Oryx and Crake - Reading the Rest of the MaddAddam Trilogy (October 2013)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

As someone who has read the entire trilogy twice (yes, since #3 came out!), I thought I'd tease you with what happens in the rest of the trilogy. No spoilers.

The Year of the Flood is a parallel story to Oryx and Crake, following the lives of two surviving women. You learn a lot more about the life outside the CorpsdeCorps and in the Pleeblands, and an intriguing background to the God's Gardeners cult that has very interesting ties to some of the characters in Oryx and Crake. There is humor in this novel that I hadn't expected, dark humor, but each chapter starts with a sermon of sorts, followed by a hymn, and it's fun to see the tone morph as situations grow more dire. I've heard the audio is great for this with the hymns.

MaddAddam continues the story and without naming names, is half the developing folklore of the Children of Crake, very fun, and half the continuing story of the survivors.

Have any of you read these others, and if so, what did you think?

[Sophia]

No, I've not read the other two books in this trilogy and I'm not inclined to. Which, in your opinion, is the best of these novels?

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Sophia wrote: "No, I've not read the other two books in this trilogy and I'm not inclined to. Which, in your opinion, is the best of these novels?"

Oryx and Crake is the best because it introduces the world. The others can only really introduce new characters.

[Sophia]

Are we given any more information about the world, courtesy of the other characters?

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

Sophia wrote: "Are we given any more information about the world, courtesy of the other characters?"
Absolutely. The inside view of the Pleeblands and the cult - both essential. People who seemed heroic in Oryx and Crake may grow less so with more information.

[Sophia]

Right... At this rate I am gong to have to satisfy my curiosity!

[LindaJ^]

Sophia wrote: "No, I've not read the other two books in this trilogy and I'm not inclined to. Which, in your opinion, is the best of these novels?"

I've not yet read MaddAddam, but I liked The Year of the Flood more than Oryx and Crake, although I liked it. I remember being left a bit mystified by Oryx and Crake and I did not really appreciate how The Year of Flood fit with Oryx and Crake. Maybe MaddAddam will help me pull them together better!

[Jessica]

I also enjoyed The Year of the Flood more than Oryx and Crake, the characters were more accessible to me. I just finished Maddaddam, and I love the mythology created for the Crakers. It also tied up some loose ends pertaining to the origins of Maddaddam and God's Gardeners, and the ending was very hopeful. While each book can stand alone as a complete story, and while I don't typically get into reading entire series', I do think reading the trilogy as a whole is a richer experience, particularly in this case because there is so much information to take in, if that makes sense. Also, as I mentioned above, Maddaddam does have a hopeful ending, which might satisfy those who found the other two novels rather bleak.