Well, that was certainly… something. I finished this novel over 24 hours ago and I’m still trying to collect my thoughts on it. Might as well start at the beginning. Be forewarned, there will be SPOILERS all over the place. The story picks up right where “The Year of the Flood” left off. As Ren, Amanda, Toby, and Jimmy attempt to deal with the murderous Painballers, the Crakers approach and, due to their lack of knowledge and fear, help the Painballers slip their bonds and […]
Let the Rain Wash Away All the Pain of Yesterday
“The Year of the Flood” isn’t really a sequel to “Oryx and Crake.” Instead, it tells the story of Toby and Ren, two members of the cult God’s Gardeners (GG), and how they have been able to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. It also, thankfully, fleshes out the two decades leading up to the cataclysmic plague from “Oryx and Crake” and manages to fill in the cracks from Snowman/Jimmy’s story. Toby came to the GG following the traumatic death of her parents, when she dropped […]
Oh Snowman, Where You Gonna Run To?
Snowman is the last man on Earth. The survivor of some extinction-level event, he spends his days on a beach, fighting the elements and watching over the Children of Crake and Oryx. These children are not like Snowman, who used to be called Jimmy before the world died. Snowman is their caretaker, of sorts, but as the days wear on and his supplies dwindle, he is forced to leave the Children behind and set off for the city in search of more food. Unfortunately, this […]
You’ve Got (A Cute Guy Reading Your) Mail
Lincoln O’Neill is stuck, in more ways than one. He’s living at home with his mother, having recently finished another of his many degrees and not quite ready to strike out on his own. He’s haunted by memories of his one true love, Sam, the girl who broke his heart in college. He’s also feeling bound by his job. It was supposed to be “internet security” for the local newspaper – protecting the company’s computers from hackers, for example – but instead, he sits all […]
MelBivDevoe’s CBR Review #4 – We Must Take the Current When It Serves
In Chang-rae Lee’s dystopian vision of the future, America is divided into three classes living in three extremely different types of settlements. At the top are the Charters, protected cities in which the rich and successful dwell, spending their money on whatever fancy suits their whims. These people also are referred to as “Charters,” so the name can mean either a place or a person who lives there. Next are the facilities, former cities that have been turned into processing plants that provide the […]
MelBivDevoe’s CBR Review #3 – The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
I suppose my decision to read