Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Scholastic Inc.
Pages
444
Description
Fantasy. Romance. Young Adult Fiction. Young Adult Literature. HTML: The #1 New York Times bestselling series! Perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, Glass Sword is the high-stakes follow up to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen. Mare Barrow's blood is red�??the color of common folk�??but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince�??the friend�??who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever? And don't miss Broken Throne: A Red Queen Collection, featuring three brand-new novellas and other exclusive content, coming in April!… (more)
Description
If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.
Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.
The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.
Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.
But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.
Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?
The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.
Series
Collection
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2016-02-09
Physical description
444 p.; 8 inches
ISBN
9781338187618
Similar in this library
Lexile
L
User reviews
LibraryThing member bell7
Mare Barrow is now on the run from Maven, the prince who betrayed her, revealing himself as a schemer and king-killer. Farley, the Captain of the Scarlet Guard who dreams of revolution, and Cal, Maven's half-brother, are with her but Mare has never felt more alone. Who can she trust?
Imagine a world
Imagine a world
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where Silver - the ones in charge with extra-special powers like strength or the ability to control metal - and Red - the regular old humans, who are impoverished and conscripted in the army - exist. Mare is something other, a "newblood" who is Red in blood but has a power even stronger than the Silvers. She can control lightning, and electricity itself, and her ability is growing along with her capacity to control it. Now she knows there are more out there like her, and she's determined to continue her old tutor Julian's work, with help from Farley, Cal and her newly rediscovered alive brother Shade or without them, should they choose not to follow her. Indeed, Mare is really hard to like in this book, absolutely ruthless and as distrustful as she was trusting in Red Queen. Her very mission entails jumping around and I was reminded in a way of both Mockingjay and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the way the story skipped around from place to place. Except this is still the middle of the story so we get a final showdown and a cliffhanger. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beammey
I liked this book a lot more than Red Queen and I love when sequels turn out better than the first book in the series, but there was just something about Mare that rubbed me the wrong way. I understand her guilt, I GET it, but I didn't like reading about it every other page. I found that sort of
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annoying, actually? But other than that, good story line, amazing characters, I would recommend this book. 4.5 out of 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
A strong follow-up to Red Queen. Mare and Cal escape their executions by the skin of their teeth and now Mare is determined to find others like her - Red-blooded citizens with the powers previously only found in the Silver-blooded. Making allies and enemies along her way, Mare's journey makes for
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fast-paced, gripping reading. Highly recommended to fans of YA dystopian novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member LongDogMom
It took me a bit of time to get back into the story and remember what had happened in the first book. While I enjoyed this one, I didn't like it as much as the first book in the series. I found Mare to be less likeable this time around, and I found her self-talk to be somewhat melodramtic. It
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became tiresome after a while. Not sure how I feel about her and her revolution in light of Cal and what's been done to him and what he deserves. Mare comes off as rather selfish and cold, and I don't know that I agree with the choices she is making. It's a complicated role that she has, but in many ways she seems to be just as cruel and blind as those she's trying to topple. Will be interesting to see what happened in the final book. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
This is the second book in the Red Queen series and I enjoyed it but not quite as much as I enjoyed the first book. There are three books planned for this series.
This book finds Mare spending the majority of her time fleeing from place to place with the Red Guard trying to rescue the other Red
The story picks up more in the second half of the book when Mare decides to actually do something useful with her status and power and I enjoyed this a lot more.
There’s a lot of tension between Cal and Mare throughout; they’ve decided to focus on their mission and not each other which makes for some interesting scenes.
I really do enjoy Aveyard’s writing style; it’s very engaging and easy to read. I do think that the first part of the story could have been paced a bit better and that the story as a whole was a bit bulky; but overall I enjoyed it.
Overall a good addition to the Red Queen series. This is a wonderful epic fantasy of sorts (if also has kind of a sci-fi, superhero, and dystopian vibe to it). There are a lot of politics and sneaking around. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA epic fantasy. I will definitely be reading the third book to see how things wrap up.
This book finds Mare spending the majority of her time fleeing from place to place with the Red Guard trying to rescue the other Red
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Bloods with powers life herself. The Red Guard doesn’t trust Cal at all and trusts Mare only a very little bit. This encompassed the first half of the book and was a bit slow for me. Mare seems a bit tired through this part of the book and reminded me a bit of Katniss in Mockingjay; just worn out and sick of being used. She’s just too complacent.The story picks up more in the second half of the book when Mare decides to actually do something useful with her status and power and I enjoyed this a lot more.
There’s a lot of tension between Cal and Mare throughout; they’ve decided to focus on their mission and not each other which makes for some interesting scenes.
I really do enjoy Aveyard’s writing style; it’s very engaging and easy to read. I do think that the first part of the story could have been paced a bit better and that the story as a whole was a bit bulky; but overall I enjoyed it.
Overall a good addition to the Red Queen series. This is a wonderful epic fantasy of sorts (if also has kind of a sci-fi, superhero, and dystopian vibe to it). There are a lot of politics and sneaking around. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA epic fantasy. I will definitely be reading the third book to see how things wrap up.
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LibraryThing member amandacb
I couldn't get all the way through this book, which is disappointing since I loved THE RED QUEEN. I found this book, the half that I read, to be a majority of exposition--lots of telling, little doing. Mare is not as fierce and interesting as she was in the first book.
LibraryThing member Ariana723
The first book had me at the edge of my seat and so did this one. The thrill and anxiety I had during each mission completely overtook me. I was in there through it all and I loved every minute of it. The third book cannot come fast enough, definitely, this series will go down in my top 3 ones.
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Mixing X-men with Lord of the rings I am so in love with the series and I honestly cannot wait to see what happens in the third book. Show Less
LibraryThing member ComposingComposer
I'm trying to figure out what to rate this one. It was trying so hard to be the next Hunger Games or the next Divergent. In both of those series the main characters suffered severe psychological damage after all of pain and war the went through, and so Victoria Aveyard makes Mare suffer severe
I thought that Kilorn had the potential to get more interesting in this book, and I thought that he and Mare might actually work well romantically, but those hopes were dashed. Mare is just so psycho that I don't think she would work well romantically with anyone (and Kilorn probably deserves better.) As for Kilorn getting more interesting... Well, he's still one of the most interesting characters in this series, but he did not get any more interesting than he was in the first book.
What surprised me is how interesting Shade and Farley ended up being. I didn't expect that at all. Unfortunately, things happened in this book.Shade died and, while I'm glad Farley is (most likely) pregnant with his child, that means that she will likely take a backseat role in the next book. To be honest, I am quite disappointed in the fact that Shade died. When there are really only three interesting characters in a series, it's a pretty big deal when one of those three is killed off. Especially because, now that I think about it, the reason I thought Shade and Farley interesting had more to do with the novella from Farley's point of view than with this book, so, lame. There I would have liked to see Shade's reaction to Farley's pregnancy, and we were robbed of that. We were robbed of most of their relationship, in fact, since Mare was too self-centered to notice until right before Shade died.
There were no other interesting characters. Even Cameron, who was clearly supposed to be interesting, was just the typical gifted but stubborn, snotty teenager who has potential to turn villainous with her special powers and desire for vengeance. Maybe she and Maven will get together.
I truly don't know how Mare ended up a psychopath. She killed unarmed people begging for mercy. If a silver had done the same thing to reds, she would call them a monster, but she thinks that she is allowed to do whatever she wants. And I'm sorry, no matter how important you might think you are for a rebellion, any character who keeps going on about how their running ahead to make sure they survive is justified because the rebellion "needs" them is automatically an unpleasant, self-centered, egotistical and unlikeable. I have never run into a character who thought like that. Katniss was fully aware that she was one of the most important people for the rebellion in Panem, but not once did she think that she needed to live more than Prim or Gale or even Peeta, just because of that. Harry Potter was willing to sacrifice his life to save others even in the first book. Even Tris, who is not one of my favorite characters, was willing to sacrifice herself to save her comrades. It's obvious that Aveyard was trying to make 'little lightning girl' and 'red queen' into the new version of 'the Mockingjay,' but sadly it didn't really work. When the creepy twin guys asked Mare to come with them to their kingdom, she asked them if they'd exchange silver masters for newbloods, but that question was out of character for her, because it seems to me that she would just love to be the all-powerful lightning queen. She even refers to herself as the red queen. She craves power. She has turned into a villain.
The scene at the end happened too fast, and it felt completely forced. I thought that the writing seemed far too cinematic. Mare was also completely out of character.She gave herself up to save the others? Yeah, sure. Because Maven is really going to release her captured friends just because she says she won't fight. He had all of them under his control, he is not going to let them go just because Mare said to. It felt more like Mare wanted to look like she was a self-sacrificing hero then she actually wanted to be one. She knew Maven wouldn't let anyone go, so she decided to pretend to be brave and give herself up so that she would look selfless. Or, that's what it felt like to me at any rate.
I will probably read the next book, but mostly because Victoria Aveyard's writing style is good (except for when she's writing a scene just because she knows it will look good in a movie,) and because the audiobook reader is good. Honestly if I weren't reading these books via audiobook I don't think I could have finished them. Hopefully we will see some more of the slightly more interesting characters, and hopefully they will continue to get more interesting. And hopefully the boring, creepy characters will get more interesting as well. Though if there's more than just one book left in the series and neither the plot, nor the characters get more interesting, I might just have to quit.
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psychological damage. The problem is that I don't quite know what Mare went through to make her this bad. I mean, the stuff in the arena at the end of book one was bad, but nothing compared with what Katniss and Tris suffered. Katniss was put in an arena and told to fight to death twice, and then she was practically forced to be the Mockingjay and lead a war effort, and watched her friends and family suffer and die. Tris lost both her parents in less then twenty-four hours, and basically lost her brother too. I would certainly understand if Mare had PTSD, but she is basically turning into a villain. At one point she calls Cal a hypocrite because he values silver lives above red lives (even though he was raised in that attitude and is obviously learning to value red lives just as much as silver ones, albeit slowly.) Yet Mare values red lives far above silver ones, and values newbloods even more than she values red, making her even more of a hypocrite than Cal. She was so self-centered that she continually forgets about her entire family except Shade, her favorite brother, and fellow newblood.I thought that Kilorn had the potential to get more interesting in this book, and I thought that he and Mare might actually work well romantically, but those hopes were dashed. Mare is just so psycho that I don't think she would work well romantically with anyone (and Kilorn probably deserves better.) As for Kilorn getting more interesting... Well, he's still one of the most interesting characters in this series, but he did not get any more interesting than he was in the first book.
What surprised me is how interesting Shade and Farley ended up being. I didn't expect that at all. Unfortunately, things happened in this book.
There were no other interesting characters. Even Cameron, who was clearly supposed to be interesting, was just the typical gifted but stubborn, snotty teenager who has potential to turn villainous with her special powers and desire for vengeance. Maybe she and Maven will get together.
I truly don't know how Mare ended up a psychopath. She killed unarmed people begging for mercy. If a silver had done the same thing to reds, she would call them a monster, but she thinks that she is allowed to do whatever she wants. And I'm sorry, no matter how important you might think you are for a rebellion, any character who keeps going on about how their running ahead to make sure they survive is justified because the rebellion "needs" them is automatically an unpleasant, self-centered, egotistical and unlikeable. I have never run into a character who thought like that. Katniss was fully aware that she was one of the most important people for the rebellion in Panem, but not once did she think that she needed to live more than Prim or Gale or even Peeta, just because of that. Harry Potter was willing to sacrifice his life to save others even in the first book. Even Tris, who is not one of my favorite characters, was willing to sacrifice herself to save her comrades. It's obvious that Aveyard was trying to make 'little lightning girl' and 'red queen' into the new version of 'the Mockingjay,' but sadly it didn't really work. When the creepy twin guys asked Mare to come with them to their kingdom, she asked them if they'd exchange silver masters for newbloods, but that question was out of character for her, because it seems to me that she would just love to be the all-powerful lightning queen. She even refers to herself as the red queen. She craves power. She has turned into a villain.
The scene at the end happened too fast, and it felt completely forced. I thought that the writing seemed far too cinematic. Mare was also completely out of character.
I will probably read the next book, but mostly because Victoria Aveyard's writing style is good (except for when she's writing a scene just because she knows it will look good in a movie,) and because the audiobook reader is good. Honestly if I weren't reading these books via audiobook I don't think I could have finished them. Hopefully we will see some more of the slightly more interesting characters, and hopefully they will continue to get more interesting. And hopefully the boring, creepy characters will get more interesting as well. Though if there's more than just one book left in the series and neither the plot, nor the characters get more interesting, I might just have to quit.
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LibraryThing member acargile
Red Queen was book one; this is the second book, which I think is better than the first.
Mare Barrow, Shade, Kilorn, Farley, and Cal are running--they’ve escaped, but they aren’t free yet. The novel begins with a dangerous hope of outrunning Maven and his soldiers. Once they get away, Mare wants
As I mentioned, I like this novel better than the first although I don’t really know why specifically. Cal and Mare have difficult choices. He doesn’t fit in, yet he knows that Maven must be brought down. Mare feels she must fight for the reds but knows that not all silvers are bad. The reds are drawn to revenge only; the silvers see themselves as masters. At some point, the silvers and reds must find common ground or chaos will ensue. Cal and Mare’s relationship reflects this precarious problem. Mare can get on my nerves because she doesn’t listen. Everyone has to hear opinions make informed decisions; Mare tends to only focus on her own thoughts. Prepare yourself for death--these are battles and some characters must die. Also, the end is a cliffhanger, so be prepared to wait for another year for book three. I don’t know how many books are planned. Currently, four books are listed. If you liked the first book, you’ll like this, so get reading!
Mare Barrow, Shade, Kilorn, Farley, and Cal are running--they’ve escaped, but they aren’t free yet. The novel begins with a dangerous hope of outrunning Maven and his soldiers. Once they get away, Mare wants
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to find all the new bloods and give them a choice: run and hide for their lives or join her and the Scarlet Guard to fight against the silvers and ultimately, Maven. In this novel, they are dashing about gathering their own army of new bloods. They have several risky operations with the ultimate goal of overthrowing Maven and Elara. Not wanting to spoil the novel, I’m not revealing anything else.As I mentioned, I like this novel better than the first although I don’t really know why specifically. Cal and Mare have difficult choices. He doesn’t fit in, yet he knows that Maven must be brought down. Mare feels she must fight for the reds but knows that not all silvers are bad. The reds are drawn to revenge only; the silvers see themselves as masters. At some point, the silvers and reds must find common ground or chaos will ensue. Cal and Mare’s relationship reflects this precarious problem. Mare can get on my nerves because she doesn’t listen. Everyone has to hear opinions make informed decisions; Mare tends to only focus on her own thoughts. Prepare yourself for death--these are battles and some characters must die. Also, the end is a cliffhanger, so be prepared to wait for another year for book three. I don’t know how many books are planned. Currently, four books are listed. If you liked the first book, you’ll like this, so get reading!
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LibraryThing member mtlkch
The first one was much, much better.
LibraryThing member starsandscribbles
** spoiler alert ** In this continuation of the Red Queen series, Mare is tested -- and in more ways than one. She feels this incredible amount of guilt for all of the things she's done over the course of the last two books. Ultimately, it is her choices that end up deciding everyone's fate and she
I like Mare a lot more in this book, because she becomes increasingly complex. She becomes almost a villain -- an anti-hero -- because she does what she has to and can never be saved. She tries to justify her decisions, but at the same time carries all this rage, hate, and anger for what the Silvers are still forcing her to do. She has a choice to bestow mercy and rejects it, making her transform into a monster that Cal is afraid of.
Cal is complex as well; I figured that he still loves Mare, even though she's become less human over the time span of this book. The fact that she said she wouldn't go back to Maven, no matter what and then sacrificing herself for him and Kilorn by doing the very thing she said she wouldn't do takes a lot of courage and self-loathing. I'm hoping Cal will be the one to rescue her and make it right, to ease her doubts and tell her that he's not going anywhere. Their relationship is about to get even more complicated, but I think it will work.
Maven, at the end of this book, is motivated by vengeance. Even though he puts her on display, I'm wondering what other modes of torture he has waiting for her. He doesn't want to kill her, but then... what will he do with her?
What I'm really impressed with is how Aveyard does a really good job describing the conflict of war. Not only the military strategy that is embodied by the Colonel and Cal, but how after battles people's motives and views change drastically. Mare couldn't save her brother, but still feels responsible for his death. She goes into battle not willing to make that same sacrifice again, and sacrifices herself instead. Cal is trying to keep his humanity by not killing as many people as possible, but ultimately dooms Shade because he did not kill Samos. And the Colonel, I think, knows better not to challenge Mare because she more determined than ever to destroy Maven and his rule. Can't wait for the next book in the series... and more novellas!
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doesn't want that responsibility. Jon the Seer gives her a vision of how she can help save lives, but some must be sacrificed in the process... including her own.I like Mare a lot more in this book, because she becomes increasingly complex. She becomes almost a villain -- an anti-hero -- because she does what she has to and can never be saved. She tries to justify her decisions, but at the same time carries all this rage, hate, and anger for what the Silvers are still forcing her to do. She has a choice to bestow mercy and rejects it, making her transform into a monster that Cal is afraid of.
Cal is complex as well; I figured that he still loves Mare, even though she's become less human over the time span of this book. The fact that she said she wouldn't go back to Maven, no matter what and then sacrificing herself for him and Kilorn by doing the very thing she said she wouldn't do takes a lot of courage and self-loathing. I'm hoping Cal will be the one to rescue her and make it right, to ease her doubts and tell her that he's not going anywhere. Their relationship is about to get even more complicated, but I think it will work.
Maven, at the end of this book, is motivated by vengeance. Even though he puts her on display, I'm wondering what other modes of torture he has waiting for her. He doesn't want to kill her, but then... what will he do with her?
What I'm really impressed with is how Aveyard does a really good job describing the conflict of war. Not only the military strategy that is embodied by the Colonel and Cal, but how after battles people's motives and views change drastically. Mare couldn't save her brother, but still feels responsible for his death. She goes into battle not willing to make that same sacrifice again, and sacrifices herself instead. Cal is trying to keep his humanity by not killing as many people as possible, but ultimately dooms Shade because he did not kill Samos. And the Colonel, I think, knows better not to challenge Mare because she more determined than ever to destroy Maven and his rule. Can't wait for the next book in the series... and more novellas!
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LibraryThing member agrimscythe
When it comes to book series, there's always a risk of the phenomenon called "second book syndrome." For those who aren't bookwyrms, this term refers most often to books that should have been left alone, rather than followed with a sequel. When I began reading Victoria Aveyard's sequel to Red
Beginning precisely where Red Queen left off, Glass Sword picks up after Mare and Cal have escaped the Bowl of Bones and Maven's betrayal. Together with Farley, Kilorn, and a few other characters come together in secrecy after relocating to rise against the new Silver King. Along the way, they pick up some allies - both expected and unexpected. Packed with action, it is easy to see why this series is a hit among young adults.
Naturally, I've read a few other reviews to see what the general consensus of this book is and I've discovered that most readers either hate it or love it - there's not a whole lot of in between. Personally, I enjoyed it. I found Glass Sword to be a fairly entertaining read and it served its purpose of keeping me awake on the hour long commute home (with no traffic). A few new characters are introduced, none of which are too memorable.
As far as romantic interests go, I can't really decide one way or another in regards to the three eligible males. I adore Maven's cold, cunning persona, Cal's stoic disposition, and Kilorn's particular shade of envy equally. Given that I don't care much for romantic sub-plots, a large part of me hopes that Mare doesn't choose any of them in the end. I enjoy watching as Mare changes and grows, and I am more vested in the kind of woman she turns out to be than her love life. Will she be the queen that her people need? Or will she become like Elara?
My only gripe with the narration of Glass Sword is the fact that Dolan pronounced Titanos in a completely different manner than she did throughout the entirety of Red Queen.
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Queen, Glass Sword, I was wary. A fellow bookwyrm informed me that she had not read the series yet and was largely unsure of whether or not she would because she'd heard quite a bit regarding the second book in the series being a flop. Nonetheless, I charged onward with the audiobook, once again narrated by the lovely voice of Amanda Dolan.Beginning precisely where Red Queen left off, Glass Sword picks up after Mare and Cal have escaped the Bowl of Bones and Maven's betrayal. Together with Farley, Kilorn, and a few other characters come together in secrecy after relocating to rise against the new Silver King. Along the way, they pick up some allies - both expected and unexpected. Packed with action, it is easy to see why this series is a hit among young adults.
Naturally, I've read a few other reviews to see what the general consensus of this book is and I've discovered that most readers either hate it or love it - there's not a whole lot of in between. Personally, I enjoyed it. I found Glass Sword to be a fairly entertaining read and it served its purpose of keeping me awake on the hour long commute home (with no traffic). A few new characters are introduced, none of which are too memorable.
As far as romantic interests go, I can't really decide one way or another in regards to the three eligible males. I adore Maven's cold, cunning persona, Cal's stoic disposition, and Kilorn's particular shade of envy equally. Given that I don't care much for romantic sub-plots, a large part of me hopes that Mare doesn't choose any of them in the end. I enjoy watching as Mare changes and grows, and I am more vested in the kind of woman she turns out to be than her love life. Will she be the queen that her people need? Or will she become like Elara?
My only gripe with the narration of Glass Sword is the fact that Dolan pronounced Titanos in a completely different manner than she did throughout the entirety of Red Queen.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: Mare Barrow stunned the world with the revelation that she, a Red, has powers that are normally only the realm of the ruling Silver class. But she was stunned in turn by the shocking betrayal of Prince Maven, a betrayal that left her on the run for her life, along with Maven's older
Review: While I enjoyed this book well enough while reading it - I rated it 4/5 stars when I finished it, which means "Very good, if not exceptional" - in the few months between then and now the bulk of it has entirely evaporated from my head. (Note to self: take better notes, self!) I suspect this is because, while the book was enjoyable, it bears a LOT of resemblance to a LOT of other YA dystopian fiction that's already out there. The ostensible good guys turn out to have just as many people of questionable ethics as the bad guys, and want to use our heroine as a figurehead to meet their own ends? Hello, Mockingjay. Girl born with special abilities whose very existence is a threat to the narrative of the ruling power structure? Sounds a heck of a lot like Divergent. And so on. This is not to say that Aveyard doesn't use these tropes effectively in this story, but... they are still tropes, which makes it hard for this book (or this series, really) to stand out from an already crowded field.
One thing that Aveyard did particularly well in the first book is plant some effective twists. The main theme (moral?) of this story is "Anyone can betray anyone, so trust no one". And while those betrayals were shockingly effective in the Red Queen, by the end of this book, it got kind of old. Not trusting anyone ever is exhausting, for the reader as well as for the characters, and I was over it by about the midway point. And while I understand Mare's reaction to the betrayals of her trust, and how it affects her relationships with those people left on her side, it does make her distinctly less likeable as she pushes everyone away in single-minded pursuit of her goal. I actually found myself liking a number of the secondary characters more than I liked Mare, which isn't necessarily a fatal flaw (again, see: Mockingjay), but does require the author to be willing to develop those characters a little more deeply than Aveyard has up to this point.
So, I'm torn on how to rate this book. I enjoyed it while I was listening to it - Amanda Dolan continues to do a very nice job with the audiobook narration - but I didn't tear through it the way I did Red Queen. It expands on the world of the first book, and I liked learning more about the newbloods and their powers, even if there were a lot of new characters introduced without a corresponding amount of character development. There are some pretty good action scenes, although I did get the sense that Aveyard was pulling some of her punches to save up the big confrontation for the third book. (I'm assuming it's a trilogy, like all its predecessors, although I'm not 100% sure that's true.) But I think it ultimately fell short of the first novel, and failed to make much of a lasting impression on me. So... 3 or maybe 3.5 out of 5 stars?
Recommendation: As I said about the first book, if you like YA dystopian novels, this book is in many ways more of the same, but it's more of the same done well (albeit not nearly as well in this book as in the first one). I'm going to reserve my judgement on the series as a whole until I see how it wraps up, though - and while I'll most likely read the next book, I'm now not in nearly as much of a rush to get my hands on it as I was for this one.
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brother, Prince Cal, who is the rightful heir to the throne. They turn to the Scarlet Guard - Mare out of solidarity with the Red cause, Cal more hesitantly, seeing it as his only way to bring down Maven and avenge their father. But the Scarlet Guard is not the haven Mare thinks it's going to be - she's distrusted there as much as anywhere, and betrayal is always lurking right around the corner. But Mare's ultimate mission is to find those like her - other Reds with the mutation that grants them powers - and recruit them before Maven can kill them and silence the rebellion for good.Review: While I enjoyed this book well enough while reading it - I rated it 4/5 stars when I finished it, which means "Very good, if not exceptional" - in the few months between then and now the bulk of it has entirely evaporated from my head. (Note to self: take better notes, self!) I suspect this is because, while the book was enjoyable, it bears a LOT of resemblance to a LOT of other YA dystopian fiction that's already out there. The ostensible good guys turn out to have just as many people of questionable ethics as the bad guys, and want to use our heroine as a figurehead to meet their own ends? Hello, Mockingjay. Girl born with special abilities whose very existence is a threat to the narrative of the ruling power structure? Sounds a heck of a lot like Divergent. And so on. This is not to say that Aveyard doesn't use these tropes effectively in this story, but... they are still tropes, which makes it hard for this book (or this series, really) to stand out from an already crowded field.
One thing that Aveyard did particularly well in the first book is plant some effective twists. The main theme (moral?) of this story is "Anyone can betray anyone, so trust no one". And while those betrayals were shockingly effective in the Red Queen, by the end of this book, it got kind of old. Not trusting anyone ever is exhausting, for the reader as well as for the characters, and I was over it by about the midway point. And while I understand Mare's reaction to the betrayals of her trust, and how it affects her relationships with those people left on her side, it does make her distinctly less likeable as she pushes everyone away in single-minded pursuit of her goal. I actually found myself liking a number of the secondary characters more than I liked Mare, which isn't necessarily a fatal flaw (again, see: Mockingjay), but does require the author to be willing to develop those characters a little more deeply than Aveyard has up to this point.
So, I'm torn on how to rate this book. I enjoyed it while I was listening to it - Amanda Dolan continues to do a very nice job with the audiobook narration - but I didn't tear through it the way I did Red Queen. It expands on the world of the first book, and I liked learning more about the newbloods and their powers, even if there were a lot of new characters introduced without a corresponding amount of character development. There are some pretty good action scenes, although I did get the sense that Aveyard was pulling some of her punches to save up the big confrontation for the third book. (I'm assuming it's a trilogy, like all its predecessors, although I'm not 100% sure that's true.) But I think it ultimately fell short of the first novel, and failed to make much of a lasting impression on me. So... 3 or maybe 3.5 out of 5 stars?
Recommendation: As I said about the first book, if you like YA dystopian novels, this book is in many ways more of the same, but it's more of the same done well (albeit not nearly as well in this book as in the first one). I'm going to reserve my judgement on the series as a whole until I see how it wraps up, though - and while I'll most likely read the next book, I'm now not in nearly as much of a rush to get my hands on it as I was for this one.
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
I am totally hooked on this series. It's a great combination of Hunger Games meet Marvel's X-Men and since this is only book two of a trilogy, we're left with a cliff hanger. Until 2017. Aargh! Can't wait!
LibraryThing member CInacio
I'm glad I continued the series - this second installment was much more intriguing and well-written. The author seems to really be developing the characters in this continuation of the story and I'm interested to see how Mare's story with Cal is going to play out.
LibraryThing member cybercarotte
Pretty good, though not quite as much as the first one...
LibraryThing member Tabatha014
Probably more like 2.5 stars. This book wasn't really what I wanted it to be. Mare annoyed me with her constant references to her power and how she was a total jerk to the people who had stood by her even though she disregarded how they felt. I thin the ending is the only thing that saved it for me.
LibraryThing member danaenicole
I found this one really boring compared to Red Queen. I think the plot just moved along too slowly.
I also got confused a time or two when I misread a sentence because it wasn't immediately clear that Aveyard was referring to a character's ability. For example a sentence like "She saw two eyes" not
Also, in my review for "The Hunger Games", I mentioned the belief Aveyard and Collins share that one cannot scream without a tongue. Sara (who was supposedly "unable to scream in fear") still has perfectly good vocal chords. She can still make noise through her mouth. She can't shape that noise into understandable words because of her lack of tongue, but she most certainly would be able to scream. The tongue has nothing to do with screaming.
I also got confused a time or two when I misread a sentence because it wasn't immediately clear that Aveyard was referring to a character's ability. For example a sentence like "She saw two eyes" not
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referring to the body part, but to people who have the ability to see into the future. I think Aveyard should have capitalized those words (Eyes, Silks, Strongarms, etc.) to make it more clear and reading more smooth.Also, in my review for "The Hunger Games", I mentioned the belief Aveyard and Collins share that one cannot scream without a tongue. Sara (who was supposedly "unable to scream in fear") still has perfectly good vocal chords. She can still make noise through her mouth. She can't shape that noise into understandable words because of her lack of tongue, but she most certainly would be able to scream. The tongue has nothing to do with screaming.
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LibraryThing member Jessika.C
Geez Victoria could you at least give me a satisfying moment between Cal and Maren that doesn't feel forced?
Okay all I have to say about this one is that it wasn't bad. I don't know why but I still feel underwhelmed with this book series and I feel bad about it. Everyone hypes it up as this big
This is my second time trying to read this book so I could give it a fair and final chance to see if I could possibly like a book for the main female lead but I can't. All I wants to see from now on is Maven ha ha ha. And trust me if you're anything like me, a person who picks up not so subtle hints from the 'camera' and feels like no line of dialogue is an accident then the final bits aren't that surprising at all.
Okay all I have to say about this one is that it wasn't bad. I don't know why but I still feel underwhelmed with this book series and I feel bad about it. Everyone hypes it up as this big
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cool thing but it really isn't. I will say one thing that I enjoy are the action scenes. Sometimes authors get wound up in the feeling of the moment but I wanna see what's actually happening. Lucky for me Aveyard knows what I want to see. But sadly her characters just fall flat and the "twists" aren't very twisty. This is my second time trying to read this book so I could give it a fair and final chance to see if I could possibly like a book for the main female lead but I can't. All I wants to see from now on is Maven ha ha ha. And trust me if you're anything like me, a person who picks up not so subtle hints from the 'camera' and feels like no line of dialogue is an accident then the final bits aren't that surprising at all.
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LibraryThing member Shiinale
This was just so utterly boring. Nothing like the 1st book. Don't think I'll be revisiting this series.
LibraryThing member NeedMoreShelves
For the record, at this point, I am only continuing the series to root for the female trifecta of Mare, Farley, and Kamryn to kick all those dudes in the a##.
LibraryThing member seriesousbooks
I really hummed and hawed over DNFing this one or not. Even ran a Twitter poll...most people said to DNF it.
I was SO BORED by this book!
I LOVED the Red Queen! I was a strong defender of it, telling everyone to not be so hard on it and all that. So Glass Sword was one of my most anticipated reads
But this was dreadfully dry. Nothing seemed to be happen except the passing of time.
Understandably, everyone is a little beaten down. Mare especially. I really struggled with her character. Cal was so dull; and there was very little Maven.
This is the very definition of a Book 2 slump if you ask me. It's just one of those bridging books that is a necessary evil to the series. Seems like something big happens at the end that I am curious about, but not curious enough to pick this one back up.
It's been 8 months since I stopped in the middle of the novel and I haven't regretted it yet.
Perhaps Ill finish it another time but as of right now, this is a DNF'd series for me.
I was SO BORED by this book!
I LOVED the Red Queen! I was a strong defender of it, telling everyone to not be so hard on it and all that. So Glass Sword was one of my most anticipated reads
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of 2016.But this was dreadfully dry. Nothing seemed to be happen except the passing of time.
Understandably, everyone is a little beaten down. Mare especially. I really struggled with her character. Cal was so dull; and there was very little Maven.
This is the very definition of a Book 2 slump if you ask me. It's just one of those bridging books that is a necessary evil to the series. Seems like something big happens at the end that I am curious about, but not curious enough to pick this one back up.
It's been 8 months since I stopped in the middle of the novel and I haven't regretted it yet.
Perhaps Ill finish it another time but as of right now, this is a DNF'd series for me.
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LibraryThing member Tiffy_Reads
Mare and the others are on a mission to save themselves and the other Reds from the ruthless King and Queen. Mare lets too many emotions guide her in this book so she ends up getting caught in dangerous situations way too many times. An intense read that will have you on the edge of your seat. The
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ending will have in utter disbelief. Show Less
LibraryThing member asomers
It was worth the wait, but now the waiting begins again!
LibraryThing member swingdancefan
Honestly? Many of the things I praised in the first book are missing from this one. The present-tense narration is becoming annoying, but, of course, the author must stick with it because that’s how she started. More annoying is the derivative nature of the narration. District 13-type
I like the root story, and want to see where this world ends up with the addition of the “Newbloods” as a rogue factor in the Red vs. Silver society. I just really wish the author had found a more original way to tell the story. Instead, she got out the checklist from "How to Write a YA Dystopian Trilogy/Tetralogy" and just made sure to tick all the boxes. Sad, because this could have been really fresh and exciting.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Violence. Lots of it. Blood, both red and silver. As mentioned, characters sleep together, but the indication is that it’s not sexual. Another couple is definitely sexually active.
Who Might Like This Book:
Fans of the genre, of course. Any boy who likes Katniss or Tris will be fine with this. Appropriate for tweens and up. Approximate Lexile: 725
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headquarters? Check. Heroine experiencing guilt? Check. Heroine and male love interest sharing a bedroom because they have nightmares? Check again. Major character sacrificing themselves to enemy control in order to save others? But of course.I like the root story, and want to see where this world ends up with the addition of the “Newbloods” as a rogue factor in the Red vs. Silver society. I just really wish the author had found a more original way to tell the story. Instead, she got out the checklist from "How to Write a YA Dystopian Trilogy/Tetralogy" and just made sure to tick all the boxes. Sad, because this could have been really fresh and exciting.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Violence. Lots of it. Blood, both red and silver. As mentioned, characters sleep together, but the indication is that it’s not sexual. Another couple is definitely sexually active.
Who Might Like This Book:
Fans of the genre, of course. Any boy who likes Katniss or Tris will be fine with this. Appropriate for tweens and up. Approximate Lexile: 725
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Call number
YA B Ave