Partials (Partials, #1)

Mar 15, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-publication, young-adult, sci-fi-or-futuristic, male-ya-author, harpercollins, dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, 2012-favorites, read-2012, action-packed, heroines-butt-kicking, poc

It seems as though YA Science Fiction is experiencing a bit of a resurgence lately. Like many other readers, I'm a little tired of the barely-dystopian trend, so it's great to see a very firmly science-oriented book like Partials come along. Airborne viruses + survivalist action drama + human interest story is a great combination, and one I think most fans of post-apocalyptic thrillers will enjoy.

In the year 2076, 11 years after an airborne viral outbreak, the average newborn lives just 56 hour...more

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Feb 06, 2012 karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: why-yes-i-ya, the-end

oh my god!! i just got an unexpected ARC of this on the SAME DAY as i got the new ron rash ARC!!! what is a girl to do??? too many good things at once!!! this is the best nightmare i have ever had!

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this is a very high three-stars. it would have been a four if i was just judging it on enjoyment and the ability of the plot to engage me. but i have decided to be more responsible when reviewing the...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: about-racially-diverse-cast-or-mcs, about-viruses-disease-plagues, about-ai-robots-cybernetics, about-pregnancy, 3rd-person-limited, pov-primarily-female, about-post-apocalyptic, 2012-upcoming, pacing-moderate

You can now check out the Partials trailer right HERE on Goodreads!

A Partials-themed Acrostic!

Pregnancy obligations for the young like in Bumped.

Amateur military of Falling Skies.

Rioters and mercenaries threaten way of life like in The Survivors.

The MC is a bad-ass female scientist like in Bones

Infertility woes of the women on the Lost island.

Artificially created humans similar to Cylons from Battlestar Galactica.

Lots of myths being busted.

SCIENCE!!!

The Rundown

The world has been decimated by...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Phoebe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: intergalactic-academy-reviews, sci-fi, young-adult, imabesexistandcallthisadudebook

Full review tomorrow at the Intergalactic Academy.

I’ll get this out of the way: Partials by Dan Wells is built on some solid ground. It’s the story of Kira, a strong, somewhat militaristic heroine who is training to be a medic in a society that’s dying. All but 1% of Earth’s population has been killed off, and babies don’t survive their first fragile hours. In the hopes of discovering a cure, humanity’s leaders have demanded that women become baby factories, giving birth to their first doomed ch...more Full review tomorrow at the Intergalactic Academy.

I’ll get this out of the way: Partials by Dan Wells is built on some solid ground. It’s the story of Kira, a strong, somewhat militaristic heroine who is training to be a medic in a society that’s dying. All but 1% of Earth’s population has been killed off, and babies don’t survive their first fragile hours. In the hopes of discovering a cure, humanity’s leaders have demanded that women become baby factories, giving birth to their first doomed children at the age of 18. But to no avail. Humanity’s last safe haven (on Long Island, of all places) faces a double threat–attacks from a group of rebel humans known as the Voice and from the humanoid robots known as Partials who they suspect planted the virus that destroyed humanity in the first place.

Sounds awesome, right? And in some ways, it is. This is sweeping, cinematic sci-fi–the kind of dark, militaristic stuff that draws a cross-gender audience and fans who want their crapsack worlds to be SERIOUS BUSINESS. Kira’s story, peppered with child soldiers and action sequences and impressive-sounding (if perhaps not very realistic) science, would translate well to the big screen. I suspect this will draw some coveted audiences: adult sci-fi fans and, most important of all, boys.

It’s only if you poke your nose in too deeply that the problems become evident. Sure, there are some surface flaws–implausible, infodumpy dialogue and slow pacing through the novel’s first half are the most pressing. But the issues that concerned me here were those underlying the central conceits. The setting never felt quite fully fledged. I didn’t understand how the society worked. If girls are so valued for their reproductive capacity, why waste educational resources training them to be medics or nurses? Why allow them to venture out into dangerous areas? How is it possible that all of remaining humanity be so ignorant of the way that the cybernetic Partials work? These lapses felt more like plot contrivances than anything else–meant to keep the story moving, even if at the expense of the book’s overall soundness.

None of this would have bothered me had the character relationships been richer, or deeper. Kira’s a well-drawn character, but she’s essentially the only one. Her love interest is completely flat; their interactions totally lacked in chemistry and had a creepy undercurrent I couldn’t quite pin down. Her relationships with her friends should have had a familial closeness thanks to their extreme living conditions, but instead felt contrived. When Kira vows to save her friend’s unborn child, her reasoning never seemed to transcend “because baby!” Richer character interactions and less time spent describing viral identification in a lab (a process never really discussed convincingly for me) would have helped quite a bit.

This was especially true in the case of Kira’s interactions with Samm, the captured Partial who shows up halfway through. Wells begins to hint at a relationship or some sort of chemistry between the two, but the novel ends with this, and many other threads, largely undeveloped. The story ultimately failed to satisfy. I’m not one of those readers who utterly loathes a cliffhanger, but I do like to see the characters evolve appreciably within a volume. That didn’t quite happen here. Both Kira and Samm’s growth felt forestalled for later volumes.

In this way, Partials repeats the mistakes of many adult sci-fi novels: unrealistic dialogue; stiff or simplistic characterization. And while Wells hints at complexity and richness, few aspects of Partials felt truly mature for me. But let’s be frank: this is meant to be movie-style SF, where gritty images and tense scenes drive the plot rather than totally sound worldbuilding or in-depth characterization. I suspect Wells’ work will attract its fair share of fans–those who like dark, serious sci-fi will find a lot to like within its pages.(less)

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Apr 04, 2012 Emily May rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, arc, dystopia-utopia, 2012, its-me-not-you, boring

It seems to me that the first mistake made with this book was to target teenage girls. Here I come with my gender stereotyping and I'm sure there will be other female readers who'll love this book and disagree with me... but despite the protagonist being female and the cover featuring a teen girl, Dan Wells appears to have written a "boy book". The lengthy descriptions and idle conversations were dull enough without the subject matter going from hockey to guns to bombs.

In the words of Mr Presle...more

It seems to me that the first mistake made with this book was to target teenage girls. Here I come with my gender stereotyping and I'm sure there will be other female readers who'll love this book and disagree with me... but despite the protagonist being female and the cover featuring a teen girl, Dan Wells appears to have written a "boy book". The lengthy descriptions and idle conversations were dull enough without the subject matter going from hockey to guns to bombs.

In the words of Mr Presley: "a little less conversation, a little more action please". There was a serious lack of drama, suspense and tension in this book. I braved the first boring 200 pages because I was sure once the hunt for the Partials began we would see something a little more kickass, dangerous, pulse-pounding... something that would make me excited to read on. Unfortunately, I was wrong. This is another one of those books that will be just right for fans of slow, well-rounded plot development, but not one for people like me who prefer something a bit faster-paced and nastier.

This story is about a world where the human population has dwindled to approx. 40,000 because of a disastrous war with genetically engineered soldiers called Partials. The remaining few have congregated on an island, but all the babies born to the women die within a few days due to the release of a virus by the Partials. The adults, however, remain immune to this virus. Now the thing I find quite unbelievable is that we're expected to just accept that expert researchers have been studying the babies for years in search of a cure, and yet it takes a sixteen year old girl to come up the idea that they should also be looking at why adults have immunity to the virus. I mean... duh.

The biggest attempt to turn this into a book that could easily be marketed to teenage girls was the rather boring romance story. But I felt it was so flat and uninteresting that it only served to make things worse. This book is for someone, I'm sure, though I don't know who to recommend it to. Probably those who thought The Book of Blood and Shadow had good pacing.
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Feb 25, 2012 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, ebook, dystopia-or-post-apocalyptic

Intense with highly sophisticated world building- Partials is a fantastic addition to the dystopian genre. Babies don't survive and the youngest human on earth is now 14 years old. With 99% of the population gone, killed by a new epidemic, Kira is determined to find a cure to save humanity.

I have to start with Kira because she is an excellent protagonist. She is incredibly determined, and this presence throughout the novel of pure dedication to her cause is all consuming. You want her to succeed...more Intense with highly sophisticated world building- Partials is a fantastic addition to the dystopian genre. Babies don't survive and the youngest human on earth is now 14 years old. With 99% of the population gone, killed by a new epidemic, Kira is determined to find a cure to save humanity.

I have to start with Kira because she is an excellent protagonist. She is incredibly determined, and this presence throughout the novel of pure dedication to her cause is all consuming. You want her to succeed so badly that it becomes a truly captivating read. This is not her only quality; she is also strong, confident and outspoken. These are all traits that make a well-rounded, easy to root for protagonist if you ask me. I clicked with her almost instantly. She is shadowed by quite a few secondary characters as well who are equally of value to the story. Some of them are more developed than others, but they all have great personalities that really fill up the pages.

One thing that stands out from this book that actually surprised me, is the lack of a romantic plot. Yes the protagonist has a boyfriend, but we barely see them together. She's not one to forget that this is the end of the world because a cute boy happens to pass by. The plot - saving humanity - comes first! Surprising right? I do enjoy romance, but I was relieved to see that, finally, we've got a dystopian not powered by a love story.

I had heard this novel was a bit on the scientific side which made me a bit wary because me and science are not great friends. Therefore, I surprise even myself when I say that the science added to the story is what makes it the most interesting. It turns everything that is happening in this future world completely realistic, and truly alarming. Instead of simply being told that there is a virus without a cure, killing all our babies, we go in deeper with Kira researching what exactly is happening inside our bodies, and why a cure still hasn't been found in over a decade. It's not overwhelming by any means. It was neither confusing, nor boring. The only thing it made me, was fascinated.

The Partials almost made us extinct, the Voice is rebelling against the few surviving humans, this leaves us with a story full of villains. What does this promise? Intensity! It does take a little bit to get into a fast pace, but once it does it's especially action packed until the very end. We also quickly realize that there is no clear picture on who the enemy really is, or who we should trust. This essentially turns an already exciting plot into an intense roller coaster ride full of fear, uncertainty and surprise. With no shortage of dystopian novels on the shelves nowadays, make sure that this one ends up on yours!

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads (less)

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Apr 07, 2013 Oceana Fern {Assorted Insanity} rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: four-stars, science-fiction-romance, paranormal-romance-fiction, contains-boyfriend, young-adult

Oh, man. This book made me feel like humanity was my nasty ex, and I had just dumped his ass before snapping my fingers in Z-formation.

By that, I mean most of the humans in this book pissed me off - though they were supposed to.

PARTIALS takes place in a futuristic world where humanity is quickly going extinct after a virus released during the Partial-Human war kills off babies less than a week after birth. Kira Walker, sixteen, is a medic-in-training. When someone important to her becomes pregn...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Osho rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

While reading:

Oh, dear. About 10% in and I already have several world-building concerns, most based on the author's sloppiness. I'll name the most egregious now because it illustrates exactly the kind of error that makes me wary when I read.

When Kira returns home, we learn that "Nandita was working in the garden, and Kira could smell the exotic mix of aromatic herbs: rosemary, nutmeg, cilantro, basil, marjoram...." This would be an exotic mix indeed, since nutmeg is not an herb (though, O Best...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Ariana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, dystopia, arc-galley, series

Oh, wait while I find my mouth under my bed where it dropped.

..So, are you ready for this wonderful journey into the future?
Here we go…

It all came down to a war - the worst of them all.
It was not between humans, but between them and the Partials.
Because what if robots didn’t look like robots anymore?
What if they looked exactly like humans? What if they were genetically programmed and made into the best weapon alive, a dangerously thinking one? Breathing flesh-and-blood robots meant to kill - st...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, netgalley, fan-bloody-tastic, for-review, slow-beginnings, i-shed-a-tear, post-apocalyptic-dystopia, science-fiction, i-want-to-see-this-place, unexpectedly-good

4.5 stars!

Kira doesn't believe in the Hope Act, the law decreeing that every female over the age of 18 must get pregnant as many times as possible. No baby has ever survived more than a matter of days since the Partial War due to the deadly RM virus and Kira's tired of watching them die right in front of her when she, as a medic, can do nothing at all to save them. So when her best friend gets pregnant, she can't bear to see her child fall prey to the continuos string of disastrous fates and set...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Kara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian, post-apocalyptic, new-york, young-adult, net-galley, arc, favorites, for-review, heroine-i-loved

I would like to thank Dan Wells for creating such a desolate and dangerous world as the one I found in Partials. The writing took it to another level. You would think a book such as this would be action, action, action...but it wasn't. Depending who you are, that could be a good thing or a bad thing. I am honestly okay with either, but the impression I got from the cover was that this would be a very plot-heavy book. It really wasn't though. There was a plot, sure, but there was also a lot of wo...more
I would like to thank Dan Wells for creating such a desolate and dangerous world as the one I found in Partials. The writing took it to another level. You would think a book such as this would be action, action, action...but it wasn't. Depending who you are, that could be a good thing or a bad thing. I am honestly okay with either, but the impression I got from the cover was that this would be a very plot-heavy book. It really wasn't though. There was a plot, sure, but there was also a lot of world-building which did slow the pacing down. But at the same time, it's hard to tell the author that something was wrong with the book, because honestly, I loved the world-building. I couldn't imagine any words that were in this book being taken away. There were times when I felt almost as if the breeze was blowing on my face, the setting felt so real to me. So I'm kind of at a wall here. Maybe just appreciate it for how good it is? Yeah the pacing was a bit slow, but if it hadn't been a young adult novel it wouldn't have bothered me.

Kira was a kick-ass character. She was one tough girl and a heroine to believe in and root for. She's my favorite protagonist of 2012 so far, and I can see her making it all the way to the end of the year; I loved her so much. The following is a Kira quote that made me giggle.

"Haru can carry it," said Kira. "You just run. I'll bandage this when we get someplace safe."

"My arm's practically broken," hissed Haru.

"Nut up and carry it," said Kira, shoving him toward the Partial. She took Jayden's semi-automatic and checked the chamber. "I'll take the rear, now run."

I thought it was kind of funny that she told Haru to nut up, considering he's probably the biggest douchebag in the book. Did I say that? Yes, I did. Aside from the crazy Senate, Haru's actions and words made me more angry than I have been over a book in a long time. Can't tell you why though. You'll have to read it to find out.

There was a romance in this novel. I didn't feel it was central to the plot at all though. In fact, if it hadn't been there, the story would have gone on and been just as awesome as it was. It didn't add to or detract from the story. I will say one thing about it though. There were times when I really liked Marcus, and there were times that I didn't. In the end, I don't feel he is the right person for Kira. I didn't always like the way he treated her. He was always trying to protect her, and she didn't need to be protected. I felt he was trying to hold her back from all the good she could do. So in future books, I'd like to see them both find new love interests. But I don't want it to become central to the plot either. This is not a romantic series and I will be disappointed if that's made into a big deal in the next book.

To me, the writing flowed better in this book than almost any other book I have ever read. It was a beautiful thing. It's not that the words were particularly significant or anything like that, but there was something about the author's style that really spoke to me. It allowed me to paint some great pictures in my mind, and you know how big I am on imagery.

Characters? Yeah, they could have used some work. That's the one place in this book where I felt something was really missing. I was a little bit connected to them, but I felt there could have been so much more. I didn't really care what happened to any of them, except for Kira. Not Samm, not Haru, Not Marcus, not Jayden. I just didn't care that much. The depth of the characters left a lot to be desired. I hope that is fixed in the next book because this series has the potential to be awesome. In the end, I even felt Kira needed a bit of work. I loved her, but I didn't feel there was enough conflict in her past. Not enough to make me really upset or emotional.

Finally, there was a cliffhanger ending. Of course there was. Did you expect anything different? I have never wanted the next book in a series so badly as I want this one. I thought it was a great ending though. I'd like to see more action in the next book now that the world is fairly well-established. The last 30 or so pages were unbelievably fantastic and mind-blowing. In a saturated genre, this is one dystopian novel that should stand out. I hope it does too. It's a very special story.

Favorite quote:

"I've never been a real traditional guy," said Marcus. "Besides, I'm not saying I know a bright side, I just think this would be a good time to look at one."

Jayden raised his fist, and the group stopped walking.

"Jayden just heard a bright side," whispered Marcus. "There's an uplifting metaphor creeping through those bushes."(less)

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Feb 20, 2013 Jacquelyn Sylvan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, my-favorite-books-of-2012, books-read-in-2013

How do I love thee, Partials? Let me count the ways….

1)Thy witty, spicy dialogue. If you’re a fan of Firefly/Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s (the show, not the movie) whip-sharp banter, you’re going to love this book. It’s got the same kind of effortless, rapid-fire discourse Joss Whedon injects in his cult-classic shows. A lot of authors shoot for this and fail miserably; Wells doesn’t just succeed, he excels at dialogue. I could seriously have read and enjoyed this book purely for the b...more How do I love thee, Partials? Let me count the ways….

1)Thy witty, spicy dialogue. If you’re a fan of Firefly/Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s (the show, not the movie) whip-sharp banter, you’re going to love this book. It’s got the same kind of effortless, rapid-fire discourse Joss Whedon injects in his cult-classic shows. A lot of authors shoot for this and fail miserably; Wells doesn’t just succeed, he excels at dialogue. I could seriously have read and enjoyed this book purely for the banter.

2)Thy heroine be neither ninny nor copycat. I never thought I’d say this, but…Katniss, this girl Kira could kick your ass. Kira’s genius-level smart, loyal, brave, stubborn—and, though we’ve seen these characteristics a million, billion times, somehow wholly unique. Maybe because Kira’s not running around trying to sacrifice herself for a boy; she chooses the cause every time, no matter what the cost. And, on that note:

3)Thou art a great crossover book for boys. I don’t care what authors and publishers say; there’s too much romance in mainstream YA to make it attractive to boys of the same age group. The romance in Partials, though, is minimal. Kira is already involved in a healthy relationship when we meet her, and the introduction of Samm doesn’t threaten that relationship—at least, not in the way we’re used to seeing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy sampling the fruits of forbidden and/or starcrossed love as much as the next YA reader—but I didn’t realize how burned out on breaths catching and long, meaningful stares I was until they weren’t there, and I felt refreshed by their lack. So, if you’re looking for a book for a teenage boy, one that has hardly any mushy scenes, but many gunfights and military maneuvers and escapes by sea and ASPLOSIONS—get him Partials.

4)Thou makest science fiction easy and fun. I was a little nervous when I realized how important virology was going to be to the plot. I like a little science in my books—it adds to the realism—but lots of books go overboard on the intricacies of the science, and then I just get confused. But Partials took a complex idea and broke it down into smaller, digestible pieces. I understood it without feeling talked down to, and therefore my enjoyment of the story and all its implications wasn’t dulled.

5)Thou layest thy foreshadowing with a light hand on the brush. It’s annoying to predict how the book is going to end within the first three chapters and then, three hundred pages later, find out you were completely right. Partials has two major plot twists. One I sort of saw coming, but the clues were so subtle, and buried in conflicting information, that I doubted myself until the reveal. The other I was completely blindsided by—but when I found it, I was annoyed that I hadn’t guessed it earlier, because everything I needed to figure it out was there all along.

And there you have it—a book that I’m going to go out on a limb and include in my top five of 2012, even though we’re not even a quarter of the way through yet. Please to enjoy.
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Mar 15, 2013 the golden witch. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, net-galley, teenage-shennanigans, tomorrowland, biopunk, dystopia, happy-bacteria, post-end-of-the-world, best-of-12, reviewed, own-print-arc

Wow. That's all that needs to be said about "Partials" as a novel - just...wow. I pretty much devoured this one in one or two sittings, and the world that Wells managed to build in 300+ pages was not only tightly and neatly packaged, but tautly wrought with a future that seems all too plausible complete with wars, epidemics, more wars, and a dystopia that seems necessary for everyone to survive. I wasn't expected to be knocked on my ass at how awesome this book was, but in the end, I was. "Parti...more Wow. That's all that needs to be said about "Partials" as a novel - just...wow. I pretty much devoured this one in one or two sittings, and the world that Wells managed to build in 300+ pages was not only tightly and neatly packaged, but tautly wrought with a future that seems all too plausible complete with wars, epidemics, more wars, and a dystopia that seems necessary for everyone to survive. I wasn't expected to be knocked on my ass at how awesome this book was, but in the end, I was. "Partials" is very easily one of the best of 2012 so far because not only is it so well-written, but very accessible for those not used to or those not really into apocalyptic/dystopian genre books.

Though we never do get a definition for what RM stands for, that's the virus that devours 99.9% of the human population fifty years from now. It seems that Wells did his virological homework, because all of the public health/infection disease aspects made sense. It wasn't some mystery infection, or one that seemed too far out of the realm of possibility. We all know that our extinction event is coming (I seem to recall Scully in "X-Files" calling it "The Sixth Extinction"), and a virus presenting itself as the human extinction event makes total sense. Even if Wells didn't do too much research, he did enough to start the basis of this world that he creates after a war with China and a war with our own supersoldiers. He ups the ante so much that there's only 40,000+ people left in the US, possibly in the entire world, which lays the foundation for the dystopia that's there to "save the human race".

Tension on top of tension, Wells does all of this with surprising grace and with few words wasted. I did not lose interest, nor did any part of this novel drag at any given time. The characters he creates are also very well-rounded - the Partials, he gives a history that's short but just enough to get us through what seems to be this first book in what's at least a duology of books, and for the rest of our human characters, he gives them equally short but adequate backstory to get all of the arcs and sub-arcs up and running at the beginning of the book. Kira, because she's the heroine, gets the most backstory, but as there aren't too many people left in the US and as most of them are in this city/town of East Meadow, everyone knows everyone else, so they have a very large shared history together. Creating shared histories in one cast of characters is very difficult when they're all on one side (either a cast of protagonists or a cast of antagonists), but Wells pulls this off very well. Everyone feels like a real person, this future feels like a very real future, and the antagonists (Partials and various other characters) feel like very real antagonists.

What's the best part? Wells leaves us on a cliffhanger, and a masterful one, at that. But Usagi, you say, I thought you hated/were tired of cliffhangers and series! Oh, to you, dear reader, I say that I usually am quite tired of both - but Wells does this so very well that I have no problem with Partials expanding into two (or possibly three) books. The world he built is definitely big enough for them, and there's so much more story to be told in it that it just couldn't fit into one book unless you want a George R. R. Martin-sized tome as a book.

And one more thing I have to applaud - Wells bringing up the sticky issue of women's productive rights. Much like Julia Karr's "XVI" series and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaiden's Tale", there's the question with the Hope Act in this book if one makes pregnancy at least once a year from the age of 16 onward is a disruption of privacy or of the government putting its hands on the citizens' female bodies. I won't go much further into detail as it gets spoilery, but Wells asks the reader to think on it throughout the entire sub-plot of the Hope Act. For a female author to bring it up, well, as it's the female body in question, it makes sense. But when a male author brings it up, I just have to stand up and give him a sincere round of applause because it's just so ballsy to do that, considering where the usual comfort zones are in the western world about sex and the female body. Just look at that last Congress hearing we had last week, guys - no females on the panel about the question of employers having to give female employers help with contraception. The fact that Wells brings up this issue makes me love "Partials" even more.

Final verdict? If you're going to read a dystopian book this year with very current politics involved, pick "Partials". It's sparse but elegant and will definitely get you thinking. "Partials" hits stores here in North America on February 28th, elsewhere, check with your local store. Definitely check this one out, guys.

(posted to goodreads, librarything, shelfari, witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)(less)

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Feb 21, 2012 Bookish♥Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, series-read, read-in-2012

♥ Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah

- - -

Only 0.001 percent of the entire human population remains.

When? The year 2076. Where? Long Island, NY. Why? Humanity's own foolishness, of course.

After a war with the Partials - beings genetically engineered for fighting in the war, but are physically identical to humans - the human population is almost nil. A deadly virus dubbed “RM” was released by the Partials and killed all but the small fraction who were immune.

The threat of the...more

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Oct 14, 2012 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vine, for-review, sci-fi, ya

The stakes are high in Partials by Dan Wells. The year is 2076, 99% of humanity has died. The humans left have gathered on Long Island. A baby is born every day, but none live longer than a day or two thanks to the RM virus. Kira Walker, main character, is a determined young medic who will go to any length to find a cure for RM.

Read the rest of my review here

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Mar 15, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sci-fi fans, post apocalyptic fans

Recommended to Charlotte by: Wendy Darling

Shelves: young-adult, 2012-challenge, 2012-releases, february-2012-releases, netgalley, series-wip, series, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, dystopians, favorite-ya, arc

Oh! My! Gosh! That was Amazing!!!

If you like sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, dystopian, amazing characters, action packed plot, twists that have twists, a little romance in-between things blowing up and gunshots, and just all around smart writing, put this on your to-read list! NOW!

Wow, this is going to be hard to do spoiler free. Here goes....

First let me say that the beginning of the book might be a little slow for some people. It's not one of those kind where the author takes forever to set up the...more Oh! My! Gosh! That was Amazing!!!

If you like sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, dystopian, amazing characters, action packed plot, twists that have twists, a little romance in-between things blowing up and gunshots, and just all around smart writing, put this on your to-read list! NOW!

Wow, this is going to be hard to do spoiler free. Here goes....

First let me say that the beginning of the book might be a little slow for some people. It's not one of those kind where the author takes forever to set up the story, it's actually just the opposite. However, it does take a while to get going, but it is totally worth it! So don't let that deter you from reading this because once this story does get going, it does not stop!

I'm not someone who likes to dive into a review and dissect a story character by character or plot point by plot point because I usually find that by the end of one of those reviews I have pretty much gotten an almost-spoiler free version of the story, met all the characters and learned their personalities as well. (Believe me, this is one of those stories that you could talk about forever. There are so many layers in here and so many characters that I could just write and write and share all it's awesomeness with you for days!)

But really, I'm more of the...how did this story make me feel, kind of reviewer. What was I thinking as I read it. Would I want my friends to read this and would I like to talk about it when it's done, kind of reviewer.

So, with all that said, this book made me feel like I wish it did not have to end. There were some great twists here...some I suspected, some I was like...WHOA! This was one of those books that had me tense, holding my breath and white knuckling the book, then shedding a few tears, then back to holding my breath. So, so good!

Dan Wells, in my opinion, did an amazing job with each and every character, whether I like them or not. He got me invested in their stories and had me cheering for the rag tag team of rebels every step of the way.

Book 2 can't come soon enough for me. Although, I will say that Wells left me in a pretty satisfied place while I wait, too.

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Jul 18, 2012 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: released-wishlist

Review originally posted http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/2012/...

GUYS. Partials by Dan Wells is a seriously intense ride. I read mixed reviews of Partials before I started reading it, but luckily I ended up really, really enjoying Partials.

I mean, it’s sort of hard to be really original with dystopians and post-apocalyptic stories these days. But I thought Dan Wells really kicked it up a knock with Partials. The whole biological robots aspect (aka the partials) was really interesting to me and...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Isamlq rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley, aaw-yeah

Holy...Awesome!

It’s been a loooong while since I’ve felt this excited about a post apoc/ dystopia YA. I thought I’d burned out on them after reading Starters and Eve and heck even Shatter Me; the lack of detail in the first two and the over indulgent writing in the other simply put me off. So I really am not kidding when I say it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this excited about a book of this type.

It's a little like Grant’s Feed (or Deadline) because this too does not limit itself to hea...more Holy...Awesome!

It’s been a loooong while since I’ve felt this excited about a post apoc/ dystopia YA. I thought I’d burned out on them after reading Starters and Eve and heck even Shatter Me; the lack of detail in the first two and the over indulgent writing in the other simply put me off. So I really am not kidding when I say it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this excited about a book of this type.

It's a little like Grant’s Feed (or Deadline) because this too does not limit itself to heart pumping chase scenes and big explosions (though there was plenty of the same here.) And if Feed had George and Shaun mixed in a plot of more than just one thing, PARTIALS was a little like that by going into the usual elements but delving deeper into each without sacrificing the pace. Specifically, it tackled the virus bit that most post apocs have beyond the superficial level; there was lot of detail (that likely went over my head); yet I did appreciate the lengths to which most things were explained.

There are sides in this one too. It’s is so much more than a story of the fight/plight of a rebelling faction; or even just that of controlling higher ups. There’s more than two sides here. And I liked how each side made the story more than just a little complicated. One thing is for sure, I was focused on trying to figure what the real deal was and who the real baddie was, or at least who the greater evil was. I mean it’s obvious that the Senate was up to no good, but like I said some of them could be passionate and fiery about their stand and sometimes effectively convincing. Then with the slow unfolding of one plan then another plan then yet another? OK, just color me impressed.

It’s split in several parts and in each part I found something that I enjoyed. Part one introduces some very passionate people who, I’ll be honest had me raising some questions. Mainly that they’re all so young and yet all sounded so old! BUT after considering the context, the when/where /how of the way they were living in, they actually did make sense. Given that, I was very impressed by the passion they showed… even when they disagreed, no, especially when they disagreed. With each argument, I got pulled in then understood where each was coming from, then ended up not quite sure about who to side with. My favorite moments though were towards the end. Those twists? I knew they were coming, but still… Awesome, anyone?

And it could get scary at times. There are more than a couple of things in this one that were scary. Why is it that in books like these, it’s the women who have to bear the brunt? The scary bits aren’t even about the virus or the humanoid soldiers (fascinating though those may be); the terrifying bit was when it touched on weighing a person’s liberties versus the “good” of all, reminding me a little of Offred and her story.

Want.next.one.now.

3.5-4/5
Thanks Netgalley!
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Jan 24, 2012 Laura Newcombe marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: memorable-covers, most-anticipated, priority-reads, covers-that-make-you-go-oohhh, high-expectations, wishlist, 2012-cant-wait-release, arc, best-titles, dystopia-domination, everybody-is-raving, for-review, netgalley, on-my-kindle

Update: 24/01/12
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU netGalley, you beautiful bloody thing, for making all my dreams come true! Now don't you disappoint me oh-so promising Dystopian with an OMG-crap-my-pants gorgeous cover.

Why am I only finding out about these epically amazing books NOW!? Oh, and I'd like to marry that tagline. Please? And maybe the cover? Perhaps we can arrange an open relationship.

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Mar 25, 2012 Glass rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia, arc, 2012, favorites, girl-power, love-the-cover

Thank you, NetGallery! I should have read this book sooner.
No stupid love triangles, strong girl as the main character - no crying, thinking over and over about the boy and why did he do that or this, believable scientific background of the story and so on...
So, if you like sci-fi, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it type of the stories, grab your copy of this book and read it as soon as possible.

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Mar 04, 2013 Ashley Fierro rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fan-fucking-tastic, mind-blowing-world

A refreshingly different book that I really enjoyed.

The story was far more complex and deep, mostly about learning to be human, survivor. Less of a love story and more of a determination story. It was fantastic.

“Life comes from death, and weakness teaches us strength.”

"Out of death comes life" and "With death comes life; when you live your life for awhile ,it occurs to you, you are going to die sometime. When you are young that thought is that have no termination point so you often take chan...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Bookphilia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, disease-and-illness, science-in-fiction, dystopian

Do not expect partial spoilers; there are entirely too many.

Sentence: I sentence Dan Wells to continuing his young adult series without dumbing it down.

Review: If Michael Crichton had ever written teen, post-apocalyptic (note: previously listed as dystopian, but it's definitely not) fiction crossed over with the themes of Battlestar Galactica; this would be it.

Dan Wells' Partials is intelligent and well-solidified in fact (if based on genetics, virology and issues regarding cloning for military...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Damali rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Battlestar Galactica, Red Dawn, and John Marsden fans

Recommended to Damali by: Kat

Shelves: dystopian-pa-zombies-survivalist

Kira was five years old when civilization ended when the Partials – engineered half-humans, created to fight the Isolation War – turned on humanity and unleashed a virus that killed most humans, and made the rest infertile. 11 years later, 1 million Partials remain to an estimated 36,000 humans. On Long Island, a group of survivors set up a defensible town and government. Occasionally, they venture outside of town to make salvage runs.

After the Partials War, there are no babies born anymore, and...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Mrs. S rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books, read-in-2012

**I received this book as a free e-galley from Netgalley**

Friends, I don't know quite how to start this review. I want to start with the absolutely edge-of-your-seat last quarter of the book, because I cannot get it out of my head. That feels backwards, but I don't want to lead with the fact that the beginning felt a bit slow, because that might make this review sound negative, which it is emphatically NOT. Because, here's the thing. The beginning did feel slow, but once I finished the book, I w...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Nafiza rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley, 2012

The YA genre is certainly rife with dystopians. You can't go out without tripping over one. Okay fine, that is an exaggeration but I can't help but get weary of the same plots with a few subtle differences (you know, differences like the cause of the ultimate breakdown of modern society). There's usually a girl. She usually has powers. There's also usually a society with tyrannical rulers/dictators/whatever you wanna call them (a rose by any other name and all...). Then there is a boy. Mysteriou...more The YA genre is certainly rife with dystopians. You can't go out without tripping over one. Okay fine, that is an exaggeration but I can't help but get weary of the same plots with a few subtle differences (you know, differences like the cause of the ultimate breakdown of modern society). There's usually a girl. She usually has powers. There's also usually a society with tyrannical rulers/dictators/whatever you wanna call them (a rose by any other name and all...). Then there is a boy. Mysterious. Intriguing. Attractive. Whom the girl will feel attracted to against her will. And who will make her see her the things wrong with the system she has been blissfully living in. Okay fine, not blissfully. Let's say complacently. How does that sound? Good? Okay.

There, I have described the majority of dystopians out there. It's almost formulaic. I'm almost ready for it to be a girl the other girl is attracted to. Or a robot. A cyborg! (Though, I'd say Prince Kai already has that down, hur.)

Anyway, to the review proper now. All the things I mentioned above? The stereotypical elements of a dystopian novel? These are all present in Partials. But you know what? They all work splendidly together to create a novel that is, a lot of times, breath taking. And no, I'm not even being cheesy (okay maybe I am, slightly) saying that but it's just. Well.

Partials, as all really good dystopians do, gives a peek at a future that may very well be our own. It really could be taken as a warning to all the scientists out there, you know, the ones playing God. Please be careful with whatever you are genetically creating. Seriously.

Anyway, Partials is really, really entertaining. Since I said two reallys, you know I mean serious business. There is wit, there is a touch of romance with Marcus and a whole promise of more romance with Samm. There is intrigue and boy, is there action. Lots of action. Casualties. Too many and some of them were senseless. So on a purely shallow level, I was very satisfied by Partials. It promised to be entertaining and it was. Very. The writing was sharp (and I mean this as an adjective to describe how very readable the novel was), the plot was well constructed and the pacing was spot on. Totally awesomesauce.

But. Well, you knew it was coming. I had some troubles with the novel. Not huge troubles. Just ones that niggle at me until I speak them out. And this may be because I analyze novels on a daily basis and I can't let a passage pass me by without analyzing the hell out of it but...I felt that the synopsis or rather the excerpt that we read on the back cover of the novel, you know, the final words of the last president? The gravitas conveyed by his final message, the sorrow, the melancholy, the loss, the utter devastation...these elements were subsumed by the overly action oriented novel. I liked the action, I did but I would have liked for us to take a breath and dwell on the immense loss of humanity. And perhaps it's just me, but I felt distanced from all the characters in the novel. As though there was something that kept me from getting inside their heads and knowing what they were thinking and feeling and I didn't like that. It kept me from connecting to them which in turn kept me from empathizing with them and all these things interfered with my final enjoyment of the novel.

Sometimes you read a book and it resonates within you; you keep on thinking about it. I remember being affected by Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brian (we will forget book the two exists) but I didn't quite get the same feeling from Partials. Maybe it was because I went in expecting quite a different novel than I got.

That being said, I still enjoyed the novel tremendously. In fact, I think this will make a kick ass movie. Is someone out there listening? You could sell millions. Anyway, I am definitely reading the second one in the series and I wholeheartedly (with ALL my heart, not just three quarters of it) recommend it to you. Yes you, the one who's still wondering. Go read this.(less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Eric Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Partials
By Dan Wells

A Review by Eric Allen

I have been totally blown away by every single book that Dan Wells has written. I don't know where he came from all of a sudden, but in the last 4 years he's written 5 extremely good books. And as writers should, he gets better with every book that he publishes, expanding his ideas, fixing things that didn't work, and improving upon his skills as a storyteller. If you have not read I Am Not A Serial Killer yet, go buy it or check it out of the library N...more

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view all 4 comments

Eric Allen No argument from me there, which is why I kidnapped a group of girls, forced them to read this book at gunpoint Plinket style, and got their opinions...more
updated May 05, 2012 07:01pm

Ryan Lawler Haha yeah I am sensing what you mean that the character is slightly off. It might also have to do with this being a 3rd person POV instead of 1st pers...more
May 06, 2012 06:44am

Mar 15, 2012 Claudia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I happened to get this book on accident. I'd never heard about the author - so it wasn't on my radar. I was actually at the bookstore to purchase another book. But hey, I liked the cover - it looked like it was right up my alley. Post-Apocalyptic. Yep.

I'll admit it took me a while to really get into this book - I enjoyed all the science behind it but I wanted some action and I wanted romantic drama (too much to ask for in a YA post-apolcayptic novel?)I finally got it around Part Two - the actio...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Debbie (at) I Heart YA Books rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’m sitting here, trying to figure out how to write a review for this amazing novel. The awesome author, Dan Wells, has totally blown me away. Partials is an incredibly amazing world and storyline with fantastic characters. I can't even pick which is my favorite. Dan Wells gave all of them terrific personalities: Kira is head-strong, Marcus is the fun guy, Jayden is a take charge guy, Xochi is the bad-ass chick, Madison is the caring mom figure, Haru is the jerk, Isolde is a analyst and Samm is...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Nickie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel like this review should begin like one of the old AlkaSeltzer commercials.

"I can't believe I read the whole thing."

I try to be balanced on my reviews, but this book made it very difficult. There were a million little things that got under my skin, and it added up to a book that didn't make sense and was ultimately unlikable.

What I liked about this book:
The genre? I guess? Although, reading this had made me rethink that decision.

What I didn't like about this book:
Hoo boy, where do I start?...more

8 likes · like · see review

Lexxie (un)Conventional Bookviews sounds pretty problematic! And I would hate to read a book in which women are essentially forced to be pregnant like that! And who the heck would deal...more
Oct 09, 2012 06:30am

Aleisha Judge let me start by saying this was a book. your not supost to tke it literally. second the partials chaced them to long island. third the book was baced...more
Nov 26, 2012 03:32am

Leah I felt your pain with certain areas - use of slang. Despite this, I disagree with your 'obviously written by a man therefore he is clueless' comment....more
Feb 22, 2013 04:46am

Jul 02, 2012 Ashley (Nose Graze) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-edition, favourites, signed

As posted on booknook - YA and Fantasy book reviews

It did take me a little while to settle into this book. I was really excited to learn about the world and the characters, but the first 50 pages started out a little slow. But around page 150 or so, things really picked up and I got completely hooked! Like “OHEMGEE, MUST SLEEP WITH THIS BOOK AT NIGHT SO NO ONE STEALS IT” hooked. This book is everything I love and more: strong heroine, deathly virus, biological robots, war, dystopia, and conspira...more As posted on booknook - YA and Fantasy book reviews

It did take me a little while to settle into this book. I was really excited to learn about the world and the characters, but the first 50 pages started out a little slow. But around page 150 or so, things really picked up and I got completely hooked! Like “OHEMGEE, MUST SLEEP WITH THIS BOOK AT NIGHT SO NO ONE STEALS IT” hooked. This book is everything I love and more: strong heroine, deathly virus, biological robots, war, dystopia, and conspiracy. It’s a perfect example of why I adore the dystopian genre, and it has become one of my all time favourites!

In the midst of the Isolation War against the Chinese, an American company called ParaGen created some biological army robots called Partials, hoping that they would help them win. The Partials did win the war for them, but afterwards, they turned on their creators and launched a new war against them. During the war, they released a weaponized virus that killed 99.996% of the human population, leaving only a few immune survivors on Long Island. It has been over a decade since the RM virus was released and humanity has a new problem: no baby has been born immune to the disease.

In a desperate attempt to cure RM virus, Kira sneaks beyond the borders of Long Island to capture a Partial. She's convinced that Partials, who are immune to RM, hold the key to developing a cure to the virus. But once she captures a Partial, she begins to realize things about these robots that she had never considered. What if they had an 'almost' good reason for turning on their creators? What if they weren't the ones who released the RM virus? What if there's something larger and darker going on?

Partials deals with a lot of science. After all, it is about a deadly virus and biological machines. The bulk of the story is about Kira working as a researcher, trying to analyze the RM virus and find a cure, so we read about a lot of scientific terms and experiments. It's far from dull though! While reading it, I was just as excited and eager as Kira to learn more, even though I know very little about science.

But what really makes this story fascinating is being able to hear from both sides. The humans and the Partials had a terrible war, but in the book, we get to hear from both the human side and the Partial side. It's fascinating to read about their different perceptions and thoughts. Kira grew up learning that Partials are horrible, evil robots. But when she meets one, she finds herself listening to it and sympathizing with it. But the Partial is held in captivity, so as a reader you can't help but wonder if the Partial is actually telling the truth, or if he's just spreading lies as part of his plan to escape or infiltrate the human civilization.

As much as Partials is about biological robots and viruses, it is also about politics. The small government on Long Island likes to have control. But the harder they try to save the human race, the more control they exercise and the more crazy laws they implement — like the Hope Act, which requires everyone 18 and older to get pregnant as often as possible. I loved reading about the Senate in this book, the laws they passed, the way they tried to keep control, and the way the citizens rebelled against it. At first I almost didn't know which side to take. Sure the government was a bit overbearing, but you could also understand where they were coming from and their desperate desire to save the human race. But soon enough, we start to see conspiracies and lies popping up, that intrigued me even more!

I loved Marcus and Kira's relationship! At the beginning of the book they were already dating, and I thought that was such a refreshing change! Almost all books these days have a romance that is only just beginning. We watch the characters crush, have doubts, and fall in love. While that can be nice, it can also get a little routine. But in Partials, the two characters are already dating. They have a really sweet relationship and it's so nice to see them act like a comfortable — but still great and romantic — couple. They did have their arguments, and their ups and downs (some of which were really frustrating!), but don't all relationships? It felt very real and I loved reading about Kira's feelings for Marcus and her doubts about their relationship.

I am so glad that Partials exceeded my expectations! I had high hopes for this book and it didn't disappoint. It reminded me of some of my favourite robot/virus movies like iRobot and I Am Legend. I'm dying to know more about Kira and the Partials and can't wait to read the second book, Fragments.(less)

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Kira walker question?	42	225	May 15, 2013 09:32am
David Estes Fans ...: Partials Buddy Read!	103	35	Apr 09, 2013 06:49pm
If I read the work "kudzu" one more time, I think I will throw this book out the window.	14	121	Dec 10, 2012 04:16pm
BOOK LOVERS!: * Partials by Dan Wells - December 2012	2	14	Dec 06, 2012 01:58am

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