Monday 16 April 2012

Partials by Dan Wells **Review**


Partials by Dan Wells
Series: Partials #1
Pages: 482
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release date: 29th March 2012
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

Goodreads synopsis:
Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.


When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.


Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Battlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

I'm definitely really getting into my dystopian fiction at the moment, and Partials is one of the best, and most unique, that I've come across so far!
The story follows protagonist Kira, a 16-year-old intern in the maternity ward of East Meadow hospital - one of the toughest jobs in her world, seeing as none of the babies born on the ward for the past 11 years have survived, thanks to the virus that wiped out most of the human race after the rebellion of the Partials, bio-mechanic soldiers.
This premise is a really interesting one, and I found that, despite some of the points against the novel, which I will mention in a moment, the story managed to remain interesting enough for me to want and need to know how it was going to end.

The point against the novel that I'm talking about is mainly that, at times when there isn't really too much action, the pace of the novel is a little slow, and I did find myself slowing down with reading it, and getting a little distracted. This may be partially to do with the length of the book, but having said that, I don't feel like any of the novel was wasted - everything that was in the book was mostly crucial to the story line, so it all had a point.
So I guess that the slower bits that added to the length of the novel, also helped to enhance the world that the novel is set in, and I can't really complain about that! As I said, the premise of the novel is fantastic, the story line is mostly really gripping, and the world-building is fantastic, so I can easily overlook the lack of pace in places.

I also really enjoyed the mixture of characters in the novel. We have a typical divide between the 'good' characters (being Kira and her friends) and the 'bad guys' (being the senate and the 'government'). However, things are not as clear cut as we might think! Yes, the senate are the bad guys, but at the beginning we also think that all the Partials and The Voice (a group of rebels fighting against the senate) are bad guys too - but this may not be entirely the truth...!
Kira's character is a really interesting one, and I loved seeing how her character developed and adapted throughout the novel to deal with everything that was thrown in her way. I'll be really interested to see how her character changes further, in the next book in the series.

The end of the novel is definitely something worth mentioning. The last 60 pages are really fast-paced and exciting (kind of making up for the lack of pace earlier in the novel), and it definitely had my heart jumping around in my chest!
The cliffhanger at the very end is huge and so it's going to be a very long wait until I get to find out what will happen next. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more in this series, and would also definitely read more from this author after this series - he's a really great writer.

I recommend this to all fans of YA, dystopian fiction, science-fiction and fantasy. A great read!



23 comments:

IMAGINE said...

Your review sparked my curiosity. Will for sure read. Thank you. Keep writing

Passion for Novels said...

Great review Dani, I might steal it off your bookshelf :D

Stephanie said...

I've got this book at the minute and I'm so excited to read it! It sounds amazing. I'm a huge fan of Dystopians at the minute as well. Great review!

Book Passion for Life said...

Glad you to see you enjoyed it Dani! It's on of my next reads and I cannot wait. Donna xoxo

Lynn K. said...

"Partials is one of the best, and most unique, that I've come across so far!"
This sounds really promising! I've been meaning to read this for ages but it's one of those that I never seem to get around to. I'm in the mood for dystopian atm so I'm definitely bumping it up my list.

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I'm not usually a fan of cliffhangers (as I have absolutely no patience!) but the rest of it sounds amazing. I should be starting this fairly soon and can't wait! Awesome review, Dani! I know a lot of people are getting bored of dystopian fiction but I'm still loving all these great reads. It's great to hear you enjoyed this! :)

Dani Cotton said...

Bored of dystopian fiction?! But they can be so different and unique.
I think that's what I like most about them - they're so much more imaginative (when done well) than normal contemporary fiction or fantasy.

I really hope you enjoy it, Sam!

Steph said...

Thanks for the review! I really want to read this one - it's been on my TBR list for awhile now. I've heard great things!

Rose said...

Great review!! I can't wait to get this book! It sounds soooo good!!! :D

Amy S. said...

This book is sitting on my bookshelf right now. I checked it out from the library but haven't read it yet. I seem to keep picking up other books first. I need to hurry up and read it before it comes due. I'm glad the ending is exciting, although cliffhangers are frustrating!

Suz said...

Great review! I have read so many good things about this book and I'm glad to see that you liked it too! I can't wait to read it!

Evie said...

I really like the concept of this book and the characters seem really interesting and not so predictable.

Anonymous said...

Great review!! This sounds really good and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

The Avid Reader said...

Partials has been on my TBR list for a while. It sounds like a really good read.

Unknown said...

Just started reading this one this week and so far I am enjoying it. I can't wait to get deeper into it....only on the first chapter.Thanks for your review

Kimberleigh said...

I've been thinking of reading this one, I've read many mixed reviews on it, but it's great that you liked it! Thank you for the review!

Jerz Bookish Nerd said...

I won this book a month ago or so and I havent gotten to it but I've heard such good things about it. After this review I might just bump it up on the my to reads list

Shelby said...

Can't wait to read this one- thanks for the great review!
~Shelby
http://gobsandgobsofbooks.blogspot.com/

Kim said...

This is the first time I've heard of this book but you have definitely definitely convinced me about it! I might actually purchase this one on my next book haul :P

- Kim

Sophia Rose said...

I cannot wait to read this one for myself.

Thanks for sharing your review!

Natalie_vintage_girl said...

Great review:) I recently read this book too. I thought it was great. 'Partials' is a pretty interesting title too

Jennifer said...

My library has this book and i haven't been sure if I should read it. Now i'm looking forward to it, thannks.

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Just got my copy of this and can't wait to start it.

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