"I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war."

 

*No spoilers.

 

 

It's been a while since I've been blown away by a Dystopian novel the way Red Rising has blown me away. Sure, there are some good ones out there, but the crappy ones far outnumber them. I didn't think there was anything left to add to this genre, but Pierce Brown has proven me wrong.

**No spoiler. Or spoilers, either.

 

Well, that was surprisingly good. I wasn't sure what to expect of Moth, but with that kickass synopsis (seriously, did you read that frikkin thing?), I had an inkling that I would like it. And I did.

 

Without taking into account the logistics or science, it's a fascinating world these people live in. Half is bathed in eternal sunlight and half is cloaked by eternal night. Yesss. I dunno why I hissed, but I really like that.. There's more to it, though. The people of each half know little of their neighbors. Both sides are shrouded in mystery for one another and myths and speculation abound. Much like in our own world, their respective ignorance breeds fear and hate.

 

We get a few POV's that are, thankfully, not in 1st person. The "main" POV, Torin, is a likable fellow with a fantastic sidekick who would have made an even better MC. Bailey is a kickass chick with a big heart. I instantly liked her. I want her to have her own storyline. I think she's capable of great things.

 

At first, I was concerned about one character in particular - Koyee - who had a very boring and immature voice. In time, her story managed to ensnare me and I came to care for her deeply. The majority of my personal angst, as evidenced by my angsty status updates, can be attributed to this character and her journey.

 

The truth is that I cared for nearly all of the characters. At one point, we're introduced to a new group and again, I didn't think I'd care much about their story, but in time, I did. You have a gift, Mr. Arenson.

 

All the characters are rich, flawed and endearing, except for those few that are rich, flawed, and infuriating. Even they are great characters, though. They certainly make you sit up and feel, be it indignation or rage. Kudos to the author for provoking so many emotions. I also wanna make note that there were no weak, feebleminded female characters. All the ladies were tough as balls and that was super-refreshing.

 

Arenson certainly pulls no punches when it comes to violence and gore, but it all fit well within the story and wasn't overdone in any way. It was perfectly suited to my tastes. I like my stories gritty and dirty and there is much grit to these interwoven stories. The oppression and injustices affected me tremendously.

 

There were only a couple of things that put me off slightly. As I mentioned, I found Koyee's POV in the beginning to be very dull. I wanted to tear my hair out. Though it did become interesting, it made it hard to get into the book at first. I know this is typical for Fantasy, but personally, I like a faster pace. The other POV's were great, but I felt like the story nearly stopped when it would switch to her. Thankfully, it was short-lived.

 

The other thing that threw me off was that same character at the end. She kept yelling out these melodramatic battle cries reminiscent of Lionheart, but cheesy instead. It really took me out of the intensity of the story. Everything had come to a head and there was Koyee, yelling out corny warrior cries. I forgave her, because the girl has heart, but I wanted to shake her.

 

Despite these couple of things, I really enjoyed Moth. For the most part, I was riveted and found myself rushing to get back to it whenever I would put it down. That doesn't happen to me often anymore, so this was definitely a treat.

 

Be forewarned, this is the first in a series and for that I'm glad. Though it didn't end on a cliffhanger, there were a lot of loose ends and I can't wait to see where Arenson takes these characters next.

 

 

 

 

Programming huh? And here I was, thinking someone had finally gotten around to writing my unauthorised biography. Sigh..

A little confusing in the beginning, but not bad. I read the first chapter of the second novel.. and then decided to stop reading this series, though. :/

MY THOUGHTSLOVED ITThis is such an inspiring book of essays! It is full of famous and not so famous people relating what moment in their lives was truly something that had a great impact on their lives and the lives of others, even if they didn't realize it at the time. The stories are honest and reflective in a way that can be most surprising to the reader. Each one has somewhat of an Ah Ha moment where the author describes an occurrence of an event that at the time, really didn't seem that important but when they look back upon it, it is special indeed.I think my favorite one is Melissa Etheridge relating her singing A Piece of My Heart on an award show while she was undergoing cancer treatment at the time. She didn't see it as anything important at the time, but that performance gave strength to breast cancer survivors everywhere. She did it while not looking her best and with no hair. There are alot of little things this book offers most of which, is the wonderful attitude of those who have just done things and then thought about them later. You can easily pick this one up read a few pages and then reread the same pages and get even more out of the stories.