time to give it the attention it was due. As you're well aware by now, faithful reader, I'm a huge Jane Austen fan and so I was interested to see how zombies would be incorporated into the narrative. I was not disappointed. Most of the essentials remained the same but the ones that were changed were so funny and fit so well with the new adaptation that I didn't mind in the least. This version's Elizabeth Bennet is a warrior for the Crown in the fight against the unmentionables. Her sole goal is to eradicate as many of Satan's creatures as she can and so she is even more forthright than Austen's original if you can believe it. There was gore, baudy humor, and fights in defense of honor. It was a fun read and I think if you're a fan of Austen you should see what it's all about and if you're not a fan of Austen this might be your doorway into the sublime.

Divergent, Insurgent, & Allegiant (+ Four)

Divergent pulled me right in. It pulled me in so far that I had to go out and pick up the sequel, Insurgent. So I decided that I would focus on the trilogy for a bit and just keep updating this post. I hope that works for you guys. :-)

Divergent
So who knew that a utopian society could turn dystopian so quickly? Turns out that separating society into neat little factions doesn't solve all the problems of the world. In fact, trying to put people into neat little boxes creates an oppressive regime that is bound to spin out of control when members try to assert their individuality. The main character, Beatrice (or Tris if you will), is compelling and instantly relatable to the reader (at least to me she was). I found myself turning the pages as quickly as possible to find out if Tris could persevere and overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacles in her path. The end of Divergent created a need in me to explore more of this world that Veronica Roth crafted. I hope you guys will travel on this journey with me...unless of course you're not interested in young adult dystopian fiction then I guess you'd better wait around until I've finished this series. Either way, I'll be seeing you on the other side. :-)

Insurgent
I have to admit that this one took me a little longer to get completely swept away. This does not mean that this book was in any way inferior to the first. Actually, I think the problem was that I had an idea of where I thought the characters were going and it didn't quite jibe with Veronica Roth. :-P That being said, by the midpoint in the book I was hooked again. This book was darker than the first (believe it or not) because the fight is not just about factions but about secrets. Those in the highest level of government know a secret and Abnegation was prepared to tell the entire population...until Erudite decided that it was too dangerous. That's what prompted the fighting (and Jeanine Matthews wanting to wield control over everyone). The Divergent, in particular, are impacted by this information but we won't know exactly to what extent until the next book in the series. Here we go again!

Allegiant
This book brought a major change in formatting as the author started to alternate the narrative voices (if you're a longtime reader of the blog you know how I feel about this narrative device) between Tris and Tobias. Because I had grown accustomed to reading things from Tris's perspective it was difficult for me to get into the rhythm of Tobias. For the majority of the book, I wasn't fully convinced that Roth had a good grasp on his 'voice'. The reason for this shift in formatting became clear as the action of the story was divided between the two characters and to stay with Tris would mean missing out on half of the picture (which would have made it impossible to flesh out the ending of the series). This series reminds me of Harry Potter in that as the books continue the story becomes gradually darker and the maturity of the characters is accelerated due to some (or many) struggle(s). That should give you a hint as to how this series ended. I don't want to give it away but I will say that I charged through the ending hoping that I had somehow misread what had happened or that some kind of sci-fi scenario to occur which would then fix everything. Did it? Well, I guess you'll have to read Allegiant to find out.


Four
In my review of Allegiant, I mentioned that at first I didn't feel Roth had a grasp on Tobias's 'voice'. I didn't feel that way after reading Four. Would it surprise you to learn that Divergent originally started out from his point of view?  Four is a collection of stories which helps to explain just how Tobias Eaton transformed from a lanky teenager in Abnegation grays that no one noticed to a Dauntless front runner who couldn't be forgotten. I, for one, really enjoyed this quick read (clearly as I finished it in one day) and I felt like it delivered exactly what Roth promised: a glimpse into the mind of a character that kept all his cards close to his vest. I especially liked seeing the scenes from Divergent with Tris through his eyes. If you're a fan of the Divergent series, I think this is worth picking up and giving a whirl.


A/N: I'm going to start fresh with the next blog post as I want to keep this one strictly about this series. I'll be posting that within the next week. :-D