Saturday, February 9, 2013

'Til The World Ends: Review

Reminder: This review is just for Dawn of Eden, the short story written by Julie Kagawa.

Synopsis:

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.


***

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa:

(It will be short 'cuz it's just a short story, and beware it might contain spoilers)

Honestly, this short story kind of disappoints me. Maybe because I had great expectation on this prequel of The Immortal Rules because I love The Immortal Rules so much. The story didn't disappoint me at first though. In fact it starts out really well, with Kylie trying to save a bunch of patients infected by the hideous Red Lung Disease.

There are plenty of good in this prequel. First is the seriousness of the Red Lung Disease. It gives a deeper and better illustration on how horrifying the disease actually is. Because, well, if you read The Immortal Rules, you kind of just know that having vampire blood in a patient will make him/her rabid. In this story you know how terrible it is on humans ALONE. Which is very good, actually. Because in The Eternity Cure there will be the Red Lung Disease spreading again and affect humans and vamps alike. This gives out important information.

Second is the emergency situation in the first five or six chapters. The rise of the rabids. The guy, Ben, bringing his friend infected by not just Red Lung Disease, but rabids. The breakout of all the stuff is always good. I mean, rabids are hideous. But seeing them through a pair of a doctor (Translation: normal person) 's eyes is very different from seeing them through a heroine's eyes. Because well, Allison already knows that there are rabids out there. But Kylie doesn't know it at all. Julie Kagawa can give out the horrified feeling from Kylie really well. Just what I love.

But there's one thing that makes the prequel not perfect. And that's the whole Ben and Kylie going back to Ben's family thing. I mean, not that their relationship is not nice. But this is a prequel story. And I expect more from this. Like... the start of all Vampire Cities and possibly Eden. It doesn't end as well as I thought. It's like... I don't know what it's like. But ending with Ben and Kylie getting together? Not the ending I want to see.

Even though the ending is kind of a failure, if you read Blood of Eden, you should definitely read the prequel story.

Rating: 6.5/10

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