The Lost Voyage of Poe Blythe was a fun and interesting read for me. In many ways I really enjoyed this book, it had great characters that I really ended up rooting for, an interesting dystopian setting, and was overall an easy, quick read. But I also felt like it was lacking a bit in the world building department. It may have been a setup to a possible series, but even so I felt like it could have done with a bit more background.
The story follows Poe Blythe, a young mining ship captain who after suffering a tragedy when she was younger, has now vowed revenge on the group of people who caused this tragedy---the raiders. Poe is sharp, quick-witted, and calculating. She’s risen in the ranks of her society because of the complex armor she has developed for the mining ships in order to protect them from raiders. There was a lot about Poe’s character that I could truly respect and throughout the story we see her grow so much. When faced with an entire worldview change, Poe doesn’t doggedly continue on in her beliefs, but questions her society and tries to figure out the truth. More people could stand to learn from her! Poe was my favorite thing about this story, she was great character and one that I wanted to continue to root for!
Another interesting component of this story was the setting; the entire story takes place on a mining ship while the characters are working to mine the river for gold. The ship is truly a character in and of itself, and also the most important thing to Poe.
The only thing that really prevented me from giving this book a higher rating was that I felt like the history of how their society came to live the way it does was never truly explained. We get a bit of an explanation towards the end, but it’s mostly centered on the interactions between people living in Poe’s society and the raiders, rather than why we are really in a dystopian-type setting.
Other than that, this book was a really enjoyable read for me! I loved the characters and Condie’s writing style is super easy to read. It flows well without making you feel like nothing is happening. A great book to pick up if you’re looking for adventure mixed with a little bit of treachery on the side!
The story follows Poe Blythe, a young mining ship captain who after suffering a tragedy when she was younger, has now vowed revenge on the group of people who caused this tragedy---the raiders. Poe is sharp, quick-witted, and calculating. She’s risen in the ranks of her society because of the complex armor she has developed for the mining ships in order to protect them from raiders. There was a lot about Poe’s character that I could truly respect and throughout the story we see her grow so much. When faced with an entire worldview change, Poe doesn’t doggedly continue on in her beliefs, but questions her society and tries to figure out the truth. More people could stand to learn from her! Poe was my favorite thing about this story, she was great character and one that I wanted to continue to root for!
Another interesting component of this story was the setting; the entire story takes place on a mining ship while the characters are working to mine the river for gold. The ship is truly a character in and of itself, and also the most important thing to Poe.
The only thing that really prevented me from giving this book a higher rating was that I felt like the history of how their society came to live the way it does was never truly explained. We get a bit of an explanation towards the end, but it’s mostly centered on the interactions between people living in Poe’s society and the raiders, rather than why we are really in a dystopian-type setting.
Other than that, this book was a really enjoyable read for me! I loved the characters and Condie’s writing style is super easy to read. It flows well without making you feel like nothing is happening. A great book to pick up if you’re looking for adventure mixed with a little bit of treachery on the side!