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Monday, October 19, 2009

Enclave

Reed, Kit. Enclave.

My new method of reviewing books I don't care for: Use someone else's review. Especially if I don't agree with the review. Perverse, I know, but that way you get two sides.

from Publishers Weekly: "In this gripping dystopian satire, ex-marine Sargent Whitmore has a plan to make millions while protecting children from the self-destructing modern world. He turns an old Mediterranean monastery into a combined impenetrable fortress and school, and enrolls 100 filthy-rich children, most of them already well-known for legal troubles, drug problems and paparazzi run-ins. Once there, everyone is cut off from the outside world, fed only canned news stories about wars and natural disasters. When things inevitably go horribly wrong, young hacker "Killer" Stade, physician assistant Cassie, drug and sex-crazed Sylvie and monastery-raised orphan Benny all attempt heroics, but remain deeply flawed. Reed (The Baby Merchant) displays unflinching willingness to explore all the facets of all of the characters, and her refusal to paint anyone as a simple villain makes this far more than a typical disaster novel."

Didn't find it gripping, but kept hoping that I would. The conclusion sealed my disenchantment.

Fiction. Science Fiction/Dystopian. 2009. 366 pages.

11 comments:

  1. Love this idea! When I got to "combined impenetrable fortress and school", I knew it wasn't for me. :)

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  2. Jenny - I was certainly disappointed in this one.

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  3. Ewwww . . doesn't sound good to me. I do like your perverse method of writing a review for this type of book. LOL

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  4. I like the idea, but I just scrolled down to read your thoughts.

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  5. I appreciated your comment on my blog post about the good points of bats, and am a bit green with envy that you got to see all those bats coming out at dusk in Austin.
    What an awesome experience that must have been.
    We do love our little bats who share this earth with us.

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  6. I did the same thing as Bybee. Great idea, but I really just wanted to know what you thought.

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  7. booklogged - Sometimes it is really difficult to find anything to say! This way I could present the positive and then disagree... :)

    bybee - I liked the jacket blurb enough to pick up the book, and I like dystopian novels, but...

    terra - Bats are such interesting creatures, aren't they? Austin's bat population is awesome!

    bookfool - Yeah, I was hooked on the idea, too. Wish I'd enjoyed the book!

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  8. Ha! Now there is a creative way to get around writing a negative review! :)

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  9. Stefanie - It saves having to think of anything to say and allows another point of view!

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  10. Might as well save time and your energy. :-) This is a great idea, Jenclair.

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  11. LF - Sometimes I'm just too lazy! This was a time-saver!

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