Obsession with Books: Rick Yancey

The Infinite Sea

Author: Rick Yancey

Series: The 5th Wave

Pages: 480

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Release date: 16^th September 2014

Amazon - TBD

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

The hugely anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The 5th Wave, hailed by Justin Cronin as “wildly entertaining.”

For Cassie Sullivan and the rest of Earth’s remaining human survivors, the situation was already desperate when the 5th Wave hit. It’s about to get worse.

No one yet knows the depths to which Earth’s conquerors—the Others—will sink in order to rid the Earth of the human infestation, nor have they guessed the heights to which the human spirit can reach. Characters introduced in Book One will come to the fore—and others will face the ultimate test.

Readers will watch in awe as the Others give their answer to Cassie’s defiance.

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

Contains spoilers from book 1, The 5th Wave.

The Infinite Sea is the second book in the series and begins where The 5th Wave left off; At the end of the first book, Our MC Cassie Sullivan was reunited with her brother Sam after attacking Vosch’s facility and discovering Ben Parish, among others had been brain-washed into believing they were fighting against an alien invasion unbeknownst to them it was the aliens who were training them. We also learnt that Evan Walker was an alien in a human body and had been ordered to kill Cassie; he obviously didn’t do it as he had fallen for her.

I enjoyed getting to know Cassie that little bit more, she could be high maintenance at times but I liked her as a character, Evan was great but did annoy me on occasion and we get to know a lot more about Ringer, I like her role in the story and her sassy personality is starting to grow on me, I enjoyed her backstory. We also get to know more about Poundcake, another interesting character. All of the characters played an important role in the overall story and interact well.

The plot is intricately detailed and intense, it gives us more of an understanding about the Others and their purpose; I did have a few gripes though, my first being the extremely slow start, I felt things were dragged out and there wasn’t a lot going on, I also think there were a lot of characters and not enough page time to fully develop and appreciate each of them as individuals. The first half of the book I would have rated a 3 and the ending a 5 so I’ve rated it in the middle.

The world Yancy has created is scary and brutal, it is creative and the information he provides is vividly detailed. The characters loyalties are tested and new alliances are formed in this book but there are still many unanswered questions that I hope will be answered in the last book.

My next gripe was the number of POV’s, dual is usually as much as I can take, anymore and my heads starts spinning but in saying this each of the characters had a distinct, unique voice that flowed flawlessly but I did find myself preferring Cassie or Evan’s over others.

Rick Yancey’s writing is wonderful and the heart-pounding action, surprise twists and turns and melodrama continued in this sequel which I appreciated. I am eager to see the outcome of the final instalment to see if these humans can outwit the supposed superior race of aliens.

Thank you to Penguin Books Australia for the opportunity to read and review The Infinite Sea.

About the author: aka Richard Yancey

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

The 5^th Wave

Author: Rick Yancey

Series: The 5^th Wave

Pages: 480

Genre: Young Adult / Sci-Fi Dystopian

Publisher/Source: Penguin Books Australia / Netgalley

Pre-order Amazon: The 5^thWave

Australian release date: 22^nd May 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

I must admit I was so nervous and really quite hesitant about starting this book because the praise has been amazing therefor my expectations were really high but I’m pleased to say I absolutely loved Rick Yancey’s richly developed, frightening and highly entertaining post-apocalyptic world.

During the first wave half a million lives were lost and a horde of aliens descended on earth and sent it into darkness, the second wave put that number to shame and those unfortunate enough to have survived the first two were faced with the third wave, pestilence. Seventeen year-old Cassie Sullivan survived the fourth wave, Silencer’s (Alien’s hiding in human bodies) and believes she very well may be the last human survivor.

Cassie was a kick-butt, strong-minded and likeable character who after losing her parents is in search of her brother who she in convinced is still alive after being taken by soldiers from camp; the journey she undertook was fraught with danger and seemed hopeless and without knowing who to trust it made her pursuit all the more difficult.

When Cassie comes across a Silencer, she is shot and saved by the mysterious Evan Walker who nursed her back to health, he was thoughtful and kind but also quite secretive; I loved his interactions with Cassie and the way he protected and cared for her but his actions had me baffled and I was able to pick up on a few clues from the very beginning about this intriguing character.

The plot is extremely complex and kept me engrossed and wanting to know more, there was so much happening but I was so captivated by the whole concept and the overall mystery and psychological aspect that I just didn’t want this story to end. It was so intense, terrifying and addictive! The discovery of the 5^th Wave came as a huge shock.

With the story told from differing POV’s, it gave us an insight into each of the thought processes and reasoning behind actions and reactions – we really get a good look at some characters at their worst which made for a compelling but also heartbreaking read. I especially loved Sam (nugget), Cassie’s little brother; Ringer & Zombie were both interesting and Vosch pure evil! Each character played a pivotal part in the overall story and were wonderfully crafted.

Rick Yancey’s writing is brilliant! The 5^th Wave is seriously one of the best post-apocalyptic stories I have read to date, it is imaginative and refreshingly unique amongst the many dystopian and sci-fi novels out at the moment and was a heart pumping adventure ride right from the very beginning. Yancey’s world-building and the visual details give the book a sense of realism and the imminent threats draw you into his story-telling and show the emotion beautifully.

Overall, The 5th Wave was a nerve-wracking, emotionally intense thrill ride filled with great action scenes, suspense, wonderful characterisations and a really sweet romance, with twists and turns aplenty I am definitely eager to read the next installment in this amazing series.

Thank-you kindly to Penguin Books Australia/Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review The 5^th Wave.

Quotes:

These beings burned us alive, crushed us, drowned us, infected us with the plague that made us bleed to death from the inside out. (loc. 3809)

But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield. (loc. 1110)

About the author: Rick is the author of thirteen novels and a memoir. His books have been published in over twenty languages and have earned numerous accolades and awards from around the world. His young adult novel, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, was named a "Best Book of the Year" by Publishers Weekly and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, Rick received a Michael L. Printz Honor for The Monstrumologist. The sequel, The Curse of the Wendigo, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest novel, The 5th Wave, the first in an epic sci-fi trilogy, made its worldwide debut in 2013, and will soon be a major motion picture for GK Films and Sony Pictures.

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