Specials by Scott Westerfeld
May. 25th, 2008 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
"Special circumstances"
... the words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious Ugly. Back then, the Specials were a sinister rumour - frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast.
And now Tally's become one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the Uglies down and the Pretties stupid. The strength, the speed and the clarity of her new powers feel amazing ... most of the time. One tiny corner of Tally's heart still remembers something different.
When she is offered the chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke, she is forced to make one last choice: carry out the mission she's been programmed to complete, or listen to that faint yet persistent heartbeat telling her that something's wrong ..."
Having really enjoyed Uglies and Pretties, it was perhaps inevitable that this conclusion to the trilogy wouldn't quite meet my expectations. There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, in the first two books a lot has been made about Tally's choices and in particular, her need to be free, which is so strong that she even re-wires her brain after becoming a Pretty. This book also revolves around a choice, but Tally's previous experiences mean that she works hard to choose to stay true to the status quo rather than her own needs. This conflict should have been an interesting one, but the implication is that she's making this choice because of the re-wiring she's had done to make her a Special and that essentially means that she's fighting to stay trapped rather than fighting to stay free, which makes for some frustrating reading.
Secondly, the plot revolves around the Specials' attempt to find the New Smoke and for the first time Westerfeld introduces the reader to another city, Diego. The problem this throws up is that Westerfeld shows how the Smokies were essentially able to take over the city by distributing their nano-pills to reverse the effects of being a Pretty. However, this draws so many people to the city that the infrastructure is unable to cope and they're forced to grow out into the forest, essentially replicating the same techniques used by the Rusties and which eventually led to their destruction. For me, this raised questions as to how the cities operated. Westerfeld hints at power sources and shows the superior technology that they have in this and the previous books and it seems strange that the infrastructure is now suddenly unable to cope.
Thirdly, the resolution to the Shay storyline is too pat. In Pretties, Shay is a conflicted and disturbed character, intensely jealous of Tally and the way she attracts the boys that Shay likes and bitter about her memories of Tally's betrayal. When she makes Tally a Special, it's an act of revenge to bring her under Shay's control. This destroyed friendship is also a key character conflict for Tally as she feels guilty about what she's done and desparate to make it up to Shay. Much of this book is taken up with Tally's attempts to make things right with Shay, and yet the way their friendship is resolved occurs (a) off page and (b) at the hands of the Smokies, which for me made it unsatisfying.
Much is made of the idea that the Specials have to cut themselves to stay icy. In fact, you don't see a great deal of this on the page and Westerfeld sticks to talking about the psychological effects. I didn't feel that this detracted from the story, but given the amount of time dedicated to the attempts to stay 'bubbly' in Pretties, it's noticeable that the same attention to being icy isn't made here.
This is a phenomenally fast-paced book and Westerfeld weaves in characters from the previous two books - including David, Zane and Dr Cable. I wasn't struck on the resolution of the love triangle element to the story, which again felt too pat, although I did like the ending meted out to Dr Cable. There is much to admire in Westerfeld's writing, particularly his world-building which, barring my early coment, feels credible. Whilst this isn't as thrilling as the earlier books, it's definitely worth a look by those who have stuck with the series.
The Verdict:
I don't think that this is as good as Uglies or Pretties, mainly because the way Westerfeld ties his storylines together is too neat. However, the world-building is solid and the action fast-paced and those who've read the previous books will want to know how it all ends.
"Special circumstances"
... the words have sent chills down Tally's spine since her days as a repellent, rebellious Ugly. Back then, the Specials were a sinister rumour - frighteningly beautiful, dangerously strong, breathtakingly fast.
And now Tally's become one of them: a superamped fighting machine, engineered to keep the Uglies down and the Pretties stupid. The strength, the speed and the clarity of her new powers feel amazing ... most of the time. One tiny corner of Tally's heart still remembers something different.
When she is offered the chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke, she is forced to make one last choice: carry out the mission she's been programmed to complete, or listen to that faint yet persistent heartbeat telling her that something's wrong ..."
Having really enjoyed Uglies and Pretties, it was perhaps inevitable that this conclusion to the trilogy wouldn't quite meet my expectations. There are three reasons for this.
Firstly, in the first two books a lot has been made about Tally's choices and in particular, her need to be free, which is so strong that she even re-wires her brain after becoming a Pretty. This book also revolves around a choice, but Tally's previous experiences mean that she works hard to choose to stay true to the status quo rather than her own needs. This conflict should have been an interesting one, but the implication is that she's making this choice because of the re-wiring she's had done to make her a Special and that essentially means that she's fighting to stay trapped rather than fighting to stay free, which makes for some frustrating reading.
Secondly, the plot revolves around the Specials' attempt to find the New Smoke and for the first time Westerfeld introduces the reader to another city, Diego. The problem this throws up is that Westerfeld shows how the Smokies were essentially able to take over the city by distributing their nano-pills to reverse the effects of being a Pretty. However, this draws so many people to the city that the infrastructure is unable to cope and they're forced to grow out into the forest, essentially replicating the same techniques used by the Rusties and which eventually led to their destruction. For me, this raised questions as to how the cities operated. Westerfeld hints at power sources and shows the superior technology that they have in this and the previous books and it seems strange that the infrastructure is now suddenly unable to cope.
Thirdly, the resolution to the Shay storyline is too pat. In Pretties, Shay is a conflicted and disturbed character, intensely jealous of Tally and the way she attracts the boys that Shay likes and bitter about her memories of Tally's betrayal. When she makes Tally a Special, it's an act of revenge to bring her under Shay's control. This destroyed friendship is also a key character conflict for Tally as she feels guilty about what she's done and desparate to make it up to Shay. Much of this book is taken up with Tally's attempts to make things right with Shay, and yet the way their friendship is resolved occurs (a) off page and (b) at the hands of the Smokies, which for me made it unsatisfying.
Much is made of the idea that the Specials have to cut themselves to stay icy. In fact, you don't see a great deal of this on the page and Westerfeld sticks to talking about the psychological effects. I didn't feel that this detracted from the story, but given the amount of time dedicated to the attempts to stay 'bubbly' in Pretties, it's noticeable that the same attention to being icy isn't made here.
This is a phenomenally fast-paced book and Westerfeld weaves in characters from the previous two books - including David, Zane and Dr Cable. I wasn't struck on the resolution of the love triangle element to the story, which again felt too pat, although I did like the ending meted out to Dr Cable. There is much to admire in Westerfeld's writing, particularly his world-building which, barring my early coment, feels credible. Whilst this isn't as thrilling as the earlier books, it's definitely worth a look by those who have stuck with the series.
The Verdict:
I don't think that this is as good as Uglies or Pretties, mainly because the way Westerfeld ties his storylines together is too neat. However, the world-building is solid and the action fast-paced and those who've read the previous books will want to know how it all ends.
