In the tradition of award shows every way, we at Stacks would like to recognized those series that are no longer with us. They have ended. They and solved all their mysteries and tied up any loose ends. We were said to see them go but they will always be remembered for the joy that brought to our lives.
***Spoilers Ahead***
The Last Star and The Countdown and the final books in trilogies about aliens coming to Earth but that’s really where the similarities end. The Last Star is the finale to The 5th Wave, which follows a few teenage survivors after first four waves of an Alien invasion. Billions have people have already died, leaving Cassie, Zombie, Sam, Ringer and Evan as humanities last stand. Meanwhile, The Taking Trilogy, explores alien abductions and the possibility that those responsible are on their way. The 5th Wave is far more epic in scale and more ambitious but not necessarily as entertaining. The first book I thought was fantastic but was underwhelm by the follow The Infinite Sea. The Taking was okay but as the series went on it got better. Not the best series I’ve read but entertaining. Reading both series so close together gave me a chance to read different views on Aliens. Are they hostile? Do they come in peace? How do they go around getting a foothold into Earth. They both have a very different approach to those questions as the The 5th Wave also piggybacks on the latest trend of YA Dystopia as well as sci-fi. The Taking is really more of your standard YA fare with aliens in the background. It still explores the trials of youth and romance and of course a love triangle.
More after the Cut. Continue reading
On to the third final book in a row.
My to-read pile is going to get a little bit of work out in the next couple of weeks. Not only is the The Raven King finally coming (just in case you haven’t heard) but several other books I’ve been waiting to read are also coming out. Apparently May 3 is the day to release books with four books on my list. It’s also the time for series to end with The Raven Cycle, The 5th Wave, The Selection, and the Taking series are all coming into their conclusions. It’s strange how so many of my series are ending this year but I guess that’s just the way it worked out. This is all great but I wish they all were spaced out a little bit. I can only read so much at a time.
April 26
The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater
Soldier (Talon #3) by Julie Kagawa
May 3
The Hidden Oracle (The Trails of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas
Invision (The Chronicles of Nick #7) by Sherrilyn Kenyon
The Crown (The Selection #5) by Kiera Cass
May 10
The Countdown (The Taking #3) by Kimberley Derting
May 24
The Last Star (The 5th Wave #3) by Rick Yancey
I obviously have a lot of reading to do. What are you looking forward to reading in the upcoming weeks?
I read this a month ago so I have sort of forgot what I wanted to say about it. (Note to self: Make notes while reading) So this is going to be a sketchy.
The Replaced is the sequel of the The Taken. It’s about Kyra, who is abducted by aliens for five years but to her she has only been gone for hours. In those five years, she hasn’t aged a day but everyone else has. Her boyfriend is now in college and dating her best friend, her parents are divorced and her Mom is remarried and has a child. The most interesting development is that the younger brother of her ex-boyfriend, Tyler is now her age and is of course hot. As Kyra tries to piece together what happened to her, she falls in love with Tyler, finds other abductees and discovers a conspiracy with the government and the aliens that abducted her. I could go on but I feel that would spoil The Taken so I leave it here.
The book is good and just okay. The characters a likeable enough but not completely memorable. I liked it enough that I’ll read the next book. The ending I found intriguing as I think we will finally get some answers as to what the aliens want with us. I think that has been missing from the plot so far: the reason why teenagers are being abducted and then returned after their DNA is changed so that they age more slowly. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is it’s a good book. I’ll try to do better the next review.
I think I’m going to have to go back and read the first book, The Taking before The Replaced comes out because I totally forgot so many things.
2 Women, So Many Books 