Blood Red Road was an amazing book & it's going on my favorites list! The characters, the language & writing style and the world building were just incredible and they all came together perfectly to create this brilliant and very atmospheric story. It was really, very nicely done. Definitely top-tier in the dystopian genre and I think it deserved every reward it received. Can't wait to see how the rest of the series stacks up.
4.5 Stars First of all, I need to congratulate myself for finishing this book. English isn't my native language, so I'm kind of a hero. Well done, hon.This was such a refreshing reading, with characters worth caring about, definitely something different from what I've been reading lately. Not only because of the freaking poetically minimal writing style but also because of Saba, a brilliant and dynamic heroine, and the way she assimilate her reality. Saba's dialect was perfect in order to introducing me in her raw, primitive and sensorial world. The way she interpreted feelings, fears, strategies and the world around her was really intriguing. I loved Saba and her relationship with poor little Emmi. They evolved in front of me, they got stronger, braver, and loyal to each other. After so many years ignoring her, Saba realized how much Emmi meant for her. Emmi was a fighter and she had a little bit of a temper, just like her sister. What I loved most about this book was the action. I never felt bored. It was intriguing from page one. However, I had some issues with the story. Jack was a such a dreamy guy, but I'm not buying this "I wanted to help you since the first time I saw you" speech. I'd love to see what this "unsolved business" are. Even more, I don't get how everybody was willing to risk their lives just because of Saba. I understand loyalty, but in a hard world like this, finding people like them was pretty impressive...I think DeMalo was fascinating, I hope I'll see more of him in the next book.Was Ike's death even necessary? u.u You make my brain hurt, he says Most romantic line ever.
Rarely do I come across a book that I find very little in it that I liked. Blood Red Road is an exception. There were so few elements to it that I found enjoyable that I still can not believe I made it to the end. Especially, without the loss of hair or my sanity.I'll start with the writing style. Blood Red Road is a futuristic dystopian, yet everyone talks like it takes place in the 1800's. I was espectin (yes, that is how they would say expecting) some toothless gold miner's to come rushing into the story. It's a lot of fer (for), yer (you're), babbies (babies), britches (pants), afeared (afraid, scared)... I'm sure you get the point.Now, I understand that Saba and her siblings are raised in a remote setting with the lack of any sort of education or influence. Therefore, it is understandable that they would have some lazy way of speaking. However, almost everyone in this world speaks this way. It was worthy of some pretty major teeth grinding on my part. It felt too contrived, too forced and really unnecessary. I don't think it needed to be such a big part of the book and I felt it took away from the story.Saba is horrid at first and by the end only slightly better. She's stubborn in the most awful ways, she's rude to damn near everyone, she is plainly the biggest bitch ever to her little nine year old sister and is entirely too obsessed with her twin brother. She would, quite literally, abandon her sister Emmi to get her brother back from his kidnappers. I spent about 75% of the book disliking her, the other 25% scratching my head.She, somehow, manages to rally up quite the cast of helpers. I'm still confused by what they saw in her at first. But, the gang that helps her out are pretty remarkable characters and I enjoyed them quite a bit. The girl gang who go by Free Hawks were quite fun and I would like to read more about them - assuming they learn how to speak in somewhat proper English.The villain was not a villain, he was a joke. I don't know where the hell the idea of him came from but I did not get it what so ever. I won't say what is so clown-like about him because I like to be spoiler free, but - wow, just wow, really? He didn't even seem like a threat. I don't know, I'm starting to ramble here. I'll stop now.As far as the audio goes, if the narrator was directed to make every character sound dull and slow-witted; job well done. I feel like this is a about as harsh of a review as I ever post and though I am not alone in my feelings on Blood Red Road, I am in the minority. Therefore, I am giving you some links to bloggers I love and trust who enjoyed this read. I encourage you to check them out.Rally The Readers' ReviewThe Starry-Eyed Revue
The narration. The narration! I was stunned and shocked at first - I didn't know if it was just southern or what or just poor attempt of writing in Cormack McCarthy's style - but I learned that the way Saba tells her story is the way that she should tell it. And it fits, and I stopped to even noticing it pretty soon.I liked it. Sure,I found some plot-holes and had some wtf moments, but I enjoyed it. And I'm starting the second installment.And yes, it's all written in stars above.
Log in with Facebook 
