I think that The Soterion Mission is a book that teens and pre-teens will gobble up. Ross has created a vivid and imaginative world that I know people will find believable and realistic.
A hundred or so years in the future, no one over the age of nineteen survives. Caused by a worldwide epidemic, by the time someone reaches the age of nineteen, they rapidly age in the space of a few weeks. This means that all knowledge before 2019 has disappeared and life has turned back to what it would have been like in medieval times.
When Roxanne turns up at Della Tallis, the home of a group of tribal people, Cyrus, Navid and Taja’s lives are thrust into danger, for they are about to embark on a journey that could help the fate of millions of people. They are looking for their peoples past, and the cure.
The Soterion Mission was told in a much unbiased viewpoint. Getting both the Constants- those tribes who follow the values of the people before them- and the Zeds- the brutal tribes who revel in other people’s pain- perspectives across really added something to the story line, and made it a lot easier to follow.
There were a lot of very humorous parts in The Soterion Mission, including a hilarious use of the IKEA catalogue. Mixed with the many sober moments, this created a nice contrast. The ability to swap between the two was something that greatly impressed me, as this is very hard to do.
The one thing that let me down with this book was the characterisation. Although I grew to like the characters, I didn’t become invested enough in them and felt that because of this their subsequent deaths had no impact on me. Yes, I liked Cyrus, Roxanne and the rest of them, but did I really care what happened to them? Not as much as I would have liked.
The opening chapter will instantly grip the reader and really sets the scene for the rest of the book. The Soterion Mission is an action-packed and convincing novel, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the sequel takes us.
2 Comments
Sunny A
9 August, 2013 at 9:38 amTwitter: A_SunnySpot
Great Review Lucy! This sounds interesting and I love a bit of action. Gripping beginnings are totally the best and I’m glad you enjoyed this novel. Team Fox sounds totally cool and i’m so jealous that I don’t get to be part of it. Shame the characters weren’t all that grand as I love to get invested with my characters and I find it to be a important element to any good story.
Loving the new site, all the hard work has definitely paid off and you should be really pleased with the outcome.
– Sunny 🙂 xx
Sunny A recently posted…REVIEW: Of Triton by Anna Banks
Anya
9 August, 2013 at 3:38 pmTwitter: awfullotofbooks
Hmm, interesting. I’ve still got to read this and I’m looking forward to it, but maybe it’ll be too young for me? But based of what you said, I still think I’ll like it, if only for the dystopian aspect 🙂