'Peeps' by Scott Westerfeld

science-fiction, 312 pages 

Published 2005 by Penguin

Dont have sex, because you will turn into a vampire, and die. 

Thats the message I picked up on in 'Peeps'. Funny, because Westerfelds other book, Uglies, the message was dont pollute the environment. A bit of a difference in moral there...

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. It wins the 'Weirdest book I have ever read in my life' award. Scott Westerfeld has created a fantastic urban-fantasy, set in modern day New York. It is weird and strange, but utterly creative and highly unique.
Basically, vampirism is an STD, which the protagonist, Cal, has caught from a girl named Morgan, when they were....well, you know.
This makes Cal a carrier. He has the disease, but not the negative symptoms. He is a one in one thousand case. This means he doesnt crave human flesh all the time, but he can see in the dark and run super fast.
Unfortunately, every girl he kisses or has sex with, he infects, and turns them into a vampire. It is his job to hunt down all of those he has infected, and put them into custody.
But that is all backstory. The actual plot of this book is him trying to catch Morgan-the girl who infected him.

it is a weird book. Creepy and gross and times, but still very, very good. The author thought this through magnificently well. Let me say this: I prefer Scott Westerfeld's blood-thirsty, horny vampires in Peeps, over the sparkling ones in Twilight or the paranormal-love obsessed ones created by Richelle Mead. Ugh.

No words can do this book justice. I cant praise it more, because that would mean including spoilers. All I will say is this: I definatly encourage fans of  The Uglies Trilogy to try this book. Also, if you are interested in vampires and want to read a completely wacky take on the ancient creatures, read this!
Now I will go into repetitive mode: Scott Westerfeld thought this through very well! He explained why vampires and scared of the sun, why crucifixes ward them off, why they break mirrors when they look at their own reflection.
Plus, this is just 100% weird. In a great way. Its a perfect blend of adventure, action, horror and scientific education :)

I will end with my favorite quote from the book: "I lost my virginity to the apocalypse!" 

Specials by Scott Westerfield  

Science Fiction , 372 pages 

Published 2006 by Simon Pulse 

Sequel to "Pretties"

Note: I am considering this book the finale of a trilogy, because Extras was an un-planned addition.
It is finally time for me to deal with Specials, the final book in the trilogy that began with
Uglies. I have put of this review for a couple of days, because I honestly dont know how I feel about this one.
I think the main problem for me, is the fact that Specials is the conclussion to a trilogy, yet id certainly did not seem that way when I was reading it. Allow me to explain:
The Hunger Games Trilogy: In both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, Collins builds up the intensity, making it clear from the first moment who the good guys and bad guys are. She keeps us in suspence, and ends Catching Fire on such a note we are desperate get Mockingjay-eager to find out weather Katniss or The Capitol prevails, to find out how everything concludes. If she chooses Gale or Peeta? The point is, the first two books set up for an epic finale.
Chaos Walking Trilogy: Much the same, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer build up our excitement, desperate to see which side wins. Again, we know that Monsters of Men will finish everything in a breathtaking manner.


This comes to my problem with Specials. It does not seem like a grand finale to the trilogy, but more like any ordinary book. There was a beginning, a middle and an end. The major plot twist came half way through, as oppose to the previously mentioned finale's, when the beginning is book one, middle is book two and the end is book three. We know what to expect from #3, and know that so much is at stake.
Maybe this is the fault of Uglies and Pretties. Whilst very, very good, those two books did not build up our excitement enough, and the vibe of an exciting,fast conclusion is missing, and is instead replaced by a normal plot.
That is how I saw it anyway.
I hope that makes sense. It does, at least in my mind.


Anyway, it was an enjoyable book, just not what I expected.
I found the major action scene in the armory a little hard to follow, and there were many paragraphs through out the book that I had to re-read, just to make sense of.
However, the last half of this book was excellent. It certainly had the trilogy-epic-finale feel about it.
The action was great, as was the descriptions and emotion. Especially, involving the death scene of a certain-character. In my opinion, the finale of all trilogies/series must have the death of an important character. Westerfield wrote that particular scene very well, and it felt very real-the characters reactions were amazingly believable.


Also, the final showdown with Dr. Cable was great. Very visual and well written. The action in this scene was fast-yet very clear.
Infact, the second half of this novel was wonderful. Brilliantly paced and highly addictive. I stayed up until 3AM to finish it.


Its not as good as Uglies, though its better then Pretties. 
Final Mark: 3.5 stars  

Recently Purchased

 In the past two months, I have brought the above books. 

"Everything's Eventual" by Stephan King. Second hand. 

"Pastworld" by Ian Beck. New 

"Uglies box set" by Scott Westerfield. New. (For only $30! Bargain!) 

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson. New 

"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. New. 

Have any of you read any of the above books, and if so, what did you think of them? 

Review: Pretties by Scott westerfield

                                                          Pretties by Scott Westerfield  

                                                             Science Fiction , 370 pages 

Published 2005 by Simon Pulse 

 Sequel to "Uglies"

                   

Pretties takes place only a few days after Uglies ends. Tally is a Pretty, friends with Shay again, and eager to join The Crims-a popular Clique. She has a totally hot boyfriend, Zane, and everything in her life is great. 

But at a party she meets Croy, a Smoky from her Ugly past, and suddenly she begins to get back memories. Soon, she and Zane search for the Cure-two pills cleverly hidden by Maddy. Once taken, they get their normal minds back, and desperately plan an escape back to the New Smoke. However, everything starts to go wrong...  

Im not sure what to think about this one. I loved "Uglies", and always knew that the sequel would not be as great, but I still expected it to be reasonable. 

In a way, I loved Pretties, but I also hated it.  

The first 2o0 pages were damn awful. They are dull, boring and even tedious to struggle through. Of course there are enjoyable scenes, but only a few. At one stage I almost dropped the book and read the plot summary on wikipedia, so I 'wouldn't have to read anymore of this garbage' and move onto "Specials" 

However, I am incredibly thankful that I did not, as the final 150 pages are wonderful. Unpredictable, suspenseful, well written and full of action. I read the last 150 pages in one sitting, and loved it. 

I am going to review this book in two halfs. The first 200 pages, and the last 150 pages: 

First half: I was extremely disappointed. The majority of it is Tally, Zane, Shay and sometimes Paris shitting around doing butt-nothing except party, ice skate, and talk stupidly for a while. Eventually, this becomes a drag to read about. 

The Pretties vocabulary (Thats totally bubbly-making!) was really, super annoying. Half the time it barely made sense, and I wanted to throw the book across the room. 

As previously mentioned, there were many stages I was tempted to put the book down, and read the summary on wikipedia. That is how boring the first 200 pages can be. 

However, there are a number of enjoyable scenes, especially when Tally and Zane are trying to find the cure. But none the less, not enough to hold my attention. 

I would give part one, two stars. 

Second Half: From about page 220, this is a four-star book. The pretty talk, boringness and shitting around completely vanishes, and in its place comes oodles of action, twists and thrills. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with the "Ugly Tribe"-nothing more can be said without spoilers, especially when they reached 'the end of the world'. Westerfield wrote this particularly well, and the creepy scene was certainly my favorite.

I know that bucket loads of people will not enjoy this book. It is awfully paced, as previously mentioned. 200 pages of nothing, then next 150 pages of almost non stop action and adventure. 

Also, the thrills-though still there-are somewhat less then that of Uglies, because the plot is very similar. The ending would have been wonderful, had almost the exact same thing not happened in the previous book. The whole plot can be mirrored to Uglies in some way or another. 

As a reader, I did enjoy the book, but if I was a book critic or professional reviewer, it would receive awful marks. 

My final rating is probably more then Pretties deserved, but Im a sucker for a fun read, and the climax was certainly that. 

Review: Uglies by Scott westerfield

                                                            Uglies by Scott Westerfield  

                                                             Science Fiction , 425 pages 

Published 2005 by Simon Pulse

                   

Uglies is a thrilling novel set 3000 years into the future, and when a teenager hits the age of 16 they have a mega-operation to make them stunningly gorgeous. From then on they are known as "A Pretty", whilst those who are yet to have the operation-normal teenagers-are called "Uglies". 

Tally Youngblood can not wait to turn Pretty, however, her new friend Shay has doubts. A few days before her sixteenth birthday, Shay runs away from civilization, desperate to keep her "ugly" looks, and find a group of people known as "The Smokies" who share her thoughts, and live a normal, surgery free life. 

However, chaos begins when Tally is presented with an option: Find Shay and the Smokies, and bring them back, or never turn Pretty at all, and Tally's life is changed forever...  

I was very impressed with this book. As far as Dystopians go, this is the best I have ever read. Granted, the story is not as great as that of The Hunger Games or Chaos Walking, but the post-apocalypse aspect is better. I was content with the amount of detail we were given about the end of the world. How it happened, when it happened, what survived, what was learnt by our mistakes, what has happened to other nations and what the future looks like. 

I loved Westerfield's image of the future. The way he describes Uglyville and New Prettytown is wonderful-I could imagine both perfectly and clearly. I loved the hover-boarding.  It seems like Westerfield has actually invented a hover board, with all the creativity he uses when writing about them. He explains how they are used, what they look like, where and why you can use them.  

From all the Dystopian novels that I have read, this is by far my favorite explanation of the future. 

The plot was sensational as well. There was not a dull part, from the very first paragraph ( a beautiful description of a red sunset) the book kept me on glued to the page. Wether I was curious about New Prettytown and the far-off future, trying to figure out Shay's mysterious clues with Tally, hooked on the romantic aspect with David, or on the edge of my seat as the gripping, thrilling and intense climax took place. I finished this book in less then 24 hours, starting Monday morning, finishing 2AM Wednesday morning. In between I had braces put on and un-willingly went shopping with friends. 

It was amazing. 

There is also a very good message behind this entertaining story. There are constant references to the environment, talking about how 'Rusties'-us, the people of today-were so stupid and silly as to ruin nature. In 3000 years, people are in disbelief about how selfish we are, and struggle to believe that we could kill trees and animals. Eventually, this almost kills the world and ourselves.  

Uglies also gives the reader much food for thought. 

-Is it worth forcing a friend to change their values and opinions, if it means fulfilling my lifes dream? 

-Is it worth becoming amazingly gorgeous and fitting in, if it means sacrificing something important to me? 

-We believe the reality of what we are presented with, and refuse to think otherwise.

-If we are told, 'unless you look a certain way, you are ugly'. Must we believe it?

I really, really enjoyed this novel. 

It was entertaining, thrilling, and the concept is amazing. 

The only flaw I could find, is with the characters. None of them stand out, and none of them interest me greatly. I am hoping to find out more about the characters in the sequel, Pretties.  

The ending was wonderful, and the cliffhanger is a perfect balance of: I really, really need to read what happens next, with out being overly annoying and frustrating (cough: Catching Fire cough). 

Westerfield writing style is great. It is easy, quick and fun to read. He can write very good dialogue, make subtle-yet hilarious-jokes, and write great action scenes. 

There is a movie release scheduled for 2011, and as far as I know there is no director or cast, as of yet. So tell me, who would you cast into the lead roles for the movie? Personally, every single character must be un-knowns, except for maybe Dr. Cable, who I can totally see as Cate Blanchette: 

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to boys and girls ages 13 and up. It is a quick, entertaining and thought provoking read.