Series Recap: Reboot Series by Amy Tintera

Reading Order (sort by release date):

Reboot (Book 1, Published on May 7, 2013)
Rebel (Book 2, Published on May 13, 2014)

Click the titles to check out my reviews.

***

Synopsis recap:

Reboot starts with Wren, who has died and Rebooted after 178 minutes because of KDH virus when she was twelve. Now seventeen, she's the perfect soldier that HARC has. She always thinks that she barely has any human emotion at all. But when Callum, who is practically still human (because he Rebooted after only 22 minutes), demands her training, she finds herself that maybe she's not as emotionless and inhuman as she thought. And then there's another threat. Some Reboots are turning vicious, bloodthirsty creatures, and Wren has to set out to rebel against HARC and find the origin of these problems before someone she really cares about dies because of this.

Rebel picks up after Wren and Callum escaped HARC and find a place called Reboot Reservation, only the place isn't the haven for Reboots like others claimed. A vicious leader, a bunch of scared Reboots, violent actions, and trying to do something drastic on the whole human race (I'm not going to reveal what's the big move), and the threat from HARC, Wren and Callum has to find a way around that if they want to stay together and build a life together.

***

Thoughts recap:

Three words to describe the series: Unique, interesting, but not very... dynamic

The concept of Reboot is mentioned in the first book, Reboot. It's kind of a twist of zombies. Only the "zombies" (aka Reboots) are far more intelligent and physically superior. I like that the Reboots are not just creatures that the government can't control (because zombie apocalypse is really an old epidemic, even though I like The Walking Dead). They're under far too much control, and they're (mostly) not that happy about it. The world in Reboot is pretty well-developed in this case, because there's the whole outline of the KDH-infected world in the book. The characters... well, I guess most of them are average characters, except maybe Wren. She's a pretty cool girl. Not only she can kick some ass, she's logical. But other than that there's nothing really significant about other characters. The plot is a bit slow, though. And a little bit predictable. But it's nothing intolerable.

Rebel is better. In this book Wren and Callum has to fight for their lives. Constantly. The character improvement is a thumbs-up, especially on Wren and Micah. Wren is no longer the emotionless Reboot we met at the start of Reboot, and she finally gets in touch with the human side of her. Micah's character is portrayed well. The vicious and cruel side of him is a little terrifying. The plot is much more fast-paced and complicated, because of the multiple threats coming from all sides, which is another thing I really like. There might be some flaws concerning Callum and other minor parts, but overall Rebel is a fine book.

Overall rating: 7/10

Do I recommend this series?: I'm not against people reading it (obviously), but I'm not actively recommending this series.

Rebel (ARC): Review

Synopsis:

The sequel to the action-packed Reboot is a can't-miss thrill ride, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Veronica Roth, and Marie Lu.

After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake . . . he's underestimated Wren and Callum.

The explosive finale to the Reboot duology is full of riveting action and steamy love scenes as Wren and Callum become rebels against their own kind.

***

Rebel picks up after Wren and Callum escaped HARC and find a place known as the Reboot Reservation. Just when they try to find a life for themselves, they're thrown into violence again by the sort-of-psychotic leader of Reboot Reservation, Micah. And there's still the threat from HARC. They have to stick together in order to fight their way through all these mess and have a life they want.

So much more has happened in Rebel. I will admit Reboot is a little slow on uptake, because it takes quite sometime before the book gets to interesting parts. But since there are much more complicated stuff in Rebel, the plot is a lot more fast-paced. This part is the most significant improvement of the book. Action scenes are totally not in shortage. I don't count those trainings in HARC in Reboot as one of those action scenes (I don't think you actually need me to explain this, right?). Those fighting scenes in Rebel is just so much more intense and thrilling. It's "fighting-for-your-life-every-second" kind of intense. I love that.

Rebel is told in dual point of view. Wren's and Callum's. Although reading Callum's point of view is still a load of fun and pretty enjoyable, I find myself don't like it as much as I thought I would. Callum sounds too... sane in Rebel (not that Wren is insane, but come on). I thought being almost-human he will have a wider range and more intense emotions. But no, other than the fact that he thinks the Reboots shouldn't raise a massacre on humans just because they're nasty on Reboots, he's pretty tamed. Wren might be slightly more ruthless and logical than Callum (which is not very, but still), but her emotions are just more real and intense, which makes reading her point of view much more interesting. I must say, though I love the dual perspective, I can't deny I'm a little disappointed in Callum's point of view.

Amy Tintera makes a vast improvement in Rebel, and I deeply appreciate that. Although I think there are some space for more improvement, I'd say Rebel is good enough.

Rating: 7.5/10

Reboot: Review

Synopsis:

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

***

(I'm getting a killer headache so I won't write long paragraphs in this review. Actually I've been suffering from the headache since May)

This book is not a bad read. I really like the idea of Reboots. It's really different because Reboots are more like strong zombies with a mind. And the apocalypse thing is quite brilliant actually, because the story is not set in the middle of the zombie Reboot apocalypse but rather AFTER it. That's new in one way. 

Wren is an interesting character. Yep, she's really cold at first. But to my surprise she's not as cold as I thought she would be before I read this book. But even with that it takes quite some time to warm up. But she finds her humanity back (at least some of it) in a steady pace and that's a good thing. I don't think I want a hot-at-one-second-and-then-cold-at-the-next Wren. It would be really unsettling. Callum is a nice character. Not very lively, but still so human. An anchor to Wren's leftover humanity. Not that it's a new plot or anything, but it's always interesting to see a boy anchoring an emotionless girl to her humanity.

The plot is alright, I guess. Nothing too exciting. Suspicions are always present and I'm totally okay with it. There are fight scenes and that's nothing unexpected. It lives up my imagination, I guess (because I really didn't expect much from Reboot after Taken and The 5th Wave). But the ending kind of disappoints me a little because it's so rush. I mean, it's the ending, some more excitement and jaw-hanging scenes please? I hope things will get better in the second book.

I won't be super-excited about the sequel, but I'm pretty sure I will read it.

Rating: 6.5/10