Blackout

So I actually picked this one up at the library for my husband to read, because it sounded perfect for him. But he had picked up another series, which I will no doubt read in the near future and tell you all about. On top of that, the book I picked out was bad. No, I will not mention the name because the writing style got to me instantly so I barely gave the book a chance and so I don't feel that it would be fair for me to say anything about it. Anyway, I ended up picking up this book instead and woah am I glad that I did before turning it in!

Ok, I feel that both the descriptions on the jacket and Goodreads.com are not entirely accurate enough to really portray what this book is about, so I'm going to try and tell you. Look at the three and get the average gist of things, 'k?

Alec, Dan, and Laura are terrorists. This point is clear from the beginning. What is a little less clear is how they have anything to do with Aubrey who is simply trying to live her life and gain a few friends. Well, they are all teenagers for starters. Oh, and they all have superhuman abilities that have somehow turned into a virus and are infecting teens around the world. What's worse, the US government finally figured that part out and are now putting all teenagers in camps to figure out if they are infected or not. Because those with powers would be really useful fighting against the terrorists with powers.

So, I'll start this time with the problems with this books since it is kind of right there in my description. Because that description is half the book. Maybe even more than half. At first Wells moves at a normal pace, or at least normal enough, with events happening, the reactions, the capture of all these kids. And you get the sense that maybe everything feels like it is taking way longer because they are teens and they exaggerated time. Because in reality from the start of the book to the end is maybe 3 weeks and a hell of a lot happens in that time. It all moves way too fast! Kids are being turned into weapons and they are barely given time to adjust! I get it, America is at war, but really, we are going to just toss a 15 year old girl in the mix and hope she doesn't collapse under the strain!

And that's about my only real problem. The fast paced and therefore unpreparedness of this plot. Because at the same time it is kind of realistic. America is being attacked from forces unknown at a very rapid pace and the government is simply trying to keep up. And with this half baked plan of theirs comes the consequences. Things fall apart, people slip through the system, more people die and places are attacked. So I think that fast paced world worked out in the end for this book. It had me reading quickly to find out what was going to happen next. And after only 2 days (during which I was also busy so only had a few hours to read between loads of laundry) I am already picking up the next one.

So yes, I encourage you to pick it up! This is a unique take on the superhuman powers plot. These kids are not ready for what they have been given and they are being used by everyone! The world is in peril and we are trusting teenagers to help fix it. And everyone is power has a big problem with this but they are running out of options! It is really interesting! (Done with the !'s for now, I promise.)

Oh, and if you would like to start a little sooner in the story, Wells did write a prequel in the form of a novella. However, it is only in ebook format, for the Kindle, so it may take me a minute to find it and actually get to read it. But if you read Going Dark first, let me know how it effected the others. I am going to move on to the next book, Dead Zone, for the time being. I'll let you know what I think.