All of us.
THE 5TH WAVE is the newest story written by American novelist Rick Yancey. Published earlier this year, it became international bestseller.
The 5th Wave gets you as soon as you pick it up in the bookstore. First glance on the cover and you are hooked and want to read more.
The 1st Wave took out half a million people.
The 2nd Wave put that number to shame.
The 3rd Wave lasted a longer. Twelve weeks... Four billion people.
In The 4th Wave you can't trust that people are still people.
And The 5th Wave? No one knows. But it's coming.
Read the first part of the back of the book and you are not putting the book back onto the shelf. You are finding yourself bringing to cashier, paying for it and bringing it home. And then you cannot wait to read it.
With an introduction like that you cannot even help it. I have been the same. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this one. Science fiction is my fave. I have a very soft spot for this genre especially if you find it in young adult section. You know you can look forward to a good story.
But I have to say, this book managed to surprise me. It was something completely different. You know when you start reading a book, you kind of imagine what the story would be and how it will develop, but this book was something else.
At the beginning, it wasn't that interesting. I have found myself a little bit bored. But I guessed you need to somehow introduce the characters and explain what has happen. But the boredom soon finished and after first 30 pages I was well into it.
91 chapters divided in 13 sections told by 4 different narrators.
The Last Historian
Wonderland
Silencer
Mayfly
The Winnowing
The Human City
The Heart To Kill
The Spirit Of Vengeance
A Flower To The Rain
A Thousand Ways
The Infinite Sea
Because Of Kistner
The Black Hole
We are meeting Cassie, Evan, Ben and Sammy. Three young teenagers and one child. On their own in a world which has been completely taken over by Aliens. Each has their own story, but their are inter-connected. We follow their stories, adventures, turmoils and how they cope with the fact that they have lost everything, even hope and the ability to trust.
I have decided not to write the plot of the story, because I think that you should read it for yourself. I loved this novel. It was a mind-blowing experience. It got to you straight away. There was danger. Sadness. Loneliness. Darkness. All elements which I haven't found in a book before. I particularly appreciated how true this story was. Mr Yancey captured humans and our true emotions, reactions and instincts like no one before. He made you think. How would you react if the world would be taken over by another species from galaxy far far away? Would you welcome them with open arms or would you be cautious? Would you run or would you hide?
This book was fascinating. Fast-paced. Dangerous. You couldn't turn the pages fast enough. You couldn't put it down. Remarkable story which kept you on your toes. It was packed with unexpected twist and turns. Early on I have developed a theory how this story would go, but oh my I was so wrong. It surprised me again. And when I thought I finally got the hang on it. Yancey threw there another massive twist.
There was amazing chemistry between Cassie and Evan. I have fallen in love with their relationship. Evan truly fell for her, without wanting. And I hope Cassie will realise that she loves him too. I wish that the author doesn't decide to get her together with Ben. I know Ben was her high school crush. A boy she liked but never had the courage to do something about it. I truly hope that we don't have another Cassandra Clare example where from the beginning we know who the main character will end up with. Yes, I am still pissed off with the whole Tess-Will-Jem situation in Infernal Devices.
I have laughed at the references to various films, books and stories about aliens trying to take over the world and how the real life is completely different. There is no Will Smith to save us from the Mothership and it's cruel habitants.
One thing I thought wasn't totally true was the chapter told by Sammy. Now Sammy is a five-year-old, but somehow the story sounded sophisticated. Either Sammy is a genius hiding in a five-year-old body or the writer failed to understand how a kid things. It was too tidy. Too easy to understand. Too smart. The vocabulary used in this chapter was too complicated and definitely not the type of vocabulary used by children. But other than that spot on.
Anyway, this brings me to one very important question. Will there be another book? A sequel? I hope so. The story is not finished. The characters haven't told their full stories just yet. There are so many un-answered questions. And there is the teaser at the end of the book: "The Next Wave Begins: Summer 2014." Seriously do I Have to wait so long for another piece of this delicious story?
I have to be honest. I loved the book. It was incredibly good. Fascinating. Terrifying. Mind-blowing. Dark piece of literature which should be on your book shelf.
Some Quote which really stuck with me:
“But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield.”
“Some things you can never leave behind. They don't belong to the past. They belong to you.”
“We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time.”
“I had it all wrong," he says. "Before I found you, I thought the only way to hold on was to find something to live for. It isn't. To hold on, you have to find something you're willing to die for.”
“How do you rid the Earth of humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.”
“You can only call someone crazy if there’s someone else who’s normal. Like good and evil. If everything was good, then nothing would be good.”
“Sarcasm doesn't appear to work on him. If that's true, I'm in trouble: It's my normal mode of communication.”
“You know how sometimes you tell yourself that you have a choice, but really you don't have a choice? Just because there are alternatives doesn't mean they apply to you.”
“What doesn't kill us sharpens us. Hardens us. Schools us. You're beating plowshares into swords, Vosch. You are remaking us. We are the clay, and you are Michelangelo. And we will be your masterpiece.”
“It's an either/or world now.”
“Even the most sensitive person can get used to even the most insensitive thing.
Cruelty isn’t a personality trait. Cruelty is a habit.”
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