Title: Avalon
Author: Mindee Arnett
Genre: YA sci-fi
Book Blurb:
Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.
Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.
A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy in this fascinating and fast-paced sci-fi adventure from author Mindee Arnett.
Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.
Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.
Review:
Killer plot. I think that basically sums up Avalon in two words. That plot was insane. Insanely good. Insanely unique (more on this later.) Insanely fast paced. Insanely spooky (in some places.) Insanely unexpected. The moment I read the book blurb "A ragtag group of teenage mercenaries who crew the spaceship Avalon stumble upon a conspiracy that could threaten the entire galaxy" I basically ran to the library and borrowed it. It's been ages since I've read a hard core takes-place-in-outer-space sci-fi sort of book. (The last one I can remember is the Across the Universe series. Oh wait, jk...I just read Ender Game a few weeks ago.)
Jeth, the main character of the novel, has a very distinct voice. I almost want to say he is arrogant....but not quite. Because he is good at what he does (stealing metatech--a futuristic device that allows spaceships to make "space jumps".) On the other hand, he is such a protective older brother that it's almost overbearing (but I can also kind of see his point, being an older sister myself. You don't want anything bad happening to your younger sibs.) However, there is one characteristic of Jeth that truly irked me: he wouldn't shut up about Sierra. More specifically, Sierra's looks. Okay, I get it--Jeth is a teenage boy with hormones. But honestly...every single time he mentions her he either has to describe her stunning looks or her "princess who’d recently been forced into poverty" attitude that seems to catch his eyes. Other than that, Jeth really was quite the gentleman and a character I could respect.
Okay....onto the plot....my favorite aspect of the novel. Scrolling through some reviews on Goodreads, I noticed a lot of the lower raters for Avalon all had the same complaint: It was too similar to Firefly, which I guess is a sci-fi TV show. However, because I have not watched Firefly before, all of the ideas used in the novel was completely fresh to me.
I loved the galactic world/setting Arnett has created in Avalon, and it really puts into perspective just how encompassing space is. A decent sized chunk of the plot takes place in the Belgrave Quadrangle, which is basically like the Bermuda Triangle of space. How cool is that??? I've never heard of anything like that before. Plus, the author did a really good job spookifying the events that take place within the Belgrave. Even just typing this, I'm getting goosebumps from recalling the disturbing events/descriptions that occur while Jeth and his crew are in the Belgrave...brr....*shivers*
Okay....onto the plot....my favorite aspect of the novel. Scrolling through some reviews on Goodreads, I noticed a lot of the lower raters for Avalon all had the same complaint: It was too similar to Firefly, which I guess is a sci-fi TV show. However, because I have not watched Firefly before, all of the ideas used in the novel was completely fresh to me.
I loved the galactic world/setting Arnett has created in Avalon, and it really puts into perspective just how encompassing space is. A decent sized chunk of the plot takes place in the Belgrave Quadrangle, which is basically like the Bermuda Triangle of space. How cool is that??? I've never heard of anything like that before. Plus, the author did a really good job spookifying the events that take place within the Belgrave. Even just typing this, I'm getting goosebumps from recalling the disturbing events/descriptions that occur while Jeth and his crew are in the Belgrave...brr....*shivers*
And there are soooo many plot twists in the novel I literally had my brain tied up in knots. But they were good plot twists; half of them I didn't see coming at all. This book definitely had me on the edge as new developments in the plot occurred every few chapters.
Oh, and before I forget, I think I should mention that Avalon is written in 3rd person POV. Nothing against 3rd person, but I would've rated the book a 5 star if it had been written in 1st person, because I think Jeth's distinctive character voice could've had a larger impact on readers from 1st person POV. He seemed like the character I could "click" with and really get into his mind (huh...that came out sounding weird. Oh well.)
Oh, and before I forget, I think I should mention that Avalon is written in 3rd person POV. Nothing against 3rd person, but I would've rated the book a 5 star if it had been written in 1st person, because I think Jeth's distinctive character voice could've had a larger impact on readers from 1st person POV. He seemed like the character I could "click" with and really get into his mind (huh...that came out sounding weird. Oh well.)
Finally....can we please have a moment of silence and take in the awesomeness of that cover?
Rating:
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