Lies: Review

Synopsis:

It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought.

As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?

***

Well, one can never resist reading Gone series. Lies starts off 4 months after the tremendous event in Hunger. Stakes are getting much higher than that in Hunger. Lies are everywhere. With Orsay and Nerezza claiming they can contact the other side and set them free, everyone is desperate to get out of the hell in California. On the other hand, Drake is back from the dead and becomes something else entirely. The Human Crew is going against the mutants, and terrorizing Perdido Beach. And the gaiaphage is lurking, ready to strike and take down Perdido Beach. Yeah, things are getting weirder and crazier, just as when you think things couldn't possibly get more weird.

In this book it's not just Sam's story anymore. Everyone has a role in this book. Not only they have to fight the hunger, the lies and doubts are making the situation worse, fueling the rage between sides. Everyone in the book has to face their weakness, doubt and inner demons. It's a battle of believing or giving up. I'm totally down with it, except with everything going on at the same time and Lies is only 447 pages long, things are even more scattered than Hunger, which does not sit well with me on some levels.

I hate to say it, but this book is not as action-packed as Hunger or even Gone. But just because this book isn't as action-packed as I expected it to be doesn't mean this book is not exciting enough. This time the battle is more emotional and mental than physical. Everyone has their inner battles and with every danger crawling around them, things are just getting worse. Excitement is guaranteed. Maybe not in the way you think, but definitely good enough for me.

There's a slight flaw for me. Unlike Gone and Hunger, I actually need time to pick up the storyline in the book. I don't know if it's because it's set four months after Hunger or other reasons. Normally I'm okay with it but not this time. Not only because this book is way shorter than Gone and Hunger, the excitement is extracted into a small part (at least, smaller than that of Hunger). I do know that every single word in that book is necessary for the plot development. But just because I know that doesn't mean I'm all okay with it.

Overall this book is really nice and intense despite the little flaws. I really need to read Plague now. Holy crap, this series is nuts.

Rating: 7.5/10