Skip to main content

Partials

Partials - Dan Wells



This is Book 1 in the Partials Sequence trilogy

Synopsis
In the near future, scientist have created super-humans, called Partials, which they used as soldiers in a great war against China. Then, denied rights as human beings, the Partials fight against their human creators. The war ends when a huge virus has wipes out 99.9% of the human population. The people left (in the US at least) have formed a society on Long Island, while the remaining Partials occupy Manhattan and other cities. Unfortunately, all new human babies being born die within a day from the virus. This means extinction for humans is on the horizon. The Partials face a similar dilemma: They were built with an expiration date and are also beginning to die out.

Kira is a teen who works in the hospital and is studying the virus, determined to find a cure. While out on a mission, she and her friends capture a Partial, Samm, who helps lead to a discovery about the virus and the origins of the war that caused it. Together they have to work to overcome the extinction that threatens both species, and also learn what it means to be human.


Review
This is one of those books/trilogies I recommend to everyone. The characters are just wonderful. Kira is a smart teenage science-loving girl who is trying to solve the world's problems. She cares about people and always wants to help them, even when it could bring harm to herself. Samm is a Partial, engineered to be a certain way, but we watch him as he learns to become more 'human'. There's a collection of other characters who are also awesome (Marcus being one of my favorites, with his sense of humor even in terrible situations) and they carry various plot lines alongside the main one.

The plot is action-packed, the writing is fabulous and fast-paced, and the story bigger than you expect. Dan Wells is another one of my favorite authors, and this series plays a large part in that. He builds up a fairly grim and realistic image of what it would be like to be the last remnant of a huge civilization. Cars are left abandoned, many of them still with the skeletons of people in them. Certain technologies are now not usable. Cities are overgrown and silent.

But the main thing I love about this series? It doesn't shy away from asking REALLY HARD QUESTIONS, some with no right or good answer. Is it okay to enslave someone if it means saving others? Would you wipe out an entire species to save your own? Can bitter enemies ever work together? Characters make really difficult moral decisions you don't agree with, but you understand how they got there.

As far as dystopian/post-apocalyptic series go, this one is definitely at the top. Highly recommend.


Rating
I give this book 5 stars.


Details
Genre: YA, Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic, Sci-fi.
Sex: Sex is talked about but never described.
Violence: This book is a bit violent, with characters fighting and dying in battles.
Language: One or two swear words.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Monthly Roundup - October 2016

Another month come and gone! I finished a total of eight books this month, bringing my total this year up to 80. I have two months to read 20 more books in order to reach my goal of 100 books this year! I think 10 a month is totally plausible ;) 1) Reawakened - Colleen Houck (3.5 stars) 2) Defy - Sara B. Larson (3 stars) 3) The Thousandth Floor - Katharine McGee (3 stars) 4) Like a River Glorious - Rae Carson (4 stars) 5) Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell (5 stars) 6) A Shadow Bright and Burning - Jessica Cluess (5 stars) 7) Replica - Lauren Oliver (3 stars) 8) The Female of the Species - Mindy McGinnis (5 stars) Save Save

Arcanum Unbounded

Arcanum Unbounded - Brandon Sanderson Synopsis A collection of Sanderson's "short" stories and novellas set in his Cosmere universe. Review It's no secret that Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors. His writing is stupendous, his stories are incredible and his plot twists are mind-blowing. Rarely can I figure out exactly where the story is headed, but I am always exceptionally pleased when I get there! Sanderson isn't as known for his "short" stories. Probably because they aren't short. Two of them in this collection clock in around 40k words, which is approaching the line between a novella and a novel. A few of the stories ( The Emperor's Soul, Sixth of the Dusk, Shadows for Silence ) can be read with no knowledge of his other books, and would perhaps be a good introduction to his writing. Those ones you can get individually or are published in other anthologies. I myself had already read a few of the stories, but withi...

Thursday Themes: Books From My Childhood With Strong Female Protagonists

Looking over some of my favorite books that I read over and over from when I was growing up, I realized they all had one thing in common: Strong, independent, kick-ass female protagonists. I know reading these books helped shaped me into who I am today, as I wanted to emulate the characteristics found in these girls. I highly recommend all of these books to everyone, but especially if you have any young girls that you know. 1) Catherine, Called Birdy - Karen Cushman If I ever HAD to pick a favorite book (which, let's be real, is really impossible), then I just might say it's this one. I read this book so much that I had to go buy another copy because the first fell apart. The story is about Catherine, nickname Birdy, who is 14 years old, living in England in 1290 AD. Her father is determined to marry her off, but through hilarious shennanigens, she sends each would-be suitor packing. But then the nastiest--and richest--suitor comes along, and it will take everythi...