An Interesting Dystopian Read Featuring a Nautical Adventure. . . And Revenge!
Poe Blythe sets off on her final nautical voyage to find gold for the dreaded Admiral. But Poe isn't searching for gold. She's looking for revenge. . .
Poe Blythe is in love. Upon taking off on her first voyage with her love, Call, she never imagined that their plans to run away together would be ruined. But then the ship is invaded by raiders, ruthless pirates with dubious motives. The worst part though? The raiders kill Call. Luckily, the raiders let the rest of the crew go to send a message to the Admiral: Stop looting our rivers or else. Now, two years later, Poe is put in charge of a mining ship down another river in raider territory. Poe may have convinced the Admiral that she is his obedient servant willing to search for his gold. But really, she's after one thing and one thing only: Revenge on the ones that killed Call.
I didn't know going into this one that it was a dystopian novel. I found the world to be interesting despite the general lack of worldbuilding. This group of people have been abandoned in a desolate area that has been ruled by "the Admirals" for as long as anyone can remember. Young children work in mines and tinsmiths and other businesses to keep the town thriving. The lucky ones get to work for the Admiral on his mining ships or to do personal tasks for him. Poe is one of these "lucky" ones, who gets to work for him and on his ships. Beyond that, there isn't much lore drop in this novel.
I knew that this was a nautical tale and I love books that take place on ships. After Poe is made captain, she claims the Lily, the Admiral's last mining ship as her own. Soon after arriving, she learns that there is a rat in the crew, and she spends the majority of the book trying to find out who the backstabber is. Most of the book follows the ensuing back and forth battles between Poe, her crew, the Admiral's settlers, and the raiders. The book is filled with a bunch of action, betrayals, and high intensity fight scenes.
The characters in this one aren't super strong, but Poe is really the only important person to the plot line anyway. Most of the story is driven forward by her personal fears, expectations, wants, and desires for revenge. Poe's growth throughout the book is one of the key takeaways and I loved seeing her grow from a revenge filled killer to a girl with a bit more humanity who starts to see the error of her ways.
Overall, this book flew by for me. The story kept on moving forward one scene after another and I enjoyed the sense of danger, the adventure, and the suspense. The dystopian world drew me in with its interesting technology and corrupt government. I enjoyed my time with Poe even though she is quite annoying at times and is entirely self-centered. This is my second Ally Condie book and it was also a success for me, so I will keep checking out her books in the future. If you like dystopian settings, morally gray characters, and nautical adventures, this could be an enjoyable read for you!
Poe Blythe is in love. Upon taking off on her first voyage with her love, Call, she never imagined that their plans to run away together would be ruined. But then the ship is invaded by raiders, ruthless pirates with dubious motives. The worst part though? The raiders kill Call. Luckily, the raiders let the rest of the crew go to send a message to the Admiral: Stop looting our rivers or else. Now, two years later, Poe is put in charge of a mining ship down another river in raider territory. Poe may have convinced the Admiral that she is his obedient servant willing to search for his gold. But really, she's after one thing and one thing only: Revenge on the ones that killed Call.
I didn't know going into this one that it was a dystopian novel. I found the world to be interesting despite the general lack of worldbuilding. This group of people have been abandoned in a desolate area that has been ruled by "the Admirals" for as long as anyone can remember. Young children work in mines and tinsmiths and other businesses to keep the town thriving. The lucky ones get to work for the Admiral on his mining ships or to do personal tasks for him. Poe is one of these "lucky" ones, who gets to work for him and on his ships. Beyond that, there isn't much lore drop in this novel.
I knew that this was a nautical tale and I love books that take place on ships. After Poe is made captain, she claims the Lily, the Admiral's last mining ship as her own. Soon after arriving, she learns that there is a rat in the crew, and she spends the majority of the book trying to find out who the backstabber is. Most of the book follows the ensuing back and forth battles between Poe, her crew, the Admiral's settlers, and the raiders. The book is filled with a bunch of action, betrayals, and high intensity fight scenes.
The characters in this one aren't super strong, but Poe is really the only important person to the plot line anyway. Most of the story is driven forward by her personal fears, expectations, wants, and desires for revenge. Poe's growth throughout the book is one of the key takeaways and I loved seeing her grow from a revenge filled killer to a girl with a bit more humanity who starts to see the error of her ways.
Overall, this book flew by for me. The story kept on moving forward one scene after another and I enjoyed the sense of danger, the adventure, and the suspense. The dystopian world drew me in with its interesting technology and corrupt government. I enjoyed my time with Poe even though she is quite annoying at times and is entirely self-centered. This is my second Ally Condie book and it was also a success for me, so I will keep checking out her books in the future. If you like dystopian settings, morally gray characters, and nautical adventures, this could be an enjoyable read for you!