Series: The Big Empty #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Date: October 2004
Format: paperback
Source: purchased
Read: as part of the pre-college TBR cleanout
Pages: 204
Reading time: two hours
From GoodReads: One year ago, a devastating plague called Strain 7 killed three quarters of the human race. Around the world, power systems failed and supply chains screeched to a halt. The surviving population of the United States has been relocated to the coasts; the heartland is now a wasteland called the Big Empty. But seven teens trying to put their lives back together will learn that the abandoned zone holds danger, secrets, and above all, hope.
My review: The first book in the series, The Big Empty is mostly intended just to introduce the characters and their world. The chapters alternate between viewpoints, and so the overall plot is a little slow in developing before, towards the end, everyone meets up and the voices solidify into fewer groups. The novel's structure - many voices but limited book length - also means that the dialogue is occasionally a little stilted and melodramatic, with details made a bit rushed and underdeveloped as the overall progression of the plot is, at times, slow.
Still, the book is an interesting take on the aftermath of a common sci-fi element, the fast-killing, nearly invincible virus. The U.S. has descended into a somewhat chaotic dystopia, and the Midwest is supposed to be devoid of human life after having been evacuated (which makes me wonder how agriculture is faring). And as the seven characters make their way into the "Big Empty" for various reasons, readers know that, once the story gets started, the series should prove to be interesting and exciting.
Series: The Big Empty #2
Publisher: Razorbill
Date: October 2004
Format: paperback
Source: purchased
Read: as part of the pre-college TBR cleanout
Pages: 268
Reading time: three hours
From GoodReads: The secret community of Novo Mundum promised everything seven teens craved when the world they knew crumbled around them. But soon they realize that Novo Mundum is far from perfect. In fact, someone inside has the power to create an even scarier crisis than Strain 7. This second installment takes readers deeper into the post-apocalyptic America from The Big Empty, following the characters as they uncover a shocking truth about the identity of the traitor.
My review: I enjoyed The Big Empty, but Paradise City just incited my ire. It started out well enough: the character point-of-views quickly narrowed down to two main settings, and both plotlines were interesting. One group is off scouting for important supplies, while the other remains in the community, trying to infiltrate a possible saboteur. The only things that got tiring were the constant switching back-and-forth of viewpoints (just make longer chapters if you want to alternate POVs!) and a bit of unnecessary girlfriend/boyfriend drama mess.
The majority of the book continued in this way, which was fine. But then, towards the end, it just got ridiculous. The internal issues in Novo Mundum turned out to be totally unbelievable and unrealistic to me, at least in the context of how the community and its members had been set up in the first book and then throughout much of the second. The melodramatic feel to much of the dialogue, including the overuse of italics stressing words and phrases, made it hard for me to take the book seriously as the conspiracy unfolded. The final straw was perhaps the ending. One line of the story was wrapped up about 3/4 of the way through the book, with another one starting but then being left to hang in its middle on the final page! This was a most unsatisfying second installment of a series that had shown some nice potential in its first novel.
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