"Seeker"
Written by Arwen Elys Dayton
This book is set for release on 10 February, 2015
Note: The Advance Review Copy of this ebook was generously provided to me by Random House Children's, via Net Galley, in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.
A Bit of Background
As anyone who has read my other reviews should be aware, this is not the typical kind of book that I review for my blog. That isn't to say that I don't read dystopian, sci-fi or YA books -- I do. I actually really enjoy reading them, because their characters just seem to be so much less bogged down with the realities of adult life, that it helps me to (if only momentarily) escape my reality, which is overflowing with assignments, responsibilities and what I like to refer to as "grown-up problems".
When I read the synopsis of this book on NetGalley, I was hooked. I needed to know what this world was about -- so I requested the title. Subsequently, I was approved to review this, and so... here we are.
Preliminary Information
Up front, I'd like to let you know that this is the first book in a series. It does not have a cliffhanger ending, and if you'd like to let this book stand alone, I guess you'd be able to do that without too much of an issue. Just wanted to put that out there, in case it affects your decision in any way.
This book was compared to other such wildly successful YA series as the Divergent trilogy, The Hunger Games, and the Legend series -- I would like to advise you right now to take all those comparisons with a grain of salt. Maybe even set them aside, if you can. I've read all three of those series, and enjoyed each for very different reasons... and Seeker is so different from all of them.
Truthfully, Seeker doesn't quite fit into the YA dystopian mold. In fact, I'm fairly certain that whether good or bad, this book defies categorization, classification, and vehemently refuses to be put into any sort of box.
A sort of disclaimer, though -- if you can't suspend reality when reading... that is, if you can't put the ways of the world as you currently understand it on hold, and just accept the universe that the author builds as the way that things are -- then you're going to have kind of a hard time getting into this book. I would guess that most people would say that this is YA, and I think it fits with that age group better than adults simply because they're typically less set in their ways, less jaded and more open to reading about a universe that is different from that which they experience it in everyday life. Just an aside -- Perhaps that is a valuable skill in many ways, and one that those of us who are older need to figure out how to remaster.
The Story
Quin Kincaid is a Scottish young woman, who has been taught her whole life to aspire to become a Seeker, her family's long-standing hereditary vocation, and the honor associated with her legacy. She has trained side by side with her cousin, Shinobu, and their fellow apprentice, John, to achieve the dream of becoming a Seeker since they were all old enough to do so.
The dream is to fight with John and Shinobu to protect the weak, right the wrongs committed in the world, and be a light in the darkess of shadow and sin. Quin and her companions are well on their collective way to realizing this goal, when all of a sudden, their worlds turn upside down in the blink of an eye.
When John, Quin's best friend and love interest, doesn't quite make the cut to swear his Seeker's Oath, things begin to go awry, but it still feels like something that can be corrected and addressed with the passage of a little time, and the application of a great deal of effort.
Things really go wrong the night that Quin and Shinobu take their Oath. Together, they discover that being a Seeker is not at all what they thought it would be -- in fact, quite the opposite. Still reeling from their realization, their worlds are jarred once more by the return of John, who isn't what he seemed at first, either. Quin no longer knows who she can trust, or what she can believe, if anything. She struggles to sort her life out, and make the best of her very difficult situation, because it is too late for her to walk away from it all now -- until suddenly, it isn't too late at all.
My Thoughts
I think part of my difficulty with suspending reality when reading this novel stems from the fact that there are so many holes in the description of the world that the author is trying to build here, that I have been left to fill in the blanks on my own, on several occasions. Not that this is a huge issue for me under ordinary circumstances, since my imagination is vivid and lively enough to take care of it all for me -- but the thing is that when you're trying to build a universe that is similar to the world in which we move, but with several marked differences, it is hard for the reader to figure out if they should fill in the blanks with fantasy details, or realistic ones.
To be honest, the book feels well-intended, but ill-planned. This issue first revealed itself in the holes in the description, but then continued through the inconsistent pacing of the development of the storyline and plot progression. I feel like this could have easily been cured by the creation of an outline, timeline, or flow chart up front when the author first touched pen to paper (or probably more accurately, fingers to keys). The lack of such established direction and planning is readily apparent in the development of the novel.
The pace of the novel, as I mentioned, is inconsistent. Where it is fairly normal for there to be fast and slow portions in a novel, here, it almost feels like the author is trying to give the reader whiplash with the abrupt changes of pace. You get a slowly developing touchy, feely romantic scene between two of the lead characters, then you snap to a violently gory flashback from someone's childhood, then you go to someone else's present situation, then you move again to a different, time, space and perspective.
The story is complicated, because of the numerous relationships and interactions between the various characters, but the fact that the author seems to keep shifting around the setting, time period, and perspective makes this all the more confusing for the reader. I'm not quite sure if this is intetional, but while I had some degree of patience in dealing with the confusion, I know that there are others out there who would not put up with it. Rather than being exhilerating, since the changes are so frequent and sharp, the result is that it is exhausting.
Having said that, what keeps you reading is the author's ability to make characters who are absolutely compelling. While you might be confused about what is going on with the storyline and the setting, you can't shake your immediate attachment to the parties involved in these situations. Quin, Shinobu and John are the three main people that you need to pay attention to. Consistent with the strangely paced development of events, the pace at which the author reveals things about the characters also seems to deviate from the norm. Regardless, you find yourself relating to their actions and emotions, even as you struggle to come to terms with the way that the universe is unfolding.
Personally, the character that I found myself most invested in was Maud. I suppose this may come across as somewhat strange, since she's not exactly central to the story here, but it is what it is, I suppose. Maud, to me, has the most interesting back-story, and this sort of distance and detachment from the rest of what is going on that should make her confusing, but surprisingly, she's the easiest to understand and relate to. I got the sense that I understood Maud, and her motivations, her principles and her drive. I respected her more than any of the rest of the characters, and I found myself wishing that she had been more of a central focus than John and Quin, who honestly started to bug me after a while with their linear development and one dimensional characterization.
The book is on the long side. It isn't hard to read, I had to break it down into several sittings just because there was so much material. That may be another point to consider in whether you make this purchase or not.
Taken together, it wasn't bad. I wouldn't say it was great, but I definitely didn't hate it. I am on the fence about whether to spring for the next book, to be honest. I'm not a fan of the quality of the writing, but I did get invested in the characters, and part of me wants to know what happens to them going forward. I suppose that's going to come down to the book's price point in the future.
Overall Rating
3.5 stars
Recommended for young people (or those young at heart) with active imaginations, who want something different.
Where to Find This Book
Please note again that this book will be released on 10 February 2015. It is already available for pre-order.
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Seeker-Arwen-Elys-Dayton/dp/0385744072
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