Book Talk: The Artful

Release date: May 27, 2014
Book: The Artful
Author: Wilbert Stanton
Source: Netgalley 

The Basics:New York City, 2025: Everything is changed. The city that never sleeps is now a land of death and decay. A rampant virus has taken over and the survivors have become carriers, quarantined from the rest of the world. Twist and Dodger grew up in the streets, the sewers and underground tunnels - their playground. They aren't heroes. They just like attention; and stealing meds from the rich and giving them to the poor is their golden ticket. On their latest raid, they unknowingly steal a cure that puts them square between the ailing Emperor of Manhattan and the war hungry Governor of Brooklyn and forces them on a quest into the darkest shadows of their putrefying world

My Musings:
     Okay so when I first read the summery I immediately thought that this book was going to be really interesting and an overall great read. As soon as I read the first few sentences of the book I began to like it. I loved the high energy and the suspense and the intensity of the first few chapters. The beginning of the novel, I thought, was spot on in terms of it's ability to hook it's reader. The beginning set up the book nicely and introduced the characters in a great way.
     However, as the book went on it lacked the strength and intensity that the initial chapters had. As I continued reading I found myself not really connecting to the character because of the slow moving pace of the novel. I didn't mind the slowness so much as the lack of dialogue and the long internal monologues and descriptions. Because I saw too much over analyzed thoughts and descriptions I lost the initial connection I had with Twist. Furthermore I felt that the dialogue it did have was stiff and awkward at times.
     Despite all that I felt like the plot itself was really well thought out, but it did affect the story negatively. The very idea the novel presents intrigued me and I love how the author spun it into in intricate story. I loved the twins and turns the novel took. I really didn't know what to expect half the time. There's a lot of shocking moments in the book and I loved every singe second of it.
       Romance wise I didn't think the coupling was all that special. They're cute don't get me wrong, I just don't feel passionate about the romance. This is kind of a good thing because this way the story line takes the front seat and is not over shadowed by an overbearing romance.
      I have a confession to make. My favorite character is Dodger. I love his story line and the way he grew as a character. In terms of character development the author did a good job. He presented more than one side of his characters which adds depth to these people we're reading about. That being said, I still didn't feel like these characters were real because I feel they lacked a little bit more depth and more exploration of the different sides of Twist and Dodger etc. But overall I feel like he did a good job making his characters good solid characters.
     I honestly enjoyed the book and thought it was a nice summer read for those of us looking to stay away from contemporary novels. If you like cool, dystopian, books with lots of action this is the book you should check out :)

Note: The fact that I received this book for free did not in anyway alter my thought on the book.

                           My Rating: