Clever control story about power, truth, knowledge.Reads a little academically, but the slow pace (after an all-out action opening) is important information gathering for later on - when it starts getting really clever. Blackman revisits themes from her previous stories - love across barriers, strength of family ties, looking at history from another angle, the importance of knowledge.Great inclusion of a librarian character! My brain hurts from the authentic-sounding computing jargon, but is satisfied with the world created and the hopeful ending. This story really reminded me about why I used to (and clearly still do) really like Malorie Blackman's writing style. She's very frank and to the point and her story isn't filled with a load of extra stuff just for the sake of it, this is a clear, captivating and interesting dystopian, and it was a fun read all around.This is the story of Kas who lives in a world where there are two warring forces, the Alliance and High Council who control the Guardians (Kas is a Guardian) and the Crusaders who control the Insurgents (they're basically seen as terrorists and are constantly creating civil unrest and havoc). These two sides have been warring for many years and they have been at war ever since the Crusaders decided they wanted the land where the Alliance currently lives because their land is toxic and filled with lava due to crazy scientific experimentations.Kas is a Guardian and at the start of this book we learn that he's actually a very good one. He was raised on a Melon farm with his mum (also a Guardian until she died) and his Uncle. Whilst he lived there he never felt that he was serving a worthy cause and he wanted to go and fight so he joins the Guardians in order to fight back against the terrorists.Kas is a pretty believable character and his typical 'teenage-boy' characteristics shine through nicely. He's a caring and intuitive character with a good nature, fun personality and he doesn't just accept everything he's told, he likes to investigate. There were moments within this where I was reminded of the Alex Rider series by Horrowitz (a series I really enjoyed) and that was great to see.I would certainly recommend this book as it was filled with things I didn't expect and it was a cut above some of the other YA dystopians out there. The chaarcters were interesting but the plot had some very cool and shocking elements to it too which was great and Blackman wasn't afraid to push the fear and terror factor further as the intensity of the story increased which was good.Overall I very much enjoyed this and I would have liked to see a sequel or companion novel actually as I felt there was a lot more that could have been explored, however it's a very goo standalone in its own right and I look forward to more Blackman in the future no doubt.
What do You think about Noble Conflict (2013)?
Definitely thought-provoking, but somehow not as strong as her others. I'm sorry, Malorie!
—SuLin
A different dystopia - but a good read!
—yasminatabbal
