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Adaptation #2
Inheritance
Reese and David are not normal teens-not since they were adapted with alien DNA by the Imria, an extraterrestrial race that has been secretly visiting Earth for decades. Now everyone is trying to get to the government, the Imria, and a mysterious corporation that would do anything for the upper hand against the aliens.Beyond the web of conspiracies, Reese can't reconcile her love for David with her feelings for her ex-girlfriend, Amber, an Imrian. But Reese's choice between two worlds will play a critical role in determining the future of humanity, the Imria's place in it, and the inheritance she and David will bring to the universe.In this gripping sequel to Adaptation, Malinda Lo brings a thoughtful exploration of adolescence, sexuality, and "the other" to a science-fiction thriller that is impossible to put down.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2013
67 people are currently reading
3592 people want to read
About the author
Malinda Lo
41 books4,898 followersHi Goodreads! I've only created this profile to claim my name here, and I don't check messages here or add friends. I invite you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or visit my website at malindalo.com.
BIO: Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award. She can be found on social media @malindalo or at malindalo.com.
BIO: Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award. She can be found on social media @malindalo or at malindalo.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews
October 30, 2019
real review added, but it's after all the maggie pictures because nobody puts maggie in the corner
maggie!! what are you up to??
i reading the book!!
maggie, i hate to break it to you, but that's book two, and i know you haven't read book one. also - upside-down, dude.
i hate you - you're not even my real mom!!! *sulk*
3.5 stars.
possible spoilers for book 1 - i don't know how much of the basic plot of this series is known to those who haven't read it.
3.5 is one of those "me-ratings," but i definitely think this book and its predecessor Adaptation are valuable and should bepushed on put in front of teens. particularly, but not exclusively, to teens who are questioning or exploring their sexuality.
and i'm so very glad that i read this book so soon after reading Grasshopper Jungle, because i think this one deals with bisexuality in a much more delicate and thoughtful way. this shares a lot of situations with Grasshopper Jungle: aliens, bisexuality, , but it is in every way superior in its treatment.
it's possibly combustible to point out that Grasshopper Jungle is male-penned/male protagonist and this is female-penned/female protagonist, and that the problems i had with grasshopper jungle ("i'm bisexual, so that means i get to bang everyone - sweet!") are handled with more maturity and sensitivity here (i'm bisexual and i care about two different people enough to not want to hurt either of their feelings.") i definitely think that this contrast is indicative of the different sexual values between teen boys and teen girls, but i know that making any kind of absolute gendered statement on the internet is opening up an angry door, so imma back away - this was all just to inquire if anyone knew of any better (i.e. - less careless) examples of bisexual male protagonists in YA lit.
lo is an accomplished writer - she's not afraid to take her time to tell her story in this densely textured way, and to remind us of the events of the first book without boring exposition. but occasionally she gets a bit too conceptual, with too much time spent away from the action into this sort of anthropological/philosophical realm where the aliens try to explicate to the humans their insights into nebulous concepts like the distinctions between feelings vs emotions or sex vs gender. all of which i found interesting and well-intentioned, but a little muddy. i think the arguments themselves are presenting all the right kinds of important questions, but they don't explore the complexities, so it's all a little unsatisfyingly superficial.
but apart from that, i think lo has managed some pretty impressive work in these books; tackling gender, racial, and sexual issues while still telling a fascinating story of alien visitation and speculative evolution.
in this book, reese and david find themselves the focus of attention from the media, the government, conspiracy theorists, and other groups after they are returned home to san francisco after being repaired with imrian dna following a car crash and subsequently quarantined on a secret military base. they have emerged from the experience with new abilities, including telepathy, which both complicates and enhances their newly romantic relationship. also complicating the relationship is amber, the alien with whom reese had a thing before she knew amber was an alien. or before she knew that she could have feelings for a girl, alien or not.
david and reese are subjected to a startling amount of public scrutiny from the curious, the suspicious, and the malicious - people who want to know what happened to them and what the imrian want from humanity. and it's exhausting - david and reese's first date includes two sets of security detail, they find themselves juggling the agendas of several different agencies who want to exploit and manipulate them and fending off protesters and reporters while still trying to understand and define their own personal lives. reese, despite her former reluctance to ever have a romantic relationship has suddenly found herself in a love triangle, and it's a doozy of a love triangle: two genders, three races.
because of her new celebrity status, reese finds that her relationship with david is being discussed, splayed out all over the internet, including racist commentary around the fact that david is chinese. lesson worth repeating: never read the comments board. pretty much everywhere. which only intensifies her conflicted emotions and her fear about her relationship with amber being exposed - being both a girl and - you know - alien. so it's a coming of age/coming out story with a hell of a twist and lo is really great at handling race and sexuality in a heartbreakingly realistic way. there are other secondary gay characters, a boy and a girl, which allows for some great moments of supportive community but also frustration regarding reese's hesitation to embrace her bisexuality.
and reese is definitely a realistic and sympathetic character. because it's hard to address matters of the heart while also saving the world, adjusting to new telepathic abilities, and playing several government agencies against each other. and also, for her, the novelty of being in a relationship at all, let alone two. she is making herself emotionally vulnerable for the first time, so the extra baggage is heavy. she doesn't want to hurt either amber or david, and she also has some very strong personal ideas about avoiding following her father's example of being a cheater.
the solution is a bit optimistic and reminiscent of
but it might work for them!
anyway, i think this is one of those books that more people should read because it addresses important issues and poses smart questions, but i'm just not that into aliens. still - an objectively solid achievement.
come to my blog!
maggie!! what are you up to??
i reading the book!!
maggie, i hate to break it to you, but that's book two, and i know you haven't read book one. also - upside-down, dude.
i hate you - you're not even my real mom!!! *sulk*
3.5 stars.
possible spoilers for book 1 - i don't know how much of the basic plot of this series is known to those who haven't read it.
3.5 is one of those "me-ratings," but i definitely think this book and its predecessor Adaptation are valuable and should be
and i'm so very glad that i read this book so soon after reading Grasshopper Jungle, because i think this one deals with bisexuality in a much more delicate and thoughtful way. this shares a lot of situations with Grasshopper Jungle: aliens, bisexuality, , but it is in every way superior in its treatment.
it's possibly combustible to point out that Grasshopper Jungle is male-penned/male protagonist and this is female-penned/female protagonist, and that the problems i had with grasshopper jungle ("i'm bisexual, so that means i get to bang everyone - sweet!") are handled with more maturity and sensitivity here (i'm bisexual and i care about two different people enough to not want to hurt either of their feelings.") i definitely think that this contrast is indicative of the different sexual values between teen boys and teen girls, but i know that making any kind of absolute gendered statement on the internet is opening up an angry door, so imma back away - this was all just to inquire if anyone knew of any better (i.e. - less careless) examples of bisexual male protagonists in YA lit.
lo is an accomplished writer - she's not afraid to take her time to tell her story in this densely textured way, and to remind us of the events of the first book without boring exposition. but occasionally she gets a bit too conceptual, with too much time spent away from the action into this sort of anthropological/philosophical realm where the aliens try to explicate to the humans their insights into nebulous concepts like the distinctions between feelings vs emotions or sex vs gender. all of which i found interesting and well-intentioned, but a little muddy. i think the arguments themselves are presenting all the right kinds of important questions, but they don't explore the complexities, so it's all a little unsatisfyingly superficial.
but apart from that, i think lo has managed some pretty impressive work in these books; tackling gender, racial, and sexual issues while still telling a fascinating story of alien visitation and speculative evolution.
in this book, reese and david find themselves the focus of attention from the media, the government, conspiracy theorists, and other groups after they are returned home to san francisco after being repaired with imrian dna following a car crash and subsequently quarantined on a secret military base. they have emerged from the experience with new abilities, including telepathy, which both complicates and enhances their newly romantic relationship. also complicating the relationship is amber, the alien with whom reese had a thing before she knew amber was an alien. or before she knew that she could have feelings for a girl, alien or not.
david and reese are subjected to a startling amount of public scrutiny from the curious, the suspicious, and the malicious - people who want to know what happened to them and what the imrian want from humanity. and it's exhausting - david and reese's first date includes two sets of security detail, they find themselves juggling the agendas of several different agencies who want to exploit and manipulate them and fending off protesters and reporters while still trying to understand and define their own personal lives. reese, despite her former reluctance to ever have a romantic relationship has suddenly found herself in a love triangle, and it's a doozy of a love triangle: two genders, three races.
because of her new celebrity status, reese finds that her relationship with david is being discussed, splayed out all over the internet, including racist commentary around the fact that david is chinese. lesson worth repeating: never read the comments board. pretty much everywhere. which only intensifies her conflicted emotions and her fear about her relationship with amber being exposed - being both a girl and - you know - alien. so it's a coming of age/coming out story with a hell of a twist and lo is really great at handling race and sexuality in a heartbreakingly realistic way. there are other secondary gay characters, a boy and a girl, which allows for some great moments of supportive community but also frustration regarding reese's hesitation to embrace her bisexuality.
and reese is definitely a realistic and sympathetic character. because it's hard to address matters of the heart while also saving the world, adjusting to new telepathic abilities, and playing several government agencies against each other. and also, for her, the novelty of being in a relationship at all, let alone two. she is making herself emotionally vulnerable for the first time, so the extra baggage is heavy. she doesn't want to hurt either amber or david, and she also has some very strong personal ideas about avoiding following her father's example of being a cheater.
the solution is a bit optimistic and reminiscent of
but it might work for them!
anyway, i think this is one of those books that more people should read because it addresses important issues and poses smart questions, but i'm just not that into aliens. still - an objectively solid achievement.
come to my blog!
January 8, 2020
the book was really long and boring. the triangle turned into poly which i couldn't enjoy because i was rooting for Amber and Reese, i didn't like David nor did i see it coming. What could've been a great f/f was sacrificed for poor man's poly. I am really angry at this book.
September 30, 2013
SPOILERS!
I wanted so badly to like this book... I really liked Adaptation , and I was eager to find out how the story ended. Inheritance delivered on finishing up the plot points nicely, but the pacing felt off, as did the characters.
Much of this book was dedicated to describing how attracted Reese is to David. I know I'm biased because I was more interested in Reese being with Amber, but even beyond that, the endless descriptions of the "warmth in [Reese's] stomach" when she touched David got really, REALLY old for me. Perhaps Lo did this because the first book was more about her attraction to Amber? And she had to make Reese's bisexuality and eventual polyamory believable? It actually served the opposite purpose, actually, in my opinion. Reese deciding to date both David and Amber seemed rather odd after we spent the whole book reading about how into David she was. How amazing he is. How perfect. And yeah, and here's Amber, and she's okay too. It was a total after-thought, and it made it so the polyamorous relationship seemed completely unbelievable.
I also feel like I never really got a sense of Reese as a character. I feel like I know David the best, then Amber, and last of all Reese. I even feel like we got a better picture of Julian than we did of the main character! So much of the book was spent describing David and Reese's feelings for him, and I felt like that really took away from the time that should have been used to develop Reese's character so we could really see her growth and progress from the awkward, shy girl from the start of Adaptation who would never date anyone to the possibly-homicidal bisexual Imrian/human hybrid in a polyamorous relationship in outer space.
And while we're on the topic of possible homicide... so yeah... Reese and David likely each killed a guy. No fall-out from that? It felt like I was watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars for a moment!
Overall, I think Lo is a wonderful writer (I've loved her other books), but this one fell short for me. It felt like it couldn't pick a focus, and the piece as a whole suffered for it.
I wanted so badly to like this book... I really liked Adaptation , and I was eager to find out how the story ended. Inheritance delivered on finishing up the plot points nicely, but the pacing felt off, as did the characters.
Much of this book was dedicated to describing how attracted Reese is to David. I know I'm biased because I was more interested in Reese being with Amber, but even beyond that, the endless descriptions of the "warmth in [Reese's] stomach" when she touched David got really, REALLY old for me. Perhaps Lo did this because the first book was more about her attraction to Amber? And she had to make Reese's bisexuality and eventual polyamory believable? It actually served the opposite purpose, actually, in my opinion. Reese deciding to date both David and Amber seemed rather odd after we spent the whole book reading about how into David she was. How amazing he is. How perfect. And yeah, and here's Amber, and she's okay too. It was a total after-thought, and it made it so the polyamorous relationship seemed completely unbelievable.
I also feel like I never really got a sense of Reese as a character. I feel like I know David the best, then Amber, and last of all Reese. I even feel like we got a better picture of Julian than we did of the main character! So much of the book was spent describing David and Reese's feelings for him, and I felt like that really took away from the time that should have been used to develop Reese's character so we could really see her growth and progress from the awkward, shy girl from the start of Adaptation who would never date anyone to the possibly-homicidal bisexual Imrian/human hybrid in a polyamorous relationship in outer space.
And while we're on the topic of possible homicide... so yeah... Reese and David likely each killed a guy. No fall-out from that? It felt like I was watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars for a moment!
Overall, I think Lo is a wonderful writer (I've loved her other books), but this one fell short for me. It felt like it couldn't pick a focus, and the piece as a whole suffered for it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2014
This book invoked mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, it certainly delivered on its promise to close off plot-holes and solve mysteries left over from Adaptation. On the other hand, the solutions to those mysteries were dumber than a box of hair.
Far more of this book was dedicated to sorting out the main character's sexuality and the arrangement of their relationships. Another goodly portion of the book was devoted to explaining the telepathy that David and Reese found themselves the unwitting recipients of in the first book. Finally, there was the 'meta' narrative of the aliens and their relationship to humanity, and the struggles to both understand and publicise that relationship to a world-wide audience.
The plot connecting these elements feels jerky and unfocused; this is unfortunate, as the first novel was fairly tightly laid out. The characters seem to be dumped into random unfortunate situations with the minimum of set-up or lead-in. Press conferences, assassination attempts, training sessions, and kidnappings; all make an appearance, and all seem to disappear as quickly and as easily as they arrived. It is surprisingly uneven from such an otherwise accomplished author.
Reese remains bland. It becomes difficult to like a main character who's strongest emotion appears to be “meh”, even when her life has spiralled completely out of her control. Julian is probably the best characterised person in this book, followed by David. The fire and life that Amber possessed in the first book seems to have been replaced by either not being shown on screen, or a medley of guilt and frustration. The minor characters are often done far better than the main ones. At the end of the novel Reese, Amber, and David break into a bachelor’s house. That bachelor gets more depth given to him by the heroes rooting around in his fridge for six lines than the actual heroes have gotten in two whole books.
The aliens - the Imrian – are quite stupid. There are a lot of reasons why I would make this statement, but mostly I would say that a lot of the ways they are woven into the story of humanity at large simply broke my willing suspension of disbelief. Add in the random alien words dropped at random into plain English text, and the aliens quickly become less a mysterious wonder and more than weird glue-sniffing kid next door who won't stop showing you his poetry.
This book is by far the weakest thing Lo has written, and I couldn't recommend it.
Far more of this book was dedicated to sorting out the main character's sexuality and the arrangement of their relationships. Another goodly portion of the book was devoted to explaining the telepathy that David and Reese found themselves the unwitting recipients of in the first book. Finally, there was the 'meta' narrative of the aliens and their relationship to humanity, and the struggles to both understand and publicise that relationship to a world-wide audience.
The plot connecting these elements feels jerky and unfocused; this is unfortunate, as the first novel was fairly tightly laid out. The characters seem to be dumped into random unfortunate situations with the minimum of set-up or lead-in. Press conferences, assassination attempts, training sessions, and kidnappings; all make an appearance, and all seem to disappear as quickly and as easily as they arrived. It is surprisingly uneven from such an otherwise accomplished author.
Reese remains bland. It becomes difficult to like a main character who's strongest emotion appears to be “meh”, even when her life has spiralled completely out of her control. Julian is probably the best characterised person in this book, followed by David. The fire and life that Amber possessed in the first book seems to have been replaced by either not being shown on screen, or a medley of guilt and frustration. The minor characters are often done far better than the main ones. At the end of the novel Reese, Amber, and David break into a bachelor’s house. That bachelor gets more depth given to him by the heroes rooting around in his fridge for six lines than the actual heroes have gotten in two whole books.
The aliens - the Imrian – are quite stupid. There are a lot of reasons why I would make this statement, but mostly I would say that a lot of the ways they are woven into the story of humanity at large simply broke my willing suspension of disbelief. Add in the random alien words dropped at random into plain English text, and the aliens quickly become less a mysterious wonder and more than weird glue-sniffing kid next door who won't stop showing you his poetry.
This book is by far the weakest thing Lo has written, and I couldn't recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2013
A stunning followup to ADAPTATION. Without being all spoilery all over the place, INHERITANCE plunges into some fascinating and complex issues re:sex, gender, and relationships that make it a delicious read well beyond the terrific story. My admiration for Malinda Lo has just increased by like 2,389%.
October 3, 2013
Here's the deal, I really liked Adaptation, and I loved Natural Selection , but Inheritance really fell short of my expectations. In many ways I felt it read like bad fanfiction.
Inheritance picks up right where Adaptation left off, and moves rather slowly from there.What I did like was learning more about Amber and her Alien Cohort, and that is where my enjoyment stopped.
The follow through on the romance really confused me, and it felt very contrived. The end of the book is the pink elephant in the room I wish more consideration and build up was present to better justify the end.
I felt myself meandering through the book and forcing myself to the end, rather than breezing through it like I did with Adaptation. I didn't feel that there was all too much growth in Reese's character, but I did like that we got to learn a lot more about David.
While I don't recommend this book, I still think that Malinda Lo's other books are worth a read. There aren't too many good science fiction or fantasy books that feature LGBTQ characters.
Inheritance picks up right where Adaptation left off, and moves rather slowly from there.What I did like was learning more about Amber and her Alien Cohort, and that is where my enjoyment stopped.
The follow through on the romance really confused me, and it felt very contrived. The end of the book is the pink elephant in the room I wish more consideration and build up was present to better justify the end.
I felt myself meandering through the book and forcing myself to the end, rather than breezing through it like I did with Adaptation. I didn't feel that there was all too much growth in Reese's character, but I did like that we got to learn a lot more about David.
While I don't recommend this book, I still think that Malinda Lo's other books are worth a read. There aren't too many good science fiction or fantasy books that feature LGBTQ characters.
February 28, 2017
Yay polyamory! Yay bisexuality! Yay aliens! Yay Malinda Lo! If only there were more books that blended explorations of teen romance and sexuality, complicated families, race relations, what it means to be human, government cover ups, and aliens so seamlessly. There were certainly some moments in the first half of this book where I wanted to give the story a shove to get moving faster, but it definitely picks up pace in the second half. A very enjoyable series.
January 9, 2021
Meh.
David's a tad annoying, especially when Reese would make decisions on the fly... he'll speak up asking what she's doing as if she needed to check with him first before she does anything. I really wanted the relationship between Reese and Amber to get back on track but what happened was just... MEH.
The end was pretty good, with the action at the UN and getting little Diego. Still it was all very, MEH.
David's a tad annoying, especially when Reese would make decisions on the fly... he'll speak up asking what she's doing as if she needed to check with him first before she does anything. I really wanted the relationship between Reese and Amber to get back on track but what happened was just... MEH.
The end was pretty good, with the action at the UN and getting little Diego. Still it was all very, MEH.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2015
I liked how it all came together in the end, and I like Reese. More bisexuals please.
September 16, 2016
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Two girls and a guy….plus aliens!
Opening Sentence: “The triangular spaceship hovered motionless in the sky above Resse Holloway’s house, as inscrutable as a blackhole.”
The Review:
Reese, David and Amber are back again in this conclusion to Adaptation. Reese is still struggling to come to terms with Amber’s betrayal, her sexuality and her new abilities as an adapted human hybrid. David is struggling with the adjustment and his relationship with Reese. Amber is just avoiding them all.
I think some interesting questions were answered in this book. The Imrian’s have been to Earth more than once, and well some things that are just better read. However, for the most part, I felt like the main focus of this book was Reese’s sexuality and her relationships with Amber and David. Which I could tell you how that would end, but why spoil the fun.
The rest of the storyline felt thrown in and rushed. The science fiction was compelling and interesting, there just wasn’t enough of it. I really thought it was interesting as their abilities began to unfold and they became more comfortable with them and themselves. This almost feels like a coming of age story with aliens…but I did dig David, Reese and Amber and I liked seeing them grow and become stronger, better people.
On the whole as you can probably tell, I wasn’t blown away by the book. I thought the series was good overall and different. Aliens with bird connections and creating hybrids, very interesting concepts. Execution for me personally fell a little short. I don’t care about her sexuality, but honestly it seemed to be the main theme and larger storyline. Everything else felt like a distant second. Which there is nothing wrong with that, but it just sent mixed signals. Is this is a coming of age story or science fiction?
I don’t want to seem if I am tearing down the book, it was good. The writing is excellent, the concepts are fresh and exciting. It just didn’t completely work for me.
Notable Scene:
“He blew some smoke away from her. “This adaptation thing that the Imria are working on could change everything. It’s amazing. Think about what this world would be like if human beings could really do this shared consciousness thing.” He spoke with a rising intensity, his body bending toward her as he gestured with his cigarette. “Do you know why people hate each other? Because they don’t understand each other. But if we could really know how other people feel–really know it– all that would change. It would bring humans to the next level of evolution!” Julian’s fierce belief in the adaptation procedure made Reese uncomfortable.”
FTC Advisory: Little Brown Books for Young Readers provided me with a copy of Inheritance. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Two girls and a guy….plus aliens!
Opening Sentence: “The triangular spaceship hovered motionless in the sky above Resse Holloway’s house, as inscrutable as a blackhole.”
The Review:
Reese, David and Amber are back again in this conclusion to Adaptation. Reese is still struggling to come to terms with Amber’s betrayal, her sexuality and her new abilities as an adapted human hybrid. David is struggling with the adjustment and his relationship with Reese. Amber is just avoiding them all.
I think some interesting questions were answered in this book. The Imrian’s have been to Earth more than once, and well some things that are just better read. However, for the most part, I felt like the main focus of this book was Reese’s sexuality and her relationships with Amber and David. Which I could tell you how that would end, but why spoil the fun.
The rest of the storyline felt thrown in and rushed. The science fiction was compelling and interesting, there just wasn’t enough of it. I really thought it was interesting as their abilities began to unfold and they became more comfortable with them and themselves. This almost feels like a coming of age story with aliens…but I did dig David, Reese and Amber and I liked seeing them grow and become stronger, better people.
On the whole as you can probably tell, I wasn’t blown away by the book. I thought the series was good overall and different. Aliens with bird connections and creating hybrids, very interesting concepts. Execution for me personally fell a little short. I don’t care about her sexuality, but honestly it seemed to be the main theme and larger storyline. Everything else felt like a distant second. Which there is nothing wrong with that, but it just sent mixed signals. Is this is a coming of age story or science fiction?
I don’t want to seem if I am tearing down the book, it was good. The writing is excellent, the concepts are fresh and exciting. It just didn’t completely work for me.
Notable Scene:
“He blew some smoke away from her. “This adaptation thing that the Imria are working on could change everything. It’s amazing. Think about what this world would be like if human beings could really do this shared consciousness thing.” He spoke with a rising intensity, his body bending toward her as he gestured with his cigarette. “Do you know why people hate each other? Because they don’t understand each other. But if we could really know how other people feel–really know it– all that would change. It would bring humans to the next level of evolution!” Julian’s fierce belief in the adaptation procedure made Reese uncomfortable.”
FTC Advisory: Little Brown Books for Young Readers provided me with a copy of Inheritance. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
October 29, 2019
I mean... It was alright, but not at all what I expected. I thought that there would be more action and conspiracy. But 80% of the book was about teenage drama and Reese not being able to choose between Amber and David. I actually quite enjoyed this aspect of the book. The characters were interesting to follow and I will always remember them as my dumb babies. I'm kinda glad I finished this series.
June 10, 2015
Ugh I have such mixed feelings about Inheritance, you guys. I enjoyed a lot of things about it. It was definitely a step up from Adaptation, having fixed the weird tonal issues and dispensed with the mystery bits that made that book kinda tedious. I really liked it as a non-sensationalized “invasion” story, where things between the humans and aliens are settled in a more diplomatic manner and nobody’s shooting anyone else with nukes or ray guns or infecting one another with computer viruses. I even liked the resolution to the love triangle, that was really nice and unexpected and very needed in YA.
But holy fuck dat writing. Dat writing is really hard to contend with. Like wow.
But good stuff first.
I mentioned in my review of Adaptation that it was only at the very end that that book became interesting again to me, when the aliens have revealed themselves to the world, and protagonists/human-alien hybrids Reese and David are about to have a press conference explaining all of the shady government shit they’ve been through. The public aspect is what’s intriguing to me, as far as how we might adjust to these things on a cultural level, so I love it when books take on the pretty major task of hypothesizing this process as it happens, ESPECIALLY if they don’t resort to a simplified good vs. evil scenario.
So, I liked that Inheritance is not an action-heavy pew-pew sci-fi epic, or even a conspiracy thriller the way Adaptation was, occasionally. It’s very…life-heavy, character-heavy, relationship-heavy, and that was fine with me. There’s still an underlying conspiracy plotline to provide some menace and set up what feels like a very obligatory action-based climax, but the interesting part of the book, for me, was seeing the…the decompression. The aftermath of Adaptation.
I feel like lots of books don’t engage with that part? Like you read about the adventure, the climactic battle, the YAY we win, and then the book ends, and we don’t actually get a good look at the process by which the world settles in to a new status quo. And while I guess Inheritance would still technically be part of the “adventure”, it feels different. The game has changed.
Now Reese and David know what’s happened to them, the world knows aliens exist, everyone knows who and what Reese and David are, and Inheritance is about how that exposure changes the lives that they had before. So like, they go back to school, but there are protesters all outside the building. They have to deal with constant media presence, paparazzi, strangers having opinions about their personal lives. They have to deal with the government trying to cover its ass in a less kidnappy way, taking them on in the court of public opinion. But most interestingly, Reese and David and the whole world have to deal with the Imria, who’ve done incredibly presumptuous things, but want to take responsibility for them.
Basically, I like that the conflict is on a different front. I like that it’s about media relations and diplomacy and spreading the truth. I like that the aliens have to set up a press conference to explain themselves, and that the characters’ big world-affecting hero moment is not, like, when they beat up the bad guy, but when they convince the patronizing Imrian leader to see humanity as an equal.
There’s a great moment where Reese just sort of realizes that regardless of what she wanted to do before her adaptation, her path in life is basically laid out for her now because of what she is. The implication is that her career won’t ever not involve her role as a bridge between the Imria and humanity, and even though she didn’t know what she wanted to do before, the choice isn’t really available anymore. Things have changed.
It’s not a particularly dramatic realization. Reese doesn’t angst about it, but she’s not especially excited about it, either, it’s just her life now. I liked that. It was a level-headed moment that felt emblematic of the way that Inheritance ties this fantastical situation into the mundane realities of life.
So yeah, I’ve seen complaints about how meandering the book seemed, but I didn’t have a problem with that. I actually enjoyed dipping in to an almost slice-of-life story about teenage alien-human hybrids during First Contact, I am totally curious about what the world would look like from their point of view.
That being said, while the world-building was the most captivating part for me, it’s not necessarily the focus, so let me not give that impression. This book is 85% Reese sorting out her personal confusion in literally every aspect of her life, so depending on how you feel about her, that’s a huuuuge plus or minus. I was kinda meh on Reese as a character. She wasn’t infuriating or obnoxious, but I didn’t quite connect, either. That being said, A fucking PLUS on how the love triangle was handled and resolved, petition for more authors to approach theirs similarly.
All of those nice things being said, oh my god the writing almost completely killed this book for me. The first half, maybe two-thirds, were painful. While the tone/focus problems I had with Adaptation were more of less hammered out, the actual writing issues were completely unchanged. It’s all telling, all the time, and the dialogue often feels like it’s been directly lifted from some tone-deaf after-school special. It’s sparse and clunky and un-atmospheric and just so much harder for me to get lost in than I want it to be.
Also, the ending, holy shit you guys. I mentioned earlier that the actiony climax felt totally obligatory and I meant it. The conflict is set up, but the actual act that kicks it off comes out of nowhere, and the whole thing lasts like two or three chapters before it’s completely over and done with. It’s not even that important to the plot. I mean, it is kind of, in that it provides an opportunity for the love triangle and the conspiracy subplot to be resolved, but the conspiracy subplot itself doesn’t feel that important to the plot, and though the in-world impact is pretty major, all of the fallout is summarized for us in a couple of short news articles and one final chapter that feels more like an epilogue than an actual ending.
Plus, although it didn’t exactly fall into that good/evil binary that I mentioned earlier, the resolution to the Imria/humanity conflict did seem somewhat oversimplified to me. I mean, there’s a lot of hairy, complicated stuff here, like, the characters are dealing with huge origin of the human race revelations, and we’ve got some very clear parallels being drawn between the Imria’s interference and real-world colonization/the assimilation of cultural identity, and how do you even begin to grapple with the enormity of those things, in-world and allegorically? Then the heroes are just like “Hey, have you ever considered telling the truth and then not assimilating us?”
It’s a tough spot, right, because you have the Imria with their patronizing white Alien Guilt on the one side and the American government/elite corporate conspiracy on the other and neither of these things are great, but they’re in opposition, so who do you villainize more? Still, I really wish the wrap-up had been more nuanced – harder on the Imria, more in-depth on the earth-shaking existential crisis that their revelation had to have left the world in, and on the political fallout from the collapse of the American presidential administration.
It was an abrupt switch, because I’m loving the parts of the book that are exploring the street-level aftermath of this huge ALIENS revelation, and then it just ends, right after dropping a series of society-altering knowledge bombs! I want the aftermath to the aftermath, man! Way to leave me hanging. BUT that’s not necessarily what Inheritance was meant to be about, so, you know, what can you do?
TL;DR VERSION: Inheritance basically broke even for me. I really got into it about halfway through, there were ideas and things I really liked about it, and obviously I appreciate its diverse cast and progressive attitude, but more than any other Lo book I’ve read so far, the writing was very nearly a dealbreaker. The characters felt flat, the clunky tackling of social issues made me cringe, and the abrupt ending pretty effectively managed to harsh my buzz for the things I actually did like.
See more reviews like this at You're Killing.Us
But holy fuck dat writing. Dat writing is really hard to contend with. Like wow.
But good stuff first.
I mentioned in my review of Adaptation that it was only at the very end that that book became interesting again to me, when the aliens have revealed themselves to the world, and protagonists/human-alien hybrids Reese and David are about to have a press conference explaining all of the shady government shit they’ve been through. The public aspect is what’s intriguing to me, as far as how we might adjust to these things on a cultural level, so I love it when books take on the pretty major task of hypothesizing this process as it happens, ESPECIALLY if they don’t resort to a simplified good vs. evil scenario.
So, I liked that Inheritance is not an action-heavy pew-pew sci-fi epic, or even a conspiracy thriller the way Adaptation was, occasionally. It’s very…life-heavy, character-heavy, relationship-heavy, and that was fine with me. There’s still an underlying conspiracy plotline to provide some menace and set up what feels like a very obligatory action-based climax, but the interesting part of the book, for me, was seeing the…the decompression. The aftermath of Adaptation.
I feel like lots of books don’t engage with that part? Like you read about the adventure, the climactic battle, the YAY we win, and then the book ends, and we don’t actually get a good look at the process by which the world settles in to a new status quo. And while I guess Inheritance would still technically be part of the “adventure”, it feels different. The game has changed.
Now Reese and David know what’s happened to them, the world knows aliens exist, everyone knows who and what Reese and David are, and Inheritance is about how that exposure changes the lives that they had before. So like, they go back to school, but there are protesters all outside the building. They have to deal with constant media presence, paparazzi, strangers having opinions about their personal lives. They have to deal with the government trying to cover its ass in a less kidnappy way, taking them on in the court of public opinion. But most interestingly, Reese and David and the whole world have to deal with the Imria, who’ve done incredibly presumptuous things, but want to take responsibility for them.
Basically, I like that the conflict is on a different front. I like that it’s about media relations and diplomacy and spreading the truth. I like that the aliens have to set up a press conference to explain themselves, and that the characters’ big world-affecting hero moment is not, like, when they beat up the bad guy, but when they convince the patronizing Imrian leader to see humanity as an equal.
There’s a great moment where Reese just sort of realizes that regardless of what she wanted to do before her adaptation, her path in life is basically laid out for her now because of what she is. The implication is that her career won’t ever not involve her role as a bridge between the Imria and humanity, and even though she didn’t know what she wanted to do before, the choice isn’t really available anymore. Things have changed.
It’s not a particularly dramatic realization. Reese doesn’t angst about it, but she’s not especially excited about it, either, it’s just her life now. I liked that. It was a level-headed moment that felt emblematic of the way that Inheritance ties this fantastical situation into the mundane realities of life.
So yeah, I’ve seen complaints about how meandering the book seemed, but I didn’t have a problem with that. I actually enjoyed dipping in to an almost slice-of-life story about teenage alien-human hybrids during First Contact, I am totally curious about what the world would look like from their point of view.
That being said, while the world-building was the most captivating part for me, it’s not necessarily the focus, so let me not give that impression. This book is 85% Reese sorting out her personal confusion in literally every aspect of her life, so depending on how you feel about her, that’s a huuuuge plus or minus. I was kinda meh on Reese as a character. She wasn’t infuriating or obnoxious, but I didn’t quite connect, either. That being said, A fucking PLUS on how the love triangle was handled and resolved, petition for more authors to approach theirs similarly.
All of those nice things being said, oh my god the writing almost completely killed this book for me. The first half, maybe two-thirds, were painful. While the tone/focus problems I had with Adaptation were more of less hammered out, the actual writing issues were completely unchanged. It’s all telling, all the time, and the dialogue often feels like it’s been directly lifted from some tone-deaf after-school special. It’s sparse and clunky and un-atmospheric and just so much harder for me to get lost in than I want it to be.
Also, the ending, holy shit you guys. I mentioned earlier that the actiony climax felt totally obligatory and I meant it. The conflict is set up, but the actual act that kicks it off comes out of nowhere, and the whole thing lasts like two or three chapters before it’s completely over and done with. It’s not even that important to the plot. I mean, it is kind of, in that it provides an opportunity for the love triangle and the conspiracy subplot to be resolved, but the conspiracy subplot itself doesn’t feel that important to the plot, and though the in-world impact is pretty major, all of the fallout is summarized for us in a couple of short news articles and one final chapter that feels more like an epilogue than an actual ending.
Plus, although it didn’t exactly fall into that good/evil binary that I mentioned earlier, the resolution to the Imria/humanity conflict did seem somewhat oversimplified to me. I mean, there’s a lot of hairy, complicated stuff here, like, the characters are dealing with huge origin of the human race revelations, and we’ve got some very clear parallels being drawn between the Imria’s interference and real-world colonization/the assimilation of cultural identity, and how do you even begin to grapple with the enormity of those things, in-world and allegorically? Then the heroes are just like “Hey, have you ever considered telling the truth and then not assimilating us?”
It’s a tough spot, right, because you have the Imria with their patronizing white Alien Guilt on the one side and the American government/elite corporate conspiracy on the other and neither of these things are great, but they’re in opposition, so who do you villainize more? Still, I really wish the wrap-up had been more nuanced – harder on the Imria, more in-depth on the earth-shaking existential crisis that their revelation had to have left the world in, and on the political fallout from the collapse of the American presidential administration.
It was an abrupt switch, because I’m loving the parts of the book that are exploring the street-level aftermath of this huge ALIENS revelation, and then it just ends, right after dropping a series of society-altering knowledge bombs! I want the aftermath to the aftermath, man! Way to leave me hanging. BUT that’s not necessarily what Inheritance was meant to be about, so, you know, what can you do?
TL;DR VERSION: Inheritance basically broke even for me. I really got into it about halfway through, there were ideas and things I really liked about it, and obviously I appreciate its diverse cast and progressive attitude, but more than any other Lo book I’ve read so far, the writing was very nearly a dealbreaker. The characters felt flat, the clunky tackling of social issues made me cringe, and the abrupt ending pretty effectively managed to harsh my buzz for the things I actually did like.
See more reviews like this at You're Killing.Us
December 26, 2013
http://wandering-world.skyrock.com/32...
Haaaaa ! Ça faisait bien longtemps que je n'avais pas entamé puis terminé une saga en l'espace de deux semaines. En fait, je me demande même si cela m'était déjà arrivé auparavant ! ADAPTATION m'avait tellement, tellement, tellement plu que je m'étais empressé d'acheter la suite, INHERITANCE. INHERITANCE une est très très bonne lecture, qui reprend l'histoire exactement là où le premier volet l'avait laissé (genre, vraiment, la première ligne du roman est celle qui suit directement la dernière ligne d'ADAPTATION). Ce que j'ai adooooooré avec ce récit (et avec ce diptyque en général), c'est tous les nombreux thèmes qui y sont abordés. J'ai trouvé ça tellement génial, novateur et passionnant de la part de l'auteure de vouloir explorer autant de sujets HYPER importants et bien trop mis de côté. Malheureusement, INHERITANCE m'a semblé un peu en-dessous d'ADAPTATION. En effet, comme les bases de l'histoire sont déjà posées du départ et qu'on tente de trouver des solutions aux problèmes qui ont vu le jour dans le premier tome, il m'a manqué un peu d'intensité, de surprise, de cette petite étincelle qui rendait ADAPTATION ultra haletant. Je ne dis pas qu'INHERITANCE n'est pas prenant, bien au contraire, mais il est un (mini mini) poil moins exaltant et saisissant que son prédécesseur.
Comme dit précédemment, INHERITANCE commence là où ADAPTATION s'arrête. Ainsi, nous replongeons dans l'univers à la fois sombre, inquiétant, perturbant mais ô combien fascinant que Malinda Lo a créé. Retrouver Reese, David et Amber a été un immense plaisir. Genre, vraiment. Je me suis attaché à ces trois héros d'une telle manière que j'arrivais même à connaître leurs réactions à l'avance, un peu comme si je parlais à mes amis et que je savais d'avance comment ils allaient réagir à telle ou telle situation. C'est la première fois que j'en arrive à ce point-là, et laissez-moi vous dire que c'est vraiment TOP ! Le trio que forment ces fabuleux protagonistes m'a juste époustouflé, et je sais déjà qu'ils vont profondément me manquer. Seul petit bémol : Julian est bien trop absent de ce second tome. Je suis également tombé amoureux de ce personnage, mais l'auteure a pris la décision de le mettre de côté. C'est ultra dommage !
Côté protagonistes secondaires, c'est, là aussi, un véritable succès. Qu'il s'agisse des parents de Reese, ceux de David, des Imria ou des "méchants" de l'histoire, ils m'ont tous semblé dotés d'une authenticité et d'une profondeur rares que très peu de personnages "moins importants" possèdent habituellement. Malinda Lo a réellement un don pour décrire ses héros. Grâce à cela, le roman est très visuel, très vivant, très ancré dans le réel. On ne peine pas une seule seconde à croire aux dialogues qu'échangent les protagonistes, à comprendre leurs réactions, à voir les scènes qui nous sont décrites, tout simplement. J'ai trouvé ça tellement génial !
Les rebondissements, exactement comme dans ADAPTATION, sont omniprésents d'un bout à l'autre du récit. Il y a toujours un élément qui vient nous couper le souffle et nous permettre de rester hors d'haleine alors qu'on pense enfin pouvoir respirer. Cette impression de suffoquer et de pesanteur (parce qu'on est RÉELLEMENT oppressés) et juste jouissive. J'en voulais TOUJOURS plus. Malheureusement, comme dit au début de ma chronique, même si les retournements de situation s'entrechoquent et nous déroutent, ils sont un peu moins choquants et renversants que ceux du premier opus. Ici, les surprises ont beau être grandes et nous laisser bouche bée, elles ne sont jamais aussi énormes et dévastatrices que les précédentes. C'est assez frustrant, en fait. J'avais tellement envie d'autant aimer ce roman que son prédécesseur que, lorsque j'ai réalisé que ce n'était pas le cas, j'ai eu un peu mal au cœur. Mais ça veut bien dire que, dans le fond, j'ai adoré cette histoire, non ? Pour en arriver au point où je veux vraiment que l'intrigue soit super, c'est que j'ai mis la barre assez haut. Et pour la placer aussi haut, c'est que les livres valent le coup, vraiment. A l'inverse, il y a certaines révélations qui m'ont juste ébloui et que j'ai trouvé extraordinaires. Tout ce qu'on apprend sur les Imria ainsi que sur le passé et l'avenir de l'humanité m'a carrément laissé sur les fesses. C'est brillant. BRILLANT, je vous dis. L'auteure prend un chemin qui m'a énormément plu et que je n'avais absolument pas vu venir. C'était TOP TOP TOP TOP !!!
Même chose avec les différents thèmes qui sont abordés ici, d'ailleurs. Le choix de Malinda Lo d'écrire sur autant de sujets à la fois tabous et trop peu explorés m'a touché. L'auteure n'hésite pas à parler de bisexualité et d'homosexualité, des thèmes qui me tiennent tout particulièrement à cœur, mais également de sujets plus généraux et qui font partie de l'inconscient général de l'humanité : les autres. "Les autres" dans le sens des aliens, de ces extraterrestres qui fascinent l'Homme depuis toujours, mais également de "l'autre", aussi bien l'humain que l'alien. Malinda Lo traite de la différence, de l'acceptation et la compréhension de l'autre et de soi, du respect de la vie privée, de la folie des médias et des complots du gouvernement avec brio. Autant d'excellentes idées aussi bien abordées, c'est juste du génie quoi. Je regrette d'avoir déjà terminé ce diptyque, parce que je sais que les romans dans la veine d'ADAPTATION et d'INHERITANCE se comptent sur les doigts de la main.
Arrivé à la conclusion du livre, j'étais ultra satisfait tout en étant hyper frustré (si, si, c'est possible). L'auteure nous livre toutes les réponses à nos questions (satisfaction extrême) tout en laissant certains blancs ou certaines décisions qui nous laissent penser que les choses s'arrangent, certes, mais que c'est seulement provisoire (frustration totale). Je très mitigé, en fait. J'adore cette fin autant que je la déteste. C'est ULTRA embêtant, parce que j'ai craqué pour ce duo de livres, et j'ai envie que tout soit parfait. Mais cette fin ne l'est pas. Enfin si, mais non. HAAAAAA, voilà, je suis encore perdu. Je déteste ça ! Malgré tout, c'est une fin qui me plaît. Restons là-dessus.
En résumé, INHERITANCE est très bonne suite à ADAPTATION. Elle possède quelques petites faiblesses, c'est indéniable, mais c'est surtout parce que l'auteure aborde tellement d'excellents thèmes qu'on finit par devenir très exigeants au bout du compte et que toutes nos attentes ne peuvent pas être comblées. Donc beaucoup de positif, énormément de positif, tellement de positif que du négatif finit fatalement par transparaître. Mais ce négatif ne compte pas, enfin pas vraiment. Les personnages sont tellement parfaits, leur relation est tellement passionnante, les rebondissements sont tellement extraordinaires et ce diptyque est tellement saisissant qu'on passe au-dessus des points noirs. Si je devais recommander une saga en deux tomes à quelqu'un qui lit en anglais, je crois que je dirigerai automatiquement cette personne vers ADAPTATION/INHERITANCE. C'est un diptyque enivrant, obsédant et inoubliable.
Haaaaa ! Ça faisait bien longtemps que je n'avais pas entamé puis terminé une saga en l'espace de deux semaines. En fait, je me demande même si cela m'était déjà arrivé auparavant ! ADAPTATION m'avait tellement, tellement, tellement plu que je m'étais empressé d'acheter la suite, INHERITANCE. INHERITANCE une est très très bonne lecture, qui reprend l'histoire exactement là où le premier volet l'avait laissé (genre, vraiment, la première ligne du roman est celle qui suit directement la dernière ligne d'ADAPTATION). Ce que j'ai adooooooré avec ce récit (et avec ce diptyque en général), c'est tous les nombreux thèmes qui y sont abordés. J'ai trouvé ça tellement génial, novateur et passionnant de la part de l'auteure de vouloir explorer autant de sujets HYPER importants et bien trop mis de côté. Malheureusement, INHERITANCE m'a semblé un peu en-dessous d'ADAPTATION. En effet, comme les bases de l'histoire sont déjà posées du départ et qu'on tente de trouver des solutions aux problèmes qui ont vu le jour dans le premier tome, il m'a manqué un peu d'intensité, de surprise, de cette petite étincelle qui rendait ADAPTATION ultra haletant. Je ne dis pas qu'INHERITANCE n'est pas prenant, bien au contraire, mais il est un (mini mini) poil moins exaltant et saisissant que son prédécesseur.
Comme dit précédemment, INHERITANCE commence là où ADAPTATION s'arrête. Ainsi, nous replongeons dans l'univers à la fois sombre, inquiétant, perturbant mais ô combien fascinant que Malinda Lo a créé. Retrouver Reese, David et Amber a été un immense plaisir. Genre, vraiment. Je me suis attaché à ces trois héros d'une telle manière que j'arrivais même à connaître leurs réactions à l'avance, un peu comme si je parlais à mes amis et que je savais d'avance comment ils allaient réagir à telle ou telle situation. C'est la première fois que j'en arrive à ce point-là, et laissez-moi vous dire que c'est vraiment TOP ! Le trio que forment ces fabuleux protagonistes m'a juste époustouflé, et je sais déjà qu'ils vont profondément me manquer. Seul petit bémol : Julian est bien trop absent de ce second tome. Je suis également tombé amoureux de ce personnage, mais l'auteure a pris la décision de le mettre de côté. C'est ultra dommage !
Côté protagonistes secondaires, c'est, là aussi, un véritable succès. Qu'il s'agisse des parents de Reese, ceux de David, des Imria ou des "méchants" de l'histoire, ils m'ont tous semblé dotés d'une authenticité et d'une profondeur rares que très peu de personnages "moins importants" possèdent habituellement. Malinda Lo a réellement un don pour décrire ses héros. Grâce à cela, le roman est très visuel, très vivant, très ancré dans le réel. On ne peine pas une seule seconde à croire aux dialogues qu'échangent les protagonistes, à comprendre leurs réactions, à voir les scènes qui nous sont décrites, tout simplement. J'ai trouvé ça tellement génial !
Les rebondissements, exactement comme dans ADAPTATION, sont omniprésents d'un bout à l'autre du récit. Il y a toujours un élément qui vient nous couper le souffle et nous permettre de rester hors d'haleine alors qu'on pense enfin pouvoir respirer. Cette impression de suffoquer et de pesanteur (parce qu'on est RÉELLEMENT oppressés) et juste jouissive. J'en voulais TOUJOURS plus. Malheureusement, comme dit au début de ma chronique, même si les retournements de situation s'entrechoquent et nous déroutent, ils sont un peu moins choquants et renversants que ceux du premier opus. Ici, les surprises ont beau être grandes et nous laisser bouche bée, elles ne sont jamais aussi énormes et dévastatrices que les précédentes. C'est assez frustrant, en fait. J'avais tellement envie d'autant aimer ce roman que son prédécesseur que, lorsque j'ai réalisé que ce n'était pas le cas, j'ai eu un peu mal au cœur. Mais ça veut bien dire que, dans le fond, j'ai adoré cette histoire, non ? Pour en arriver au point où je veux vraiment que l'intrigue soit super, c'est que j'ai mis la barre assez haut. Et pour la placer aussi haut, c'est que les livres valent le coup, vraiment. A l'inverse, il y a certaines révélations qui m'ont juste ébloui et que j'ai trouvé extraordinaires. Tout ce qu'on apprend sur les Imria ainsi que sur le passé et l'avenir de l'humanité m'a carrément laissé sur les fesses. C'est brillant. BRILLANT, je vous dis. L'auteure prend un chemin qui m'a énormément plu et que je n'avais absolument pas vu venir. C'était TOP TOP TOP TOP !!!
Même chose avec les différents thèmes qui sont abordés ici, d'ailleurs. Le choix de Malinda Lo d'écrire sur autant de sujets à la fois tabous et trop peu explorés m'a touché. L'auteure n'hésite pas à parler de bisexualité et d'homosexualité, des thèmes qui me tiennent tout particulièrement à cœur, mais également de sujets plus généraux et qui font partie de l'inconscient général de l'humanité : les autres. "Les autres" dans le sens des aliens, de ces extraterrestres qui fascinent l'Homme depuis toujours, mais également de "l'autre", aussi bien l'humain que l'alien. Malinda Lo traite de la différence, de l'acceptation et la compréhension de l'autre et de soi, du respect de la vie privée, de la folie des médias et des complots du gouvernement avec brio. Autant d'excellentes idées aussi bien abordées, c'est juste du génie quoi. Je regrette d'avoir déjà terminé ce diptyque, parce que je sais que les romans dans la veine d'ADAPTATION et d'INHERITANCE se comptent sur les doigts de la main.
Arrivé à la conclusion du livre, j'étais ultra satisfait tout en étant hyper frustré (si, si, c'est possible). L'auteure nous livre toutes les réponses à nos questions (satisfaction extrême) tout en laissant certains blancs ou certaines décisions qui nous laissent penser que les choses s'arrangent, certes, mais que c'est seulement provisoire (frustration totale). Je très mitigé, en fait. J'adore cette fin autant que je la déteste. C'est ULTRA embêtant, parce que j'ai craqué pour ce duo de livres, et j'ai envie que tout soit parfait. Mais cette fin ne l'est pas. Enfin si, mais non. HAAAAAA, voilà, je suis encore perdu. Je déteste ça ! Malgré tout, c'est une fin qui me plaît. Restons là-dessus.
En résumé, INHERITANCE est très bonne suite à ADAPTATION. Elle possède quelques petites faiblesses, c'est indéniable, mais c'est surtout parce que l'auteure aborde tellement d'excellents thèmes qu'on finit par devenir très exigeants au bout du compte et que toutes nos attentes ne peuvent pas être comblées. Donc beaucoup de positif, énormément de positif, tellement de positif que du négatif finit fatalement par transparaître. Mais ce négatif ne compte pas, enfin pas vraiment. Les personnages sont tellement parfaits, leur relation est tellement passionnante, les rebondissements sont tellement extraordinaires et ce diptyque est tellement saisissant qu'on passe au-dessus des points noirs. Si je devais recommander une saga en deux tomes à quelqu'un qui lit en anglais, je crois que je dirigerai automatiquement cette personne vers ADAPTATION/INHERITANCE. C'est un diptyque enivrant, obsédant et inoubliable.
December 14, 2013
Even starting to write this review, I'm not sure what rating to give it. I always have trouble with picking out a rating, but Inheritance makes it extra difficult. In a way, I like this second (third?) part of the series better than the first. That's because I was curious about what was to come next and I wanted to know more about the Imria and everything else. I wasn't disappointed when it came to the story part. Inheritance lives up to my expectations there and it brings me back to the good old X-Files days.
The part that let me down was everything involving Reese and her little love triangle. Admittedly, Reese wasn't even my favourite character in the first book. She doesn't quite stand out to me and she doesn't really on this part either. Same as David. I admit, in part this is because I love Amber so much. She kind of takes the spotlight and most of my reading experience was me yearning for the book to move on and get back to Amber already.
I admit, I'm terribly biased when it comes to the love triangle. I was rooting for Amber in the first book and I continue to do so now. Sadly enough, I knew the minute I read Natural Selection how this particular romance would end .
So how should I rate this book? I'm not sure. I enjoyed it in some parts and hated it in others. I wish Malinda Lo had focussed a little less on the romance side. It's a strange remark to make when all her other books had me wishing she'd concentrated a bit more on them. (No, really. Ash needed a LOT more Kaesa in it. ) A three then, because some parts were worth a four, but other parts made me want to stop.
The part that let me down was everything involving Reese and her little love triangle. Admittedly, Reese wasn't even my favourite character in the first book. She doesn't quite stand out to me and she doesn't really on this part either. Same as David. I admit, in part this is because I love Amber so much. She kind of takes the spotlight and most of my reading experience was me yearning for the book to move on and get back to Amber already.
I admit, I'm terribly biased when it comes to the love triangle. I was rooting for Amber in the first book and I continue to do so now. Sadly enough, I knew the minute I read Natural Selection how this particular romance would end .
So how should I rate this book? I'm not sure. I enjoyed it in some parts and hated it in others. I wish Malinda Lo had focussed a little less on the romance side. It's a strange remark to make when all her other books had me wishing she'd concentrated a bit more on them. (No, really. Ash needed a LOT more Kaesa in it. ) A three then, because some parts were worth a four, but other parts made me want to stop.
February 27, 2018
I didn't like this as much as Adaptation, but it was an enjoyable conclusion to the story nonetheless, and a quick read. However, TW for threat of rape towards the end - that was not something I expected in this story, and it made me feel unpleasant even though it was "just" a threat.
Would recommend these books to teens, though, because it feels great to have a bisexual protagonist and alternative relationship forms. If books like this had been out when I was a teen, I might have realised some things sooner. ;)
Oh, another brief point: there was some cluelessness in the narrative as to nonbinary genders in humans... singular they as a pronoun option for a genderless(?) alien did not even come up. Not sure if that's because of when this book came out, but well, it's not even so long ago and people have been using singular they foreeever.
Would recommend these books to teens, though, because it feels great to have a bisexual protagonist and alternative relationship forms. If books like this had been out when I was a teen, I might have realised some things sooner. ;)
Oh, another brief point: there was some cluelessness in the narrative as to nonbinary genders in humans... singular they as a pronoun option for a genderless(?) alien did not even come up. Not sure if that's because of when this book came out, but well, it's not even so long ago and people have been using singular they foreeever.
June 23, 2018
There are many good things that I could say about first book, but - unfortunately - there is much less of them that I can say about the second.
The bad? The thing that bothered me the most was the love triangle. While it was refreshing and played nicely in first book, in this one it was so over the top I was getting annoyed. Even the fact that it was bisexual triangle didn't help, I can only imagine my distaste if that would be het-triangle-only. So much overthinking and drama. I didn't even like the polyamory here - this is the kind I dislike the most. Two people disliking each other, but bearing to be around for that one they love. Ugh. Nope.
There was also a little too much talk about sexuality and relationships. While I believe that it's good that such books are written, it was too much in-yo-face.
The good? Writing. Malinda Lo is a treasure. I love her style.
Characters - despite the drama, each and every character has its own merit. And, what made me really want to read on, side-characters were even better. I love Reese's parents - they're nicely fleshed-out, not just some noise in the background. Julian is great. But the best character, although she appeared in only few pages, was Torres. So much potential and maybe giving her such a small role was what gave the real punch to her importance.
All in all, it was a wasted potential, but still a good read.
The bad? The thing that bothered me the most was the love triangle. While it was refreshing and played nicely in first book, in this one it was so over the top I was getting annoyed. Even the fact that it was bisexual triangle didn't help, I can only imagine my distaste if that would be het-triangle-only. So much overthinking and drama. I didn't even like the polyamory here - this is the kind I dislike the most. Two people disliking each other, but bearing to be around for that one they love. Ugh. Nope.
There was also a little too much talk about sexuality and relationships. While I believe that it's good that such books are written, it was too much in-yo-face.
The good? Writing. Malinda Lo is a treasure. I love her style.
Characters - despite the drama, each and every character has its own merit. And, what made me really want to read on, side-characters were even better. I love Reese's parents - they're nicely fleshed-out, not just some noise in the background. Julian is great. But the best character, although she appeared in only few pages, was Torres. So much potential and maybe giving her such a small role was what gave the real punch to her importance.
All in all, it was a wasted potential, but still a good read.
February 28, 2014
This Young Adult novel gets an extra star for having a bisexual protagonist. I often like sci fi that is more social-science fiction than hard-science fiction. Social sci fi, like that of Ursula Le Guin or James Tiptree, Jr., tends to have a world where something is different socially rather than just technologically. In this case, it's the ability of the visiting aliens to communicate feelings through touch. That kind of sci fi, sometimes called New Wave sci fi, I think, usually has more of a focus on characterization than the old robots-and-rocket-ships stuff. The writing is often more literary, too.
The writing in Inheritance, however, struck me as competent but oddly bloodless and clunky. The characterizations were shallow and not all that interesting. The story and characters bored me, I’m afraid. At the end I had no desire to read the first book in this series, Adaptation. The one thing I really liked, however, was how it made me understand polyamory on an emotional level rather than just on an intellectual one. Thanks, Malinda Lo!
The writing in Inheritance, however, struck me as competent but oddly bloodless and clunky. The characterizations were shallow and not all that interesting. The story and characters bored me, I’m afraid. At the end I had no desire to read the first book in this series, Adaptation. The one thing I really liked, however, was how it made me understand polyamory on an emotional level rather than just on an intellectual one. Thanks, Malinda Lo!
January 6, 2020
I think this was a great ending for the Adaptation series, and I really liked how Lo wasn't scared to write things that are considered controversial (at least for our fellow humans). However I think that the book was unnecessarily long and that the middle part of the book didn't have any real meaning to the plot. The book could have been written a lot shorter and still would have contained the same amount of information and value.
September 18, 2019
The series is good. I don't quite like Reese as her insecurity annoyed me sometimes, but thinking back on my younger self I can definitely relate to her. Reese's bisexuality and polyamorous relationship with Amber and David are very interesting. If there's going to be a third book I would like to read to see how the main characters develop (more Amber, Reese/Amber please!).
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January 12, 2016Let's be real, this book features the only acceptable way to deal with love triangles. Bless Malinda Lo for unboringifying that.
Also this was pretty awesome. I'm not sure if all my questions from book one were answered? But I can't entirely remember what they were, so yeah.
Also this was pretty awesome. I'm not sure if all my questions from book one were answered? But I can't entirely remember what they were, so yeah.
May 23, 2020
Rough start to the book, first 10 chapters were really boring and I had to get through it. Once Amber was back in the story things got better and the story really picked up in the last half of the book.
April 26, 2014
This may not be as fast-paced as Adaptation, but I wasn't disappointed at all! I'm so so glad this duology exists, and I'm pushing it on everyone I can.
August 9, 2019
AAH THIS BOOK REESE A ND AMBER AND DAVID AND THE ENDING AND TH DIVERSITY AND THE PLOT AND CHARACTERS AND I JUST IM EMO BRB
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August 27, 2019so on point!!!! Lo's portrayal of internalised biphobia hit me like a ton of bricks.
October 5, 2018
It was ok, definitely YA as the author explained a lot of details to the reader. Quick ending without any clear polyamory explanations that I’ve read in the past, kinda disappointed in that.
July 2, 2021
i really enjoyed the first book because it had some exciting mystery and intrigue but this one was mostly just a lot of infodumping, a shitty love triangle, and a pretty unsatisfying ending.
September 2, 2017
I got to pg. 142 and had to dnf. I'm just not feeling it. The first book was okay but so far in this one, I'm not feeling the "clever, fast-paced, romantic adventure" that's described on the front of the book. I'm left bored and not feeling the romance. I don't feel the chemistry between Amber or David. Shame because I was hoping for some fire between them. Oh well, maybe I'll try again in the future.
May 24, 2022
3 stars. It was very slow to start, and although I loved the first one, I found it hard to get stuck into this one. I’m glad I stuck with it though, as it does pick up in the last third and has some very satisfying moments.
April 23, 2020
This was about 400 pages too long. Apparently it is the second book in a series. It wouldn't matter. I didn't like any of the characters. Even having aliens did not save it from the dreaded one star.
May 20, 2022
waddafuck. it was good tho
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