Preamble: if you loved the series, that’s great! I’m not here to bring down anyone for liking anything. I just need to rant about my personal pet peeves about this series.
Okay, so I actually didn’t read them, I listened to the audiobooks, which may have been why I noticed a lot of the issues below. But I listened to all of them over the past couple months after an acquaintance suggested the series. And boy, was it bad.
Before you ask why I didn’t just put it down, I’m a masochist. I also wanted to be fully justified in my ranting.
The good:
The series’ only saving grace is that the concept is cool. I loved the idea of being able to manipulate reality as well as the themes surrounding different kinds of collective consciousnesses.
This is where the good ends.
The bad:
My biggest pet peeve of all was the vocabulary. Robert Jackson Bennett is incapable of using the words “see” and “look.” Instead, he uses “peer” and “spy.” Every. Single. Time.
Nothing is “strange” either. It’s always “queer” or “queerly” + adjective.
Come book 3, he adds another frequent flyer. No longer is something a hole. Rather, he has decided that “aperture” makes him sound smarter.
Pet peeve two: all of the characters speak the same. Everyone swears like they’re 13 and just got the guts to swear in front of their friends. Everyone calls loved ones “my love.” Everyone has quirky quips to throw in when they’re not using overly formal language.
Pet peeve 3: everything is described with a simile. Not everything needs a simile! And sometimes, they don’t make sense in the context. For example, in a chapter from the perspective of Sancia, a former slave who never knew her parents, a man is described as reacting to his wife like she was an older sister interrupting a slumber party with his friends. Sancia wouldn’t have known what a slumber party was like, even if they took place in this dystopia!!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I just don’t understand why this series is so highly rated.
by iamthecatlady
1 Comment
A lot of authors have language that they use frequently. I personally enjoyed these books, but I can understand being annoyed by repeated language, especially listening to audio.