Sunday, April 27, 2014

Review: The Silver Sickle by Ellie Anne (Tour Stop)









Synopsis

The end of humanity will come through the Silver Sickle . . .
 
Farissa lives every moment with reckless abandon, for it may be her last. Any day now, the alien goddesses will harvest her and take her to the mysterious Silver Sickle, never to return. She’s accepted that. What she can’t accept is this new idea of freedom Zel has planted in her head. She’d give almost anything to be with Zel, but how can she run from her destiny if it means putting the whole kingdom in danger?

Everyone in the desert kingdom believes the goddesses are immortal, but Zel has invented a way to kill them. Now all he has to do is convince Farissa to run away with him and plant a seed of hope in her heart that she’s not destined to die. Little does he know that one seed of hope could change the course of the future.



My Rating

4


My Review

There aren't many books out there like The Silver Sickle, and it is part of the reason why I loved it so much. I mean, sure, there are plenty of revenge stories. But are there plenty of stories involving a girl wanting to gain revenge on an alien species that the human race treats as deities, and the leader of that race also wants revenge on this girl because they both have lost someone important to them?

Definitely not.

But it's awesome.

Plot is not normally my favorite factor in reading, but it is hard not to fall in love with the story of The Silver Sickle. It is a fantastic high-concept science fiction tale of adventure, action, romance, revenge, and just about everything else you can possibly ask for. (And yes, producers, it would make a great movie.) I could not put down the book for long, and if I did at all, I immediately had to return to the story to know what would happen next. Every chapter kept the story rolling, even if there were not any big surprises or twisted turns, I still was eager to turn the pages.

I loved (loved, loved) the world that was created in The Silver Sickle. From the very beginning, the reader is transported into this dark setting. Through great imagery and description, the entire situation forms quickly. The Amar held both terror and mystique in their image that highly intrigued me, especially as I learned more of their individual characters. But the real gem of this world, in my opinion, were the cogsmen. I could envision them clearly in my mind, and the steampunk fan within me had a field day. Despite the uniform brotherhood between them, they had unique personalities and proved to be a truly incredible race.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the build of the plot, there were certain parts that seemed to rush by a bit quickly. Mostly that happened toward the end with certain minor characters, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but the rush with the girls in the Silver Sickle seemed almost comical. (I'm desperately trying not to ruin anything - as I believe this is a novel that readers should purchase - so I apologize for being vague.) Also, there were times in which things felt a bit too convenient, but that seems to be the case in plenty of stories, and sometimes that's even more realistic than extreme difficulties. Life can be funny like that. It would have been nice to see a little bit more of the technology available. The trackers on the girls were only briefly mentioned, even though the girls have to deal with them throughout their lives. Zel was a mechanical genius, but we didn't see much of his past work and only had a little on the shockwheel. This didn't take away from the story by any means, nor should the tech explanations have gone overboard, but I found myself interested.

The characters of The Silver Sickle were all unique and interesting, and I was glad to read from the different point of views so I could get to know all the different point of views. Farissa was a strong role model to have, and her relationship with Zel was incredibly sweet. (I liked the fact that they've known each other. I'm not saying that I don't like instalove, but it's nice to have something that...well...isn't.) Gira was an excellent antagonist. In fact, she was actually quite likeable. She wasn't evil, she was just trying to do what was best for her race, even if there will be sacrifices needed. Even her revenge was understandable. I've always been fond of villains with redeeming factors. And alien goddesses?

Awesome.

The Silver Sickle is a wonderful read. Fans of science fiction definitely need to give this one a try. Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi, try it out anyway. What have you got to lose?

Did I mention action? And aliens? And cogsmen??

(If you don't know what that means, it's only more reason to check out this book.)

1 comment:

  1. Wow, thank you so much for this great review! I LOVED it. :) Hope you have a great day.

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