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Donald's Reviews > The Line
The Line (The Line, #1)
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I've been selected as an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) reader through Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Exciting, huh? I received it in the mail on November 21st of 2009. The cover states that it is "Advance, Uncorrected Proof, Not For Resale."
The back cover synopsis for this novel lured me in; it did its job nicely.
The story concept—about the people associated with The Property, which is on the inside of the US (Unified States) border—sounds pretty cool. The border—or Line—is a force-field like barrier keeping the citizens of the country in and the Others out.
I wanted to like this one more than I did. The story starts off a bit one dimensional and flat. The simplistic names—The Property, The Others, The Line—seem like kept place-holders.
I couldn’t get past the incongruities present. Near the beginning we are led to believe that glass can become old and brittle and break on its own. Incongruities such as having a greenhouse in which orchids (a type of flower) are grown, so close to the Line render the story that much less believable. And why are we growing orchids in a semi-post-apocalyptic world? Wouldn’t hybridizing vegetables seem more useful? Who’s buying these orchids? Another incongruity is the single-use border pass. Why? For what purpose would the government issue single-use border passes? The idea is never fleshed out. The reader is asked to suspend too much disbelief.
The characters at one point go to the local city and I was thinking, “here we go, we’re off the farm now.� Yet the reader gets little feel for what this post-apocalyptic city is like. The trip isn’t explored, the city is barely sketched. So many opportunities to broaden what is on this canvas are left unexplored.
In the end, there is no end. None of the conflict is resolved. None of what is revealed is redeeming. The story just stops as it is getting good.
The back cover synopsis for this novel lured me in; it did its job nicely.
The story concept—about the people associated with The Property, which is on the inside of the US (Unified States) border—sounds pretty cool. The border—or Line—is a force-field like barrier keeping the citizens of the country in and the Others out.
I wanted to like this one more than I did. The story starts off a bit one dimensional and flat. The simplistic names—The Property, The Others, The Line—seem like kept place-holders.
I couldn’t get past the incongruities present. Near the beginning we are led to believe that glass can become old and brittle and break on its own. Incongruities such as having a greenhouse in which orchids (a type of flower) are grown, so close to the Line render the story that much less believable. And why are we growing orchids in a semi-post-apocalyptic world? Wouldn’t hybridizing vegetables seem more useful? Who’s buying these orchids? Another incongruity is the single-use border pass. Why? For what purpose would the government issue single-use border passes? The idea is never fleshed out. The reader is asked to suspend too much disbelief.
The characters at one point go to the local city and I was thinking, “here we go, we’re off the farm now.� Yet the reader gets little feel for what this post-apocalyptic city is like. The trip isn’t explored, the city is barely sketched. So many opportunities to broaden what is on this canvas are left unexplored.
In the end, there is no end. None of the conflict is resolved. None of what is revealed is redeeming. The story just stops as it is getting good.
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Reading Progress
November 13, 2009
– Shelved
November 13, 2009
– Shelved as:
goodreads-giveaways
Started Reading
November 28, 2009
–
Finished Reading
November 29, 2009
– Shelved as:
2009
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Although I have not read it, it is pretty normal for a book to stop as it gets good when there is planned continuation, which it states that there is. Perhaps they were hoping to intrigue the readers enough that they would want to get the second to continue the story...
Caity wrote: "Although I have not read it, it is pretty normal for a book to stop as it gets good when there is planned continuation, which it states that there is. Perhaps they were hoping to intrigue the reade..."I'll take a pass. A continuing saga would have to be memorable and rate at least a four on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ scale for me to keep at it. There are other worlds than these.
Caity wrote: "Although I have not read it, it is pretty normal for a book to stop as it gets good when there is planned continuation, which it states that there is. Perhaps they were hoping to intrigue the reade..."That is not usually the case. If a book is intended as part of a series it should still stand on its own. Here there is no plot. We know Rachel is going to cross the line, she tells us in the first chapter that she will try. There is no resolution and the story doesn't work as a stand alone. My review
Thanks Teri,
Looking forward to it.
Donald