The Dead Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

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The Dead Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places

(Read 2013)

These are the next instalments in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. This is going to be a simultaneous review simply because I read both in such a short space of time that they aren’t really separate books in my head. (So if I say ‘this book’ I don’t distinguish between the two, although I know they are respective books!)

Firstly, wow.

A lot happens in these books. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is but a prequel to the events that go down. In many ways, it is that book that lets you see what the world is like before Carrie Ryan takes you on this amazing journey.

In general, the story and world are amazing. This is post-apocalyptic and it is completely understandable what is done even if we must disagree and not approve of everything. It makes it fascinating because you face moral dilemmas (from the safety of your armchair or bed!) that are almost worrying that you might think. I question who I agree with...and concluding that I agree with the idealist and the pragmatist/survivalist I don’t know where I stand. The plot nicely moves along and it never feels too centralised and dull- even without great movement (sometimes) there is always fantastic pace and Carrie Ryan uses her environment and world to great effect. Zombies are ever-present and this is taken full advantage of which makes both books engrossing and “unputdownable”.

The characters in both books are the same in terms of our main protagonists although obviously the cast of side characters differs between the two as befits the setting and progression of the story. But the characters...oh lord! There are circles within circles, triangles within triangles. It like trying to endless half a number...it just goes into the infinity of numbers and it won’t end. Now imagine each of those halves is a part of the characters personality and they are built of these endless inconsistencies. Well now consider there are four main characters. Add in one or two important side characters who are similarly halved. You just have this huge amazing mess that creates this powerful, human characters. Now, I ain’t saying they’re perfect, but they are darn good...and they make for excellent reading.

So in general, I am very fond of these books. They were a huge improvement on the first and much more nitty-gritty. I’m taken along in this journey...I read these books over a two day period whilst on holiday and I was thrown into a rut after finishing (and after the first of the two books, the beach we were staying became infinitely eerie!). These come highly recommended.

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

1. Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin I've read book one and I just couldn't bear the cliffhanger. I've asked for the rest of the books, but I'd be happy with just the next book to satisfy my curiosity. I mean, some reviews are saying they aren't good books.
2. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak is one I've heard basically raving about anywhere and everywhere. I'll be proud to know contribute in such conversation since I'll have read it.
3. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Another one I've had recommended a couple of times that I'm finally getting around to getting. 
4. Legend by Marie Lu Since I heard about it a while ago, went to buy it and... it wasn't out yet. So this is the realisation of a book I've been waiting to have for a much too long time.
5. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson To add to my pile of fantasy, I have another book which has mostly received good reviews and criticism (at least where I've looked) and I find the concept interesting and unique enough that I couldn't, in good conscience, pass this by.
6. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Since my...inauguration in liking dystopia, this one has come up a few times. I haven't read it or seen the film, but again the positive feed back has me thinking I'll both like and be mildly disgusted by this book.
7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë I'm trying my best to read classics, and this is another one that I feel I'll have to read. I've heard that with Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights, these make quite the set. I'll be glad to have read them all.
8. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake Enough people have said this is weird in a good way that I feel I want to know how this book happens. The title puts me off a bit (I have a huge aversion to blood), but I've been mildly assured I shouldn't worry.
9. Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan I read the first book in this series earlier in the year and, bleak and depressing as it was, it was riveting and realistic. I won't be reading this too soon after Christmas (it is supposed to be joyous, after all) but I want to read it soon-ish, before I forget book 1.
10. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb The final one is another fantasy one that I want to read. Seriously, I could spending the next three months on fantasy exclusively and still have some left. I think I'm making things hard for myself since I'm starting all these series that have the potential to depress me and consume me at exam time, but they've all come well recommended so I shan't shy away just yet.

Thanks for hopping by. Maybe you could tell me one book; because if we all write lists of ten down there, it just gets cluttered. And, if I agree with the one you do choose, I can feel confident to hop on over to you.

Anyway, Happy Hopping!

Oh: Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year too (if you're just the casual hopper)!!!!

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel

Before starting I must thank Hannah at Once Upon a Time for the book. I won it, but I still owe her a nod. And we had both thought the cover wasn’t great. But owning it and looking at it, I think it’s really quite nice. It’d stylised and in a weird way suits the story. I said it: I like the Orange Cover.

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Dearly Departed is book, impossible to categorise, about a steampunk, dystopian world where there are zombies who are also civilised. And, to top it all, it’s a romance story.

The first issue I had to (mentally) tackle with this book was the romance between a zombie and living girl. I know the saying “Love conquers all” but never had I considered a human/zombie pairing. Frankly, the idea freaked me out and got me curious; would it work? I’m going to say yes. For the first three hundred pages or so, I kept changing my mind but then I just suddenly got over it. I think what I figured out was that it wasn’t something completely strange and the zombie-ism was just an element of Bram’s personality. I cottoned on that this was just another obstacle in romance, as a protective father or social climbing mother might be. At the end of the day, it didn’t really matter. I think that if you read the description of a human’s love for a zombie and recoiled, or had the curiosity I did, you have to read this. More than any romance I’ve read, this has changed my perspective on any and all love. It’s something we can’t explain away, and we have to accept that it’s about feeling and not all that nonsense with ‘hotness’ or other physical things.

After that, I enjoyed the book much more. The zombie-ism itself was well explained. I accept that it’s an unrealistic thing to ever happen in our world, but the idea that it is a prion in the body constantly trying to multiply and survive fits in with the biological idea of the world. The survival element of the gene is what embodies the uncivilised zombies, since that is all they care about. The civilised ones are those concerned with the survival of others above themselves. Everything made sense, which I like in any dystopia/post-apocalyptia/zombie novel.

The story itself is fine, but mostly unremarkable. It’s quite surprising sometimes, but there is so much going on that you forget to be surprised. It follows three sets of characters, one set made up of two viewpoints. So in way there were four linear storylines to follow as they ran alongside one another and crossed occasionally. It wasn’t confusing, but when you came back to a viewpoint you had to play mental catch-up before continuing.

Perhaps the only smidge of an issue I had was that it felt as though the book was trying to be funny too much. Occasionally this was one joke too many, but other times it was a complete change in tone. It was minor thing though so I shan’t dwell.

There nothing else to say except I loved all the little twists in the story and I couldn’t help but be drawn into this amazingly written story. It doesn’t feel like romance book (I think) and neither does it feel like a zombie or dystopia book. By combining everything as it did, it somehow managed to establish its own platform. It’s kind of wonderful.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

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This is a zombie apocalypse novel were bleak doesn't even cut it. The story is of Mary, a girl living in the last refuge of humanity ruled by The Sisters, and how she tries to live in this environment. Up until the zombies get into gear, this story is also very dystopian.

I just can’t write this without feeling depressed all over again (and slightly nervous). It’s truly a great story, and as someone who doesn’t like zombies, it credit to how easy it is to be drawn in. I never knew what to expect from the book: the cover gives nothing away and Mary herself is unpredictable because she constantly strives to fit in with society; all she really wants is to see the ocean since, to her, it is the only place truly untouched by the Unconsecrated.

At the start, the mechanics of the village are stiflingly dystopian. The Sisters rule with iron-clad authority and the Guardians are their hands. It appears to be a working society, but then Mary finds out some things, some by accident, and she begins to see the Sisters more as like occupying, brain-washing force than a force for God. She half-respects the sisters, especially Sister Tabitha, for their dedication, but it is something she doesn’t share. This kind of difference is what makes Mary so strange to the other villagers. Whereas they are happy to live, breed and help maintain human life, she wants more. She wants to be herself and not just a tool for humanity’s survival.

There were some really horrible moments in this book. The Zombie in red? My skin crawled every time she was mentioned. This one meant bad news whenever she was around, and seeing her destroy herself was even terrifying. And worse still: zombie children. This is a bit of a spoiler thing, but anyone who is thinking of reading this must know there are zombified children- even newborns. It made me sick to read, partly because I stick to books where children are safe even if deprived. But as ever, it was captivating.

Romance was kind of important in the book. The idea is that each girl in the village either marries and copulates or becomes a Sister: romance is only good luck. So when Mary finds love, it reiterates the oddity of our protagonist that I could I actually didn’t mind. For once, when I was told she’d loved him for a long time I didn’t groan since from what I already knew, it made sense. And it could have stayed that way, except a love triangle was introduced, and I kind of didn’t believe in Harry loving her. It struck me more as loyalty and friendship, which to him meant love. But not to Mary, and not to me. Travis was better in my mind because he understood her. As you may imagine, the love is going to cause a bit of pain.

I disliked three things, which are minor things depending on outlook. The first was the the pacing felt a bit odd. They’d be fighting and running for chapters, then they would just stop somewhere for ages. It felt a bit jumpy and annoying. But I get the constant moving; if they dwell, everything will catch up with them, literally and figuratively. I also disliked the battles themselves: at one point Mary just picks up an axe and starts swinging it a lot to kill loads of zombies. That sounds too simplistic to me, but I think that’s my fantasy roots showing through and wouldn’t bother most people. The final qualm and the biggest was that when our little group stops at one point, the men make the fire and the girls make the food. Earlier on, the men all took the weapons as well. Okay, the men were trained fighters unlike the women, but the feeling of sexism was kind of annoying. But I think Carrie realised this since it was written in a slightly clipped way, so I assume it was put in to conform to the society she made.

All in all, it was a good book. I was breathless reading it (seriously) and I had to stop sometimes to mentally prepare myself for whatever happened next. The use of the Sea also kept me reading: in these dire circumstances it was understandable why she had to believe this. (I actually have an analysis in my head of why she needed the sea, and why no-one else had dreams like her, but that would be too spoilery.) I imagine a lot of people have read this, but those who haven’t have been warned that this is a traumatic kind of book that has been superbly done.