Friday, August 15, 2014

Review: Tallas by Cathrina Constantine

* I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. *

In the not-so-distant future, the world has been ravaged by war, famine, and disease. The world now consists of vast amounts of wilderness that is filled to the brim with fierce, terrifying beasts. In the midst of the darkened wilds, a bright light exists in the form of Tallas, the last remnant of human civilization. People in Tallas are happy, healthy, and have a bright future filled with prosperity and hope. At least, that's what they want you to think. Doogan, Keeyla, and Fabal, members of an influential family in Tallas, face an unbearable choice: stay in Tallas and allow Fabal's fate to hang in jeopardy or escape into the uncertain wilderness.

Tallas is by and far a wonderful dystopian novel. It is filled with action and adventure. Unexpected plot twists and betrayals fill each and every page. Additionally, Ms. Constantine's world-building is spot-on. Through her descriptions, I was able to create a mental picture of not only the scenery but the characters as well. I also enjoyed how well she was able to create an atmosphere. Whenever the characters were despairing, I was despairing; when the characters were jumping for joy, I was celebrating with them as well.

However, I do have one minor gripe with this book. Throughout each chapter, the POV changed hands multiple times. Although this wasn't so problematic during smaller chapters, it became so during longer chapters. It became difficult to keep track of which storyline I was reading about, especially whenever I had to step away from the book for a moment or two.

Overall, Tallas is an enjoyable book suitable for anyone who loves dystopian novels or a good adventure story.

4/5 Stars

6 comments:

  1. I love that cover and the book looks great! I have a question about the POV - did it have a break in between the switching POVs or was it written in an omniscient POV (meaning it just switches randomly all the time). I'm really not a fan of omniscient POVs - they make me crazy!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. It was an omniscient POV. I'm not a fan of them either, especially in dystopians. When there's so much of an intricate plot involved, it makes it really difficult to read. I ended up taking notes during the longer chapters just to remember what was going on.

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  2. Sounds like great world-building and development, especially visually. I don't hate perspective changes, but multiple perspective changes in one chapter would really annoy me. You need time to get used to the character you're reading from on each one otherwise they just blur. :( Glad you enjoyed it thogh, even if you had a an issue with it. :)

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    1. The world-building was really well done and I truly enjoyed it :)
      The perspective changes did bother me for a majority of the book. Once I got invested into the story, however, it bothered me less than it did at the beginning of the book :)

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  3. POV switches are tricky and I often have the same complaint when an author chooses to tell a story this way. I love this genre though and twists (esp unexpected ones) and betrayals make for a great dystopian read! Wonderful review! :)

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    1. Thank you so much! :)
      I agree! When plot twists are done right, it can turn a book into a written movie. It's one of the reasons why I love dystopians so much :)

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