Oh! Urrrrrrr. *Gurgle* Kapowy! *Splutter* *Cough* *Die*
Okay, Pandemonium was a HUGE improvement over Delirium for me. First of all, the world seemed A LOT more consistent. The world building was an improvement as well.
Perhaps the biggest improvement was Lena herself. No more whiny, annoying, insecure little girl. This Lena has been through the fire, got burnt and is fighting to survive. What I love is that Lena has grown, become capable, assertive, intelligent and shrewd. There were parts of this book in which I was physically cheering her on.
Lena has survived the wild, the bombs and the harsh winter. She’s come out stronger and more weary. Now she’s back behind the fence, but this time as an operative of the resistance and her mark is Julian Fineman – son of a radical movement to further eradicate the sickness known as love. Julian is confused, complex, damaged and vulnerable. When he and Lena are kidnapped and held hostage together, they have to join forces to escape.
What I loved was the development of their relationship, the hero role of Lena as the stronger, more knowledgeable and capable of the two, and how they both start to grow and heal together.
Of course, the book is filled with complicated plot twists and a couple of “NO WAY!” moments – one of which was obvious and easily foreseen but SO WHAT?!
The writing in this book matched more to the caliber I expect of Oliver. It felt a appropriate and smooth.
And I guess this is a lesson learned – one that I was glad to learn. Find a good author and stick with them. I wasn’t a huge fan of Delirium but Pandemonium has me aching for Requiem to see what happens.
You know it’s a good novel when the last line has you going:
“No! NO! No way… oh my goodness… no. NO!.”
Meg K.
Woo hoo! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed PANDEMONIUM! 😀 And I know, the ending was torture. Seriously. I had to read it a couple of times before it really sunk in and my mouth dropped open and I had to shout, “OH MY GOD, LAUREN. WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO MEEEEE?!”
Great review, Kat!
Nathy
Your reaction to the end of Pandemonium reminded me of my reaction yesterday, when I finished Soulbound by Heather Brewer. I was “NO! I need the second book right now!” I just hate cliffhangers. 🙁
Jennifer Dominique
The ending was CRAZY good. I have a feeling Requiem is going to be awesome. 2013 needs to come sooner!
linda
Ooh, thanks for the review. I really disliked Delirium and wanted nothing to do with Pandemonium, but your review is making me reconsider. If I happen across it in a good mood, maybe I’ll give it a shot. 🙂
Knight
I’m so glad I wasn’t the only one that disliked Delirium, but liked Pandemonium.
Pandemonium was so much better. Thank goodness, otherwise I would have been upset at myself for continuing with the series.
Lexie B.
Well, that’s not very nice of you, Kat. I’d been all content with my decision to steer far clear of this book, and then you write a review like this. Now I might actually have to READ it. I already know what happens at the end, and it really, really turned me off the novel and the rest of this series, but I think I may have to give it a shot.
E.Maree
Oooh. I wasn’t a fan of Delirium (specifically, THAT ENDING. Ugh.), so this review makes me want to give Pandemonium a try. It’s always nice when an author ups their game — I’ve been feeling quite proud of Roth’s improvements in Insurgent after feeling like the odd-one-out by not absolutely loving Divergent.
Mari - Escape In A Book
Wait I second I know what’s wrong with this review, I must be visiting the wrong blog. This cannot possibly be Kat’s review of Pandemonium. It says right here grey on white that she actually LIKED Pandemonium :O 😉
For me the ending was the weakest part of Pandemonium and it kind of disappointed me. The 5 star rating went down the drain with that one, it was just too obvious. I wanted a surprise!