Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful - Book Review

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful
by Arwen Elys Dayton

What is it about:
Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of "human."

What did I think of it:
This sounded like an interesting read, but I should have known better.

The first two stories were the best in my opinion, although right from the start it is clear this book is taking the 'science is weird and scary' approach. After those two stories it only went downhill, exploring all the ways new technologies can go wrong, be misused, and be twisted. I will confess was losing my interest fast. I did soldier on, but the writing itself got more dense as well, so I confess to skimming the last two stories.

All in all not my kind of read.

Why should you read it:
Maybe you don't mind the science is scary feel of this book.


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Traveler - Book Review/Rant

Traveler (Seeker #2)
by Arwen Elys Dayton

What is it about:
Quin Kincaid is a Seeker. Her legacy is an honor, an ancient role passed down for generations. But what she learned on her oath night changed her world forever.

Quin pledged her life to deception. Her legacy as a Seeker is not noble but savage. She was trained to be an assassin. And the boy she once loved is out for vengeance, with her family in his sights.

Yet Quin is not alone. Shinobu, her oldest companion, might now be the only person she can trust. The only one who wants answers as desperately as she does.

But the deeper they dig into the past, the darker things become. There are long-vanished Seeker families, shadowy alliances, and something else: a sinister plan begun generations ago with the power to end the legacy forever.

And it might destroy them all.

What did I think of it:
I'm going to guess that a lot of people liked the multiple viewpoints in the first book of this series, because in this book the number of viewpoint characters is doubled!

Yes: six! viewpoint characters all get their own chapters in which they treat you to their view of the world. In the best circumstances I'm not a fan of multiple viewpoints, but here it really annoyed me. I didn't think much of most of the characters, so found myself skimming to reach the chapters of the few characters I could stand.

All these different people all doing their own thing dragged the pacing down as well. Even with skimming this felt like a long and slow read. Characters I liked in the previous book were suddenly whiny and/or annoying. I came close to not finishing the book, but the hope that it would change and I'd love the book kept me reading. Alas!

I'm going to give up on this trilogy and won't be picking up the last book, if only because I'm afraid the next book will have even more viewpoint characters to loathe. A shame, because despite some flaws in the world building I really liked the first book.

Why should you read it:
If you like multiple viewpoints and Paranormal Near Future World YA you might like this.

Seeker - Early Book Review

Seeker (Seeker #1)
by Arwen Elys Dayton

What is it about:
The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend.

But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought.

And now it's too late to walk away.

What did I think of it:
This is a cool read.

It's told from multiple viewpoints: Quin, John and Shinobu. For me Shinobu was the easiest to relate to, but all three viewpoints managed to hold my interest in what was happening.

I will confess the story developed rather differently than I expected after reading the blurb, but that was not a bad thing. I especially liked the change of setting later in the book. The story starts out in a rather rural place, the switch to a big city improved the story in my opinion.

As for the world building: what's with the old timey stuff in a near future setting? I've encountered it in several books. I mean: the bad guys do a raid and arrive on horses! Really? I'm surprised so many of them could actually ride I must say. The whole first part of the book felt old fashioned in my opinion. Only when Quin gets to a big city this story began to feel like near future.

My grumblings about the world building aside I very much enjoyed this book though. It has lots of action, betrayal, and suspense. I will most certainly keep an eye out for the next book.

Why should you read it:
It's a cool YA Near Future Fantasy read.