The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
Oct. 3rd, 2013 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Bedlam breaks free …
Surviving a near fatal attack by a ghostly killer will leave its mark. Seventeen-year-old Rory Deveraux has painful scars and deadly new powers at her fingertips. But without her secret ghost-fighting squad she feels brutally alone. She’s lying to her boyfriend, failing in class and worse still, Rory fears that a terrifying horror stalks the streets of London.
It’s several weeks after THE NAME OF THE STAR. 17 year-old Rory Deveraux is back with her parents in Bristol but is unable to get over the attack because Thorpe’s forbidden her from telling anyone the truth and she can’t reach Callum, Stephen or Boo to discuss what happened. Returning to Wexford doesn’t help – she’s behind in her schoolwork and unable to confide in Jazza or Jerome. She can’t even talk to Alistair because the Ripper’s attack transformed her into a terminus, able to destroy ghosts with a single touch.
As the number of ghostly attacks on Londoners increases, Rory’s abilities will be the key to stopping them. But the Shades aren’t the only group who need her help – there are others out there who want Rory to join them, and they’ll do anything to make sure that she does …
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal sequel is a saggy affair that lacks a strong plot and uses contrivance to separate the main character from everyone who can help her and then shoehorn her into a series of stupid decisions. There are a couple of good lines and I liked the fact that Rory’s trying to deal with the awful things that have happened to her (and having difficulty doing so). However there’s just no story for it to hang around – the murder storyline is briskly resolved and the main thread doesn’t get developed until the final half (and relies on a massive exposition dump in the final quarter) – while Rory doesn’t really have any relationships with other characters because she doesn’t interact with anyone. I was particularly irked by the final cliff hanger, which relies on an emotional twist that the story has done nothing to deserve. I probably will read the final book because of the set-up but I feel manipulated into doing so and as such won’t be rushing to buy it.
There are a number of logic holes in the story (e.g. why the Shades go along with Thorpe’s orders) and also a number of Brit errors, which could have been easily checked on line (e.g. claiming that taking someone under the age of 18 without parental consent is kidnapping, when it’s 16).
All in all, this book didn’t work for me and I don’t have high hopes for the conclusion although I will read it to find out what happens.
The Verdict:
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal sequel is a saggy affair that lacks a strong plot and uses contrivance to separate the main character from everyone who can help her and then shoehorn her into a series of stupid decisions. There are a couple of good lines and I liked the fact that Rory’s trying to deal with the awful things that have happened to her (and having difficulty doing so). However there’s just no story for it to hang around – the murder storyline is briskly resolved and the main thread doesn’t get developed until the final half (and relies on a massive exposition dump in the final quarter) – while Rory doesn’t really have any relationships with other characters because she doesn’t interact with anyone. I was particularly irked by the final cliff hanger, which relies on an emotional twist that the story has done nothing to deserve. I probably will read the final book because of the set-up but I feel manipulated into doing so and as such won’t be rushing to buy it.
Surviving a near fatal attack by a ghostly killer will leave its mark. Seventeen-year-old Rory Deveraux has painful scars and deadly new powers at her fingertips. But without her secret ghost-fighting squad she feels brutally alone. She’s lying to her boyfriend, failing in class and worse still, Rory fears that a terrifying horror stalks the streets of London.
It’s several weeks after THE NAME OF THE STAR. 17 year-old Rory Deveraux is back with her parents in Bristol but is unable to get over the attack because Thorpe’s forbidden her from telling anyone the truth and she can’t reach Callum, Stephen or Boo to discuss what happened. Returning to Wexford doesn’t help – she’s behind in her schoolwork and unable to confide in Jazza or Jerome. She can’t even talk to Alistair because the Ripper’s attack transformed her into a terminus, able to destroy ghosts with a single touch.
As the number of ghostly attacks on Londoners increases, Rory’s abilities will be the key to stopping them. But the Shades aren’t the only group who need her help – there are others out there who want Rory to join them, and they’ll do anything to make sure that she does …
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal sequel is a saggy affair that lacks a strong plot and uses contrivance to separate the main character from everyone who can help her and then shoehorn her into a series of stupid decisions. There are a couple of good lines and I liked the fact that Rory’s trying to deal with the awful things that have happened to her (and having difficulty doing so). However there’s just no story for it to hang around – the murder storyline is briskly resolved and the main thread doesn’t get developed until the final half (and relies on a massive exposition dump in the final quarter) – while Rory doesn’t really have any relationships with other characters because she doesn’t interact with anyone. I was particularly irked by the final cliff hanger, which relies on an emotional twist that the story has done nothing to deserve. I probably will read the final book because of the set-up but I feel manipulated into doing so and as such won’t be rushing to buy it.
There are a number of logic holes in the story (e.g. why the Shades go along with Thorpe’s orders) and also a number of Brit errors, which could have been easily checked on line (e.g. claiming that taking someone under the age of 18 without parental consent is kidnapping, when it’s 16).
All in all, this book didn’t work for me and I don’t have high hopes for the conclusion although I will read it to find out what happens.
The Verdict:
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal sequel is a saggy affair that lacks a strong plot and uses contrivance to separate the main character from everyone who can help her and then shoehorn her into a series of stupid decisions. There are a couple of good lines and I liked the fact that Rory’s trying to deal with the awful things that have happened to her (and having difficulty doing so). However there’s just no story for it to hang around – the murder storyline is briskly resolved and the main thread doesn’t get developed until the final half (and relies on a massive exposition dump in the final quarter) – while Rory doesn’t really have any relationships with other characters because she doesn’t interact with anyone. I was particularly irked by the final cliff hanger, which relies on an emotional twist that the story has done nothing to deserve. I probably will read the final book because of the set-up but I feel manipulated into doing so and as such won’t be rushing to buy it.
