BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Bea Reviews Chimera by Mira Grant

Bea's Book Nook, Review, Chimera by Mira Grant, science fiction
Series: Parasitology #3
Publisher: Orbit
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: November 24, 2015
Challenges: Finishing the Series
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The final book in Mira Grant's terrifying Parasitology trilogy.

The outbreak has spread, tearing apart the foundations of society, as implanted tapeworms have turned their human hosts into a seemingly mindless mob.

Sal and her family are trapped between bad and worse, and must find a way to compromise between the two sides of their nature before the battle becomes large enough to destroy humanity, and everything that humanity has built...including the chimera.

The broken doors are closing. Can Sal make it home?

Bea's Thoughts:

I loved the first two books in this series and was practically bouncing off the walls waiting for this one. One of Grant's strengths is how realistic her worlds are and how plausible her stories are, scarily so. Grant's world building is careful, meticulous, and so real you could step into it and feel at home. She takes current events and gives them a plausible twist.

In "Chimera", Grant ties up threads from the first two books and brings events to a conclusion. Given the different factions, their needs, and politics, it's not a happy ending per se but it suits the story and is satisfying.

Unlike the first two books though, this one didn't grab me. I had to keep reading the first ones, didn't want to stop, but this one took me a week to read. I'd put it down and wasn't in any rush to pick it up again. But, I can't really pinpoint why. Maybe it was all the jumping around Sal does. It seemed at times like Sal would jump from one crisis to the next one without actually doing anything. She is proactive but it takes a while and the story took a while to get off the ground. I did like how none of the characters, not even Sal, are completely good or bad but a mix. They're complex and complicated and even most of the bad guys had some redeeming value.

While "Chimera" didn't blow me away, Grant's so-so writing is still better than the average writer's best work. This one may not have been compelling but it was an entertaining and thought-provoking story. There weren't any easy answers, no magical solutions, just making the best of a challenging reality. If the apocalypse happens in my lifetime, I want Grant on my team of survivors.

4 comments:

  1. This probably isn't a me kind of book and that's definitely disappointing that this one didn't grab you as much as the others. I'm glad though that it was a satisfactory ending even if it wasn't as much of a page turner.

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    1. It's science fiction dystopia, so probably not your typical read. I was quite satisfied with the ending, just not the overall book.

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  2. Was it like a sophomore syndrome situation? Sorry it fell short of your expectations. Maybe and hopefully she blows you away come book 3!

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    Replies
    1. This was book 3. I think part of the problem was I had very high expectations and it didn't live up to them.

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