Revenge of The Zeds - Stewart Ross

Synopsis:

The Soterion has been opened, but does it mean salvation or devastation? A horrific mutation in human DNA has resulted in a world where no one lives beyond nineteen. Cyrus and the noble Constants have opened the Soterion vault containing the Long Dead's secrets of science, art and possibly even the cure to the mutation. First, Cyrus must teach the Constants to read. But those he calls friends are falling prey to the greed and power knowledge can bring. Meanwhile, the barbaric Zeds are massing against them, determined to take the Soterion for themselves and destroy everything the Constants have built.

Review:

The second book in the Soterion Mission trilogy is just as gripping as the first, after being left internally screaming after finishing the first book, It was an easy call to quickly move on to the second book and continue the journey. I'm going to try and keep this review as spoiler free as I possibly can.

By the title alone I knew there were going to be hard times ahead for the Constants. Revenge of the zeds picks up almost exactly where we left off. In the first chapter alone their is the conclusion of a trial, funerals and the fate of Malik Timur's is found out by the Zeds. Its a pretty fast paced book yet alone chapter wise, it's perfectly paced this way and is action packed and gory. What I love about the book is that even though there are still moments of violence and action, we still get to see the quieter more thoughtful moments and its a lovely contrast and it still wonderful to see great characters being developed and seeing them interact and relate to each other.

When it comes to the characters of the book it was lovely to be back and seeing familiar characters like Sammy and Cyrus from the constants and Giv and Jamshid from the zeds. The one character who is new to us this book, is a character I didn't think I'd like but she grew on me quite quickly and her name is Malika Xsani who is the head of a different tribe of Zeds who you can really feel has determination and focus. There are many characters within this book, majority of them are new to us and that's because we get to see Cyrus become a tutor to members of Alba, he uses what is found within the walls of the Soterion to do so. What's great about this is how logically the character went about this and how well it was portrayed. Although Cyrus himself is not able toe read and write effortlessly and know the meaning of everything, he is the best they have so he is soon tutoring members of Alba whom he himself didn't pick bar 1.

I feel as though these books have lessons to learn within them and to me this book feels like it's about knowledge and how it is valuable, that it is powerful and it can be understood differently by  many. Some want knowledge in order to be able to share it with others, to make things better, but others see knowledge as something to be feared or something to be kept to oneself in order to maintain a position of power and importance. I feel as though the reference to and the plot itself backs this idea up.

This is a really good continuation of the story of the Constants and Zeds so it easily gets a 5/5 without a struggle. The ending is great, but as so many things are left unresolved there is a wonderful place for the next and last instalment. Thanks to the build up and ending of the book you are left needing the next book just to find out what happens and how so. It is yet again beyond words for me to tell you how I fully feel about this book and that I hope a lot of teenagers will pick this book up and absorb it.

Ignite - Danielle Rogland

Synopsis:
In the ruins of dystopian London, the Empire rules through fear and fire.

“Everyone knew about ‘The Flames’ and how much trouble they had caused the Empire. They were the only rebel group anyone knew of that had lasted longer than a few months without getting caught, leaving candles behind whenever they snatched somebody out of the Empire’s grasp. To get involved with people like them is stupid. So stupid.”

Ever since her parents were murdered by the empire’s agents, Jacks has been living on the street as a pickpocket trying to keep away from trouble. When she accidentally witnesses the rebel group ‘The Flames’ in the middle of an operation she is unwillingly swept up into their world, and has to decide if she’s going to go back to looking after herself or join the rebellion and help them fight for the people of London Ruins.

She knows that getting involved was stupid, but does she really have a choice?


Review:

This story takes places in a place called New London which is under rule of Emperor Donovan. He is a cruel and evil character, and under his orders DRT agents burn down houses and kill rebels who pose even the slightest of threats to the empire.

This story starts with Jacks, a homeless pick pocket who lives in the generator section of a block of flats and The Flames are a group of people, known to all but never seen who save others from the grasp of the empire leaving a candle burning for each person they save. Jacks has lost too many people that when she lands right in the lap of The Flames in a chance encounter she's reluctant to stay with them.

The characters are relatable, Jacks is small and seems to find it hard tot rust and confide in others which is really understandable once you read about her. She doesn't see herself as anything other but a homeless pickpocketing girl barely getting by in the London Ruins. Zira is the leader of The Flames and when you read her she's a really tough cookie, sometimes reckless and uncontrollable but smart and a great, strong leader but even she has her fair share of secrets. Corry is a nerd, able to decode different codes they read to obtain any information, he's quick to trust Jacks and is a kind boy. he also happens to be utterly in love with Zira and doesn't care about showing it. Jeremy is the most like Jacks as he was homeless too, they understand each other better than the others understand each of them and they bond quickly. Jeremy does believe he is useless to The Flames but he is an engineer and once Jacks is a round, finds himself useful. The remaining 2 main characters are twins, Addy and Finn, much like Corry, Finn is an utter nerd, computer geek, know it all whatever you wish to call him, its him. He creates devices the flams can use as defence against the agents. Addy is a quirky girl happy to help and very vibrant. She cares deeply and can easy put on a façade to fool whoever she needs to.

The book does switch between the points of view of 4 of the characters, Jacks, Zira, Corry and Jeremy which gives you a variety of great content that when intertwined with the rest gives a really great story. I loved the ratio of speech to description as I didn't find there to be any stage where one outweighed the other which is always a great thing. I found myself laughing at certain things Jeremy would say, he was a great character and would be the sort of person I would want in my friendship circle as well as all of the others for their personality traits.

When it came to the end I was able to realise how real the characters felt to me, they were just that good. I'll probably find myself reading this book again in the future and I really can not wait to see what Danielle has up her sleeve as this was such a great read. its an easy 5/5 from me and a recommendation to anyone who likes the dystopian genre, if you like a mix of love, friendship and strength.


Thank you to Inkitt for providing me with a copy for a honest review.