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The Sieger Chronicles
The Sieger Chronicles - Book One - Traditions of Their Fathers
It’s the year 2060 and Benjamin True Sieger finds himself in the middle of a battle against a corrupt dystopian regime. Despite long odds and constant danger, Ben and the brave group of fighters go to war for what they believe in most - freedom. An insightful look at emotion, character, and power, you won’t want to miss the riveting first novel in The Sieger Traditions of Their Fathers. Perfect for YA fans of the Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Divergent Series.
314 pages, Paperback
Published October 6, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2018
*Thank you to the author for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*
Actual Rating: 2.5
I've been looking for another dystopian book to read, so I definitely snatched this one up!
Traditions of Their Fathers is the first book of The Sieger Chronicles; it takes place in the year 2060, in a world where the new and renamed United States is led by a president who has figured out a way to keep the public contained by spiking the water system. Ben lives with his family in a bunker far away from civilization, and he has a million questions about his way of life. Those questions aren't answered until their home is attacked, and suddenly Ben is thrown into a world of rebellion, into a world he has never seen.
The set-up and setting of this book were really great! I think the world-building was very thought out.
However, I do think the writing style could be improved. It's a lot of "telling, not showing," and there were a lot of unnecessary lines and details. For example, this part: "Abby asked Aunt Verna to tell more stories. Aunt Verna had no trouble recounting story after story. Abby soaked it all in" (169) seemed very wordy, especially to talk about a very minor scene. Overall, this made the pace very dragged out in terms of sentence count, but it also meant that scenes that could have used more detail were still written vaguely. In addition, there were several chapters throughout the book that I think could have been shortened to a paragraph, as they were filler chapters that only seemed to focus on time jumps and did not need that much attention.
The characters were quite interesting and there were definitely a lot of them! However, I think, going along with the writing style, the character introductions could have been personalized better through actions, rather than providing every character with a paragraph of background information that often read too much like an "about me" page.
The romance was also a little forced. It was very obvious that the characters were supposed to be shipped together, and I personally felt like it would have been better to let their relationship mellow and connect slowly, rather than continuously state explicitly that the characters liked each other but couldn't be together for this or that reason.
Another thing I noticed was that the writing seemed to suddenly switch to third person omniscient, but only when it was convenient. Although I like dramatic irony, I'm a bigger fan of surprises, and I think these perspective changes meant that there weren't really any. Additionally, I also think it's unnecessary to switch to another character's point of view before they're introduced.
Overall, it was definitely the writing style that wasn't really my thing. I did like the world-building and set-up of the story a lot, and I think it had a lot of potential.
Actual Rating: 2.5
I've been looking for another dystopian book to read, so I definitely snatched this one up!
Traditions of Their Fathers is the first book of The Sieger Chronicles; it takes place in the year 2060, in a world where the new and renamed United States is led by a president who has figured out a way to keep the public contained by spiking the water system. Ben lives with his family in a bunker far away from civilization, and he has a million questions about his way of life. Those questions aren't answered until their home is attacked, and suddenly Ben is thrown into a world of rebellion, into a world he has never seen.
The set-up and setting of this book were really great! I think the world-building was very thought out.
However, I do think the writing style could be improved. It's a lot of "telling, not showing," and there were a lot of unnecessary lines and details. For example, this part: "Abby asked Aunt Verna to tell more stories. Aunt Verna had no trouble recounting story after story. Abby soaked it all in" (169) seemed very wordy, especially to talk about a very minor scene. Overall, this made the pace very dragged out in terms of sentence count, but it also meant that scenes that could have used more detail were still written vaguely. In addition, there were several chapters throughout the book that I think could have been shortened to a paragraph, as they were filler chapters that only seemed to focus on time jumps and did not need that much attention.
The characters were quite interesting and there were definitely a lot of them! However, I think, going along with the writing style, the character introductions could have been personalized better through actions, rather than providing every character with a paragraph of background information that often read too much like an "about me" page.
The romance was also a little forced. It was very obvious that the characters were supposed to be shipped together, and I personally felt like it would have been better to let their relationship mellow and connect slowly, rather than continuously state explicitly that the characters liked each other but couldn't be together for this or that reason.
Another thing I noticed was that the writing seemed to suddenly switch to third person omniscient, but only when it was convenient. Although I like dramatic irony, I'm a bigger fan of surprises, and I think these perspective changes meant that there weren't really any. Additionally, I also think it's unnecessary to switch to another character's point of view before they're introduced.
Overall, it was definitely the writing style that wasn't really my thing. I did like the world-building and set-up of the story a lot, and I think it had a lot of potential.
July 3, 2018
Traditions of their Fathers, book 1 in the Sieger Chronicles, is one part dystopia, one part mystery, one part thriller, Cory Ellsworth’s characters have to flee their home as government agents try to destroy it. During that flight, Ben Sieger learns all about the true nature of the world: that corrupt governments have tampered with the water and are controlling the populace, and that the one in charge, the much beloved leaders of the people might be the Devil himself.
Ellsworth’s characters are believable and it reads well for a YA. There is a great unfolding element of mystery as Ben and his friends go on a high-stakes journey of self-discovery in an all-too possible American nightmare of power-mad military and government corruption.
The writing is tight and care is taken not to info dump; the narrative unfolds as the Ben discovers the truth about the corrupt system and felt reminiscent of the middle Hunger Games books (as Katniss finally realizes the level of systemic rot in the oligarchy and determines to do something about it.) That all gives it a brilliant setup for future installments.
Traditions of their Fathers is a clean read and remains interesting for most age groups. I’d recommend it for any jr high student or beyond. I got a free copy in exchange for a review at Inside the Inkwell Blog.
Ellsworth’s characters are believable and it reads well for a YA. There is a great unfolding element of mystery as Ben and his friends go on a high-stakes journey of self-discovery in an all-too possible American nightmare of power-mad military and government corruption.
The writing is tight and care is taken not to info dump; the narrative unfolds as the Ben discovers the truth about the corrupt system and felt reminiscent of the middle Hunger Games books (as Katniss finally realizes the level of systemic rot in the oligarchy and determines to do something about it.) That all gives it a brilliant setup for future installments.
Traditions of their Fathers is a clean read and remains interesting for most age groups. I’d recommend it for any jr high student or beyond. I got a free copy in exchange for a review at Inside the Inkwell Blog.
May 8, 2018
It kept my attention. You really fall in love with the heroes. I feel like it could have been a little more filled out with details, some things just got glossed over that could have been more in depth.
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November 1, 2017The concept of putting drugs in drinking water is very original. In all my years of reading dystopian books or books about freedom fighters, I have never read anything like this, and I am craving more! This is also in a futuristic, realistic setting which actually could happen. I adored the rebellion and the inside look at people who risk their lives fighting for freedom and justice for society. I enjoyed the imagery and the suspense with the dangerous missions. Ben is years beyond his age, and his character development in maturity and bravery is enthralling. He is a gentleman, and always apologizing and thanking everyone. Ben is a good-hearted person that anyone would be lucky to know! Read my full review at http://pagesforthoughts.blogspot.com/...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews