Another steampunk dystopian read! Seems to me that the year 2011 is the year for YA Dystopian steampunk or something?

What other dystopian steampunk are you thinking of, SL? Am I totally obtuse for not being able to think of another one?

Wendy Darling wrote: "What other dystopian steampunk are you thinking of, SL? Am I totally obtuse for not being able to think of another one?"

Hmmmmm I was thinking Iron Thorn, Dearly Departed (though I'm thinking now maybe DD isn't really a Dystopian lol) and also The Dark and Hollow Places which I've been told features some steampunk elements since well civilisation has collapsed and there's no electricity.

Ah hah, I didn't even think of Dearly, Departed (you have a different book linked up there, btw!), but I suppose you're right, it is somewhat dystopian. But more steampunk/futuristic, it doesn't have quite the same sort of set up as other dystopian books.

I haven't read Iron Thorn yet, but I don't remember Dark and Hollow Places having a steampunk element. Was I asleep? Hah!

Anyway, this really enjoyable so far regardless of what's come before it. :) It'd be fun to see more of this type of thing as long as it's well done, and it's definitely well done here.

Wendy Darling wrote: "Ah hah, I didn't even think of Dearly, Departed (you have a different book linked up there, btw!), but I suppose you're right, it is somewhat dystopian. But more steampunk/futuristi..."
Oops I have been misinformed about Dark and Hollow Places than since I haven't read it but someone told me it had steampunk elements since the main character was now located in a town rather than a village! :P

Glad to see that Pure is really shaping up for you, hurray for more steampunk stuff (which reminds me need to totally read Clockwork Angel soon <_<).

Ohhh yes, please read Clockwork Angel! Some say it's light on the steampunk, but all the Victorian stuff is pitch-perfect. And I love all the magical elements and the complex characters, too. :)

what happened with this one, Wendy? Never finished it?

Hah hah, I only started yesterday, Aly! I read fast, but not always that fast. :) I'm really enjoying it still.

Wendy Darling wrote: "Hah hah, I only started yesterday, Aly! I read fast, but not always that fast. :) I'm really enjoying it still."

oops! I'm currently reading this one too. What page are you on? We should totally read this one together ;)

Oh good! I'm on page 58 per my status update. How far did you get? Are you enjoying it so far? I'll definitely be reading more of this tonight!

Wendy Darling wrote: "Oh good! I'm on page 58 per my status update. How far did you get? Are you enjoying it so far? I'll definitely be reading more of this tonight!"

i'm on page 108. I think I'm starting to settle into it a little more, now that the actually story has kicked in.

Hah, I enjoyed it from the very beginning, so I guess that's a good sign. I just love all the creepy elements, including the people with the weird stuff fused to them by this big blast. The feel of it is much darker than any other dystopian novel I've read, so I'm rather enjoying that.

So far there are 3 POVs, though--please tell me there aren't more! I wish authors would just stick to one or two. The only other thing that bothers me are some of the names for the places, but that's a quibble I can live with.

I'll catch up to you when I read later tonight!

Wendy Darling wrote: "Hah, I enjoyed it from the very beginning, so I guess that's a good sign. I just love all the creepy elements, including the people with the weird stuff fused to them by this big blast. The feel of..."

there's 4 pov that I'm aware of, and I have a feeling there will be more. Sure, we'll discuss more then, happy reading :)

Okay, four POVs I might be able to live with. Any more and there's going to be TROUBLE.

I'll be reading this soon! It sounds great, though I'm not looking forward to the changing POVs. I can only usually deal with 2 good POVs and not many more.

Same here, Sam! It's not too bad, though, just unnecessary from what I can see so far. Look forward to comparing notes with you. :)

Are you leaning in any particular direction? I just got this one from NetGalley..

Probably a 3.5? I liked the fantastical details and the writing and mood, but not very much...happened. And even that was somewhat predictable, though there were a few really cool scenes in it. I felt like there was an emotional disconnect with the characters as well.

Thanks Wendy, just wanted to be somewhat prepared :)

I look forward to seeing what you think, Reynje! I'm still mulling over how I feel about the specifics. I know Nomes and oliviasbooks loved it.

I'm interested in seeing your final thoughts on this. I'm planning on plowing through a bunch of ARCs once my new Kindle arrives next week. ;)

Ooo. You're going to be so happy, Stephanie! My husband just got a shipping notice for his Kindle today, too. :) And um, yeah...I just need to think this over a little more. I'm sad that I didn't love it more, the way I initially thought I would.

Wendy Darling wrote: "Ooo. You're going to be so happy, Stephanie! My husband just got a shipping notice for his Kindle today, too. :) And um, yeah...I just need to think this over a little more. I'm sad that I didn't l..."

I can't wait. I just realized that if I place my order today it says I will get it Saturday. I think I shall, Amazon. XD

Cillian wrote: "Stephanie wrote: "I'm interested in seeing your final thoughts on this. I'm planning on plowing through a bunch of ARCs once my new Kindle arrives next week. ;)"

I haz a new nook STR, got it yeste..."

That's awesome! How do you like it? I've never played with the nook before.

How is the STR?

Well, there's a big awful event (apocalyptic) in which some citizens, or "Pure" were safely sealed away in a Dome living in a idealized society (dystopian), but others living outside the Dome had terrible things fused to them in the blast and must be inventive with the resources they have (steampunk-y). The steampunk part is actually pretty cool; it's the apocalyptic and dystopian parts that aren't as well fleshed out.

There are definitely elements you'd like, Cillian, in that the main character is a half-Japanese girl who has a doll's head fused to the end of her arm. Yes. A doll's head FUSED TO HER ARM. And many other dark, interesting details like that. On the minus side, though, there are 4 POVs, two of which could have been scrapped, and I'm not sure I ever really felt that invested in these guys.

I don't know that I'd recommend this book as something anyone absolutely can't miss, but it's not bad if you are intrigued by the concept.

Wendy Darling wrote: "On the minus side, though, there are 4 POVs, two of which could have been scrapped, and I'm not sure I ever really felt that invested in these guys."

Ick. More of the unnecessary alternating POVs. I got enough of that in Angel Fire, so I doubt I'll be picking this one up.

Oh jeez, I didn't even see all the other comments. That's awesome, Steph--do you have Amazon Prime? I keep hoping somebody will get it for me for Christmas, hah, but it never seems to happen. I had a 3-month trial a couple of years ago and I bought tons of things and sent presents like they were going out of style.

There are other things like the dolls head arm, Cillian--mothers with their babies fused to them, people with bits of tile and mirror and jewels fused to them, etc. Not necessarily the most plausible of scenarios, but whatevs, it works. And there are some pretty ballsy scenes where bad things happen to people. But in between, I don't know, there's something missing.

And yeah, Becky. The extra POVs are a getting to be a huge pet peeve of mine, there have been so many of them lately! I forgot about Angel Fire, that was another one where you constantly felt pulled apart.

I had their trial version, but I didn't have a kindle at the time. But...the free fast shipping was really nice!

I know. They've been pretty good about shipping stuff out quickly lately, though--I think they're just trying to get everything out before the holiday rush. I just ordered a bunch of books for Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews and friends. :)

So glad you're going to be reviewing this.

No pressure or anything, huh? ;) Thanks Sarai, hopefully in the next few days...

Hah, I don't need to write a review...I know you're going to read it anyway, Cillian! I couldn't resist a doll's head on the end of a girl's arm, either.

I said back in message #18, probably a 3.5! I CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE ANYMORE, Cillian.

In other news, I'm all done with my Jumper readalong. Any interest in starting Shifting sometime soon? No rush, though, I'm obviously always in the middle of a zillion books, hah.

Great! Just let me know when you're ready, take your time. I'm finishing up A Need So Beautiful tonight and I'm entranced with The Snow Child: A Novel (in addition to others...), so that should keep me busy for awhile.

And no, not at all! I tried to say it in a nice way (and I hope you didn't take offense at my comment on Olivia's review, but I wasn't sure if you were still sort of struggling with the idea. I totally get why it's kind of weird to see this book shelved in what would normally be contradicting categories. You'll see when you read it, though. Or maybe we just need to come up with a new category/way to describe it.

Hunger Games, steampunk? Now that I have a hard time seeing! That's kind of weird.

For this one, I'm pretty sure a 3.5 will be the rating, unless I think of something earth-shattering. I'm actually trying to decide how much I liked it, and considering whether I'll tip the stars up or down. Not sure yet. Which is not an overwhelmingly positive vote for "up," I guess. But I really did like the creepy details a lot.

I say stuff like that in my head/offline all the time! But not in public, not to someone who's just trying to figure stuff out, and definitely NOT to a friend. ;)

Well...at least not in a mean way to a friend, anyway.

I know, I rather feel the same way. Especially since there was no actual review yet and you haven't even read the book yet. The pseudonym also doesn't make me happy, though I guess at least she was up front about it.

Still, not bad, though. I see worse all the time, even the positive comments.

Hmmm,I've been on the fence about picking this book up, and now I am even more on the fence! There's a glut of dystopian bookson the market and not all are good... And now I'm curious- what was the debate about, Cillian? And the author is using a psuedonym? Weird...

I'm actually not a huge fan of authors getting involved with the discussion of their books. I mean, there are circumstances in which it makes sense, especially if there's background info that got cut out of the book. But generally, I think a book should stand on its own enough that it doesn't NEED the author to jump in and elaborate on it. If it does, something is lacking in the book.

Plus, in your case, the pseudonym thing would be a bit off-putting to me.

That would be a bit off putting. Sometimes its alright for them to comment, maybe say a quick "thank you", but they need to be careful, because it could get dicey really fast.

Wait, so does this mean you've already read this book? "Hmmm... I have to think about this one" is EXACTLY how I feel, and I'm 2/3 of the way through - I think I kind felt this way since the first quarter or so.

Yes, I've read it Katy, and I even started drafting my review for it today. Unbelievable, I know. ;)

I actually was really into it for the first half or so, and there are a lot of things I really like about it. But I'm mixed on the end result. Will be curious to see what you think when you're all done...

LOL, it's about 11:30, but I'm going to try to finish it tonight. I hate to leave a book unfinished before bed unless I'm just not that into it. I felt it really dragged at first, and I was kind of creeped out, but then about a third way through I started liking it in a weird, twisted kind of way. I don't know, but I'll let you know when I'm done.

I'm done... Now I really know why it took you so long to review it. :/

EDIT - Actually, I think I know what I want to say about it... I just don't know how to rate it... :(

I know what you mean! It's been three weeks since I finished and I still haven't posted a star rating yet. I think it's still going to be a 3.5 for me, but not sure if I'll tip it up or down yet. :/ I'm probably overthinking it, hah.

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. I think I'm going to give it 3.5 tipping up because of everything. I'm TRYING to write the review right now, but it may be as long as this LONG book. :P

I was able to nab this one on Netgalley. I hope its as good as the cover image. I read the blurb, it looks like a book I would/could get into. I'll be looking forward to your detailed review.

I feel like this is The Longest Book Ever. I've been reading it for ages and I'm only halfway through. Just not sure what to make of it yet.
I'm someone who barely tolerates two POVs so four is really pushing it.

Can't wait to see your full thoughts on it!

It kind of dragged for me in the middle, Nicola. I really enjoyed it at first, but then the shine started to wear off a bit once...well, I'll let you finish!

I really have to write this soon. I keep putting off reading other dystopians because of it and Never Sky bc I don't want to get all my facts confused, you know? But I also keep putting off my review because they're all such middling books for me. It's way more fun to write reviews for books like Angelfall. :P